The hip-hop lifestyle magazine Vibe has ceased publication, effective immediately, editor-in-chief Danyel Smith and former Vibe Media Group CEO Steve Aaron informed staff via internal memos Tuesday (6/30).

"It is with great sadness, and with heads held high, that we leave the building today," Smith wrote. "We were assigning and editing a Michael Jackson tribute issue when we got the news. It's a tragic week overall, but as the doors of the Vibe Media Group close, on the eve of the magazine's 16th anniversary, it's a sad day for music, for hip hop in particular, and for the millions of readers and users who have loved and continue to love the Vibe brand."