Another link to Hot-97's past is gone. 17-year station veteran Cipha Sounds was unceremoniously fired yesterday after he criticized the station's management.

Sounds had been given Hot-97's 3 PM to 7 PM slot this summer after Angie Martinez jumped to rival Power 105. But he was never told the move was permanent and last week he learned that he was being replaced by new hire Nessa Nitty, who you may know from MTV's Girl Code.

On Monday, Sounds appeared on Hot-97 morning cohost Peter Rosenberg's Juan Epstein podcast and said he was blindsided by the decision to replace him, wished the station had considered him as the permanent afternoon host, and added that he wasn't sure if he had a future at Hot-97.

One boss told me one thing, another boss told me another thing, they then fired one of those bosses, another boss came in an told me one things, and then a boss of another station came in and became our boss and told me another thing. All nice people, all different opinions on what the show should be and how it should run," he told Rosenberg.

Hot-97, which has recently fallen behind rival station Power 105 in the ratings, lost another veteran in November when DJ Mister Cee resigned. Funkmaster Flex is now the station's only link to its illustrious past, and he's been acting a little strange lately.