Jin hasn’t battled in over 17 years, but in honor of late Canadian battle rap vet Pat Stay, the former Freestyle Friday champ got back in the ring one more time.
The battle went down at King Of The Dot Entertainment’s “Stay Forever’ weekend in Toronto on February 25 and 26. KOTD returned to the city for the first time in five years in an effort to raise money for the Stay family and honor Pat’s life.
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While Jin went up against fellow rap battle vet Illmac, other big names on the lineup included Hollow Da Don, Charlie Clips, Rone, Dumfounded and more.
“Battling again after a 17-year absence was not on my bingo card for 2023,” Jin said in an Instagram post with a photo from the stage. “And yet here we are. This was for Pat Stay. But in some serendipitous way, I can literally hear Pat saying to me right now, ‘This was also for you Jin. Now stop getting all watery eyed like a little girl as you type this.'”
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He continued: “Thank you @kotdtv @organikhiphop @ninobless for pulling this all together. Thank you @illmactv for bringing the class, skill and energy we needed to make this special for the people. Thank you @iamcarolcay for holding down the fort and your tireless efforts that went into making sure this could happen for me. Thank you to all my battle rap peers and family who continue to push this thing we love and cherish forward, while preserving the essence of it.”
“Thank you to each person that approached me with the gleam in their eyes, expressing what my contribution to battle rap and presence in their youth means to them. Lastly, thank you @patstay_902 for reminding me “Bro, you’re Jin!!!” #StayForever #LongLivePatStay #BattleRapChangedMyLife #SeeYallin17Years”
While wearing a hoodie dedicated to Stay, Jin also dropped a freestyle from his car.
Pat Stay was fatally stabbed at The Yacht Club Social in Halifax on the morning of September 4, 2022. 31-year-old Adam Drake was arrested days later on charges of first-degree murder.
As the investigation got underway, police suggested Stay’s murder wasn’t a random act of violence. A preliminary inquiry was scheduled for September after Drake appeared in Halifax provincial court by telephone from the Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Pictou County. The hearing will determine if there is sufficient evidence for Drake to proceed to a jury trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
