DJ Envy and his wife Gia Casey are reeling from the loss of her mother Norma Grante on Tuesday (May 4). The Queens, New York native and co-host of The Breakfast Club announced Grante’s passing in a heartfelt post on Instagram the following day.
Envy (born RaaShaun Casey) revealed he and his wife prepared to board an airplane toward an island destination before receiving the news of her death over the phone.
His post contains three photos including himself standing next to his late mother-in-law during his and Gia’s wedding day, him and Grante embracing each other and Grante with Gia during her childhood.
“This is extremely difficult to write … How do you tell your wife that everything is going to be alright, when her best friend is no longer here?” he wrote in the caption. “We were supposed to be on an island right now but just hours before we boarded, we got the worst call imaginable.”
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DJ Envy added more reflective thoughts in his eulogy about how Grante was one of his few supporters early in his career while many others didn’t believe in his DJ aspirations.
The DJ Clue protégé eventually became one of New York City’s most popular mixtape and nightclub DJs in the late 1990s and early 2000s before evolving into one of the leading voices in urban radio on Power 105 FM in Hip Hop’s birthplace.
He has introduced the start of most episodes of the syndicated four-hour morning talk show with co-hosts Charlamagne Tha God and Angela Yee since its 2010 inception.
“I tell the story all the time about me choosing ‘Dj’ing’ as my career,” he continued in the caption. “Everybody laughed and thought I was crazy, but not Gia’s mom. Norma said, ‘Do what makes you happy & “fuck everybody else. If there’s anything you need, just come to me.’
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“Yesterday, Norma Grante passed away. She was loving, ever supportive and such a major part of our lives and my career. I Miss You And Will Always Love You.”
The cause of death was not disclosed at press time.
HipHopDX extends its condolences to the Casey and Grante’s families and friends.
