New Orleans DJ Black N Mild Dies After Contracting Coronavirus

BYCole BlakeUpdated on September 26, 20229.5K Views

Black N Mild, Death, Coronavirus

The Coronavirus claims another life in the music industry as New Orleans DJ Black N Mild dies after contracting the virus.

New Orleans DJ and radio personality Black N Mild has died at age 44 after testing positive for coronavirus, according to Billboard.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1241170298482896896

Black N Mild, born Oliver Stokes Jr, was known for being a prominent figure in New Orleans Bounce. "I was the first DJ in Nola history to have a radio mix show dedicated to Nola Bounce from 03-05 (up to Katrina)," he explained in a Facebook post on Feb. 3.

"One of the biggest and best compliments I ever got from somebody in the industry," Stokes said in a 2012 interview with Tulane University, as pointed out by Billboard, "is when I was playing an industry event I was doing in '04. ... I was DJing the event and there were a lot of industry people there and Doug E. Fresh was hosting. ... Doug E. Fresh pulled me to the side and was like, 'Man, I've heard a lot of DJs in my time; you were one of the smoothest DJs I've ever heard.'"

Stokes also worked at the Arthur Ashe Charter School in Gentilly. “Our school community is devastated,” said Sabrina Pence, the CEO of FirstLine Schools, the charter organization that operates Arthur Ashe, according to NOLA.com.

Stokes was a father of four.

About The Author

Cole Blake

Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.