Debra Lee (C) poses with her children, Quinn Coleman and Ava Coleman at the Debra Lee Pre-BET Awards Dinner at Vibiana on June 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paras Griffin / Getty Images for BET)
Music performer, promoter, entrepreneur and DJ Quinn Coleman died, his family confirmed theGrio on Monday. He was 31. Coleman, also known as DJ Spicoli, was the son of former BET president and CEO Debra Lee.
A spokesman for Lee released the following statement theGrio:
Quinn Coleman, son of Debra Lee and Randy Coleman, died unexpectedly on Sunday, August 16 at the age of 31.. The cause of death is unknown. Quinn was a loving son, brother, cousin and friend, a passionate DJ and A&R performer with a bright future ahead of him. Debra and her family are devastated by Quinn’s passing and asking for privacy and respect when they mourn together.
Coleman was the senior director of A&R at Capitol Records, the label whose iconic round building is well-known among Hollywood landmarks. Coleman was one of Lee’s two children with ex-husband Randal Coleman, according to Encyclopedia.com. The former couple also has a daughter, Ava.
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Coleman’s friends shared the loss on social media. The duo Brasstracks was the first group Coleman signed at Capitol. Their debut album Golden ticket is scheduled for release on August 21st.
“We are passionate about passing on our A&R and friend who signed us to Capitol,” she wrote on her Twitter and Instagram profiles. “Quinn’s positivity and passion were infectious, he made everyone around him feel good and always felt like more friend than A&R.”
Coleman was a co-founder of the DC to BC music marketing group that founded the Washington, DC-based music festival Trillectro. It was intended to provide local and upcoming hip-hop and electronic music artists with a location to reach audiences.
The five members in the collective were friends and entrepreneurs who were passionate about music and their city. They evolved from a university radio program to a lifestyle blog to party and event promoters, and became the first promoters to bring Kendrick Lamar to DC and reserve Travis Scott at the festival early in his career, according to Ebony.
Despite technical issues with the inaugural festival in 2012, the organizers, including Coleman, are hosting a total of six festivals from 2012 to 2018.
Models “Modi” Oyewole, who founded DC to BC together with Coleman at Boston College in 2008, wrote on Twitter:
‘The coldest man who’s ever had it, straight up. everything i do now is cuz of this guy. I wish I was half as cool as he was. all the things we had to get into. grateful for the memories, destroyed that making new ends here. rest easy my boy. I love you.”
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Rapper Wale also shared his grief.
“I can not process this – my heart in pieces,” the native DC area wrote on Twitter.
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