Upon the death of late battle rapper Pat Stay, Eminem and Royce Da 5'9′′ paid respect to him with video tributes.
The two Detroit MCs expressed their sympathies to Stay's family and friends in advance of a fundraiser arranged in his memory to celebrate his rapping skills and the way he handled himself as a person.
“I just wanna send my condolences out to the Pat Stay family and friends,” Eminem said. “Bro, I know we never got a chance to meet, but I’ve been a huge fan of yours for years. The level that you rap to, it’s like the pinnacle of battle rap. It doesn’t get any higher than the level that you rapped at. I just wanna say, we’re gonna miss you, bro. Hip Hop is gonna miss you. We lost a legend.”
Royce Da 5’9” added: “I’d just like to take the opportunity to send my deepest condolences to Pat Stay’s family. I don’t even know if I can put into words how great of a man I felt that he was. Aside from being an amazing rapper, I had the honor and the privilege to be able to build somewhat of a personal relationship with the man, and that’s pretty rare to be able to do in this business.”
Classified, some other Nova Scotia rapper, shared the videos on his Instagram account, appreciating Em and Royce for sending them and admitting how much he admired them.
“wanna give a big thanks to @royceda59 and @eminem for sending us these two videos to play at Patstay’s Benefit today,” he said. “we all knew Pat was the Best at what he did, but when you hear it from two legends like this, it just makes you even more proud.”
He continued: “i really wish Pat was here to see the outpouring of love he has been getting, i wish i could talk to Pat and see the reaction on his face after seeing the love he has been getting from guys he’s looked up to for so long. Rip @patstay_902i.”
Pat Stay, 36, was attacked at the Yacht Club Social in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on September 4 at around 12:30 a.m., leaving him severely injured and dying in the hospital. On September 10, a crime suspect, 31-year-old Adam Drake, was arrested in Tantallon and charged with first-degree murder.
Eminem first mourned Pat Stay's death in a tweet, stating, "Hip Hop lost one of the best battlers of all time."RIP @patstay, r... KINGS Never DIE!!"
Royce Da 5'9" also posted an Instagram photo of Stay with the remark, "A GREAT man... Rest peacefully.