Tributes continue to come for Pat Stay, the battle rapper who was fatally stabbed in Halifax early Sunday. He was 36.
“hiphop lost one of the best battlers of all time,” tweeted Eminem, who featured Stay on his competition series Road to Total Slaughter. “KINGS NEVER DIE.”
Actor O’Shea Jackson Jr, the eldest son of rap icon Ice Cube, called Stay “a legend in battle rap.” He tweeted: “This s**t hurts my heart. Pat I was a fan man. Such a damn good entertainer. I hate I never got to tell you or meet you. My chest is heavy. This is the whackest s**t man. Rest In Peace Pat Stay…… you will be missed.”
Drake described Stay as “one of my fav rappers ever” and Royce 5'9 tweeted: “He was a GREAT man…” Tom Green called Stay “a legend in hip hop.”
Comedian Jay Pharoah tweeted: “Heart Breaking news and a Major loss to culture and Battle Rap community..RIP Pat Stay ONE OF THE BEST TO EVER DO IT.”
Musician Soul Khan shared: “pat stay was not only one of the most brilliant, natural rappers but also one of the dearest people i ever met. the pat we know, both on and off cam, reached out during tough times and approached people from a place of understanding and love. absolutely f**king devastating loss.”
Author David Dennis Jr. tweeted: “Battle rap and Hip Hop culture as a whole lost a legend. Pat Stay was one of the best to ever do it. [He] was one of the best lyricists of all time and a legitimately hilarious dude.”
Also paying tribute were The Iron Sheik and Andy Milonakis.
Halifax Regional Police were called to a bar in downtown Halifax shortly after 12:35 a.m. local time and found Stay suffering from stab wounds. He was rushed to hospital, where he died.
No arrest has been made.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up by childhood friend Joey Hawkins to support Stay’s partner and two children. “Pat Stay was a very honourable man who was on his way to a bright future,” reads a message on the page, which had raised over $138,000 by Tuesday morning.
On Stay’s Instagram account, a post (marked “edited”) from only days before his death reads: “Imagine if we treated all of our friends and loved ones as if we knew their days were numbered.”