On this day, Feb. 3, in hip-hop history...

2016: Today marks the three-year anniversary of the death of renowned New York DJ, Big Kap.

As a New York native, DJ Big Kap, whose real name is Keith Carter, got his start in music in the mid-1990s by teaming up with fellow disc jockeys, Funkmaster Flex, Biz Markie, DJ Enuff, Mister Cee, Cipha Sounds, Frankie Cutlass, DJ Riz and DJ Ronson as a part of a DJ supergroup called The Flip Squad. From there, Kap's name rose to prominence as a voice of New York in 1999 when he and Funk Flex dropped the album The Tunnel. The widely-successful compilation album was made up of some iconic New York freestyles and exclusive tracks from the likes of The Notorious B.I.G, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Jay-Z, Capone-n-Noreaga, Eminem, Fatman Scoop and many more.

Fans of Big Kap know that in working closely with Biggie Smalls over the years, Kap was involved in one of the more funny and memorable Biggie stage show moments, when the rapper threw a water bottle at the DJ at the 1995 Summer Jam.

Fast forward to 2016 and the morning of Feb. 3, when news broke that Big Kap had died from a heart attack. Kap's manager Ab Traxx confirmed the news with Billboard, saying that Big Kap didn’t have any prior medical issues other than diabetes. He was 45 years old.

Traxx remembered the last time he spoke with Kap the night right before his death. “Last night when I talked to him, he was fine. He was on the computer at 1 a.m. and then I got the phone call at four in the morning from the artist he stays with, Bank Boy Drop. He’s an artist based out of Florida we was actually workin’ on.”

From Funk Flex and DJ Khaled to Talib Kweli, Pete Rock and more, many in hip-hop reacted to the surprise passing of the New York mainstay, praising Kap as a golden era pioneer.

R.I.P., Big Kap.

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