Biography:

Patrick Wayne Stay (18 February 1986 – 4 September 2022), known professionally as Pat Stay was a Canadian battle rapper. He is best known as a battle rapper having appeared in the leagues Ultimate Rap League (URL), King of the Dot, and Rare Breed Entertainment (RBE). He was the longest reigning Canadian KOTD champion, defending his title three times successfully^[1]. Black Entertainment Television (BET) included Pat Stay in their list of top 50 battle rappers, writing that he was “one of the coolest personas in the battle rap space” ^[2].

Origins

Pat Stay’s early career was in the Elements League, one of the first accapella battle rap leagues ^[3]. After Elements, Pat Stay became a regular at King of the Dot where he was involved in important early battles such as his battles with Scribble Jam champion The Saurus and former KOTD champion Hollohan ^[4].

Following his success in Canada, he would battle overseas including Hollow Da Don and Tony D in England, Nils M/Skils in Europe, and in the USA battling rappers including Tay Roc and Shotgun Suge on URL, DNA on U Dubb, and Danny Myers and Aye Verb on RBE ^[5].

Reign as King of the Dot champion

Pat Stay battled KOTD tournament winner Arcane for the title of King of the Dot champion in 2013 following Arcane successfully beating American emcee Dizaster for the title ^[6]. Pat Stay would go on to be the most successful Canadian champion ^[7], defending his title three times (vs. Dizaster, Daylyt & Charron)^[8]. He would lose his title to Illmaculate ^[9] in 2015 .

Career

Pat Stay was called out by Shaquille O’Neal who, following a shoutout on Twitter, challenged him to battle Shaq’s cousin, with Pat Stay winning the battle ^[10].

Following his success in the title match against Charron, Drake (musician) invited Pat Stay was invited to appear on the Eminem-backed TV show Road to Total Slaughter, which he appeared on for one season ^[1].

Pat Stay created music under his name. When The Game (rapper) made a track aimed at Eminem, Pat Stay responded by calling out The Game for saying that Eminem was only successful because he was white and challenging him to a rap battle ^[11]. Initially The Game blocked Pat Stay’s accounts ^[12], but following news of Pat’s death, he sent a social media post saying “god bless his family” ^[13].

Pat Stay was also known for his comedic acting, starring in the webseries Unreasonable Rob ^[10]where he played a misogynistic and belligerent alpha male. He also had a part as a battle rapper in the Eminem-backed movie Bodied ^[14].

Personal Life and Death

Stay was the father to two children.^[15].

On 4 September 2022, Pat Stay was in Halifax to attend a wedding. The Halifax Regional Police responded to reports of a stabbing and identified Patrick Wayne Stay as the stabbed victim they had found^[16] in the 1600 block of Lower Water Street in Halifax, Canada ^[17]. The rapper was taken to hospital, but died of his injuries.

Following his death, there was an outpouring of tributes to the fallen rapper. Notable tributes included the rappers Eminem who called him “the pinnacle of battle rap” ^[18], Royce da 5’9″ who called him an “amazing rapper” ^[18], and fellow Canadian Drake (musician) who called him “one of my fav (sic) rappers ever” ^[19]. Other important figures in the rap industry, such as The Alchemist (musician), tweeted his catchphrase ‘I can moonwalk with steel toe boots on’ ^[20]. URL also released a tribute video featuring dedications by notable battle rappers Hollow Da Don and Arsonal ^[21].

Nova Scotia’s Liberal party leader Zach Churchill led a tribute to the fallen rapper in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly^[22]. He rapped a homage to Pat Stay’s using his style and including his catchphrase “~ so bad right now” ^[23].

The head of KOTD, Organik, announced that they intend to hold a memorial to celebrate Pat Stay ^[24].

Credits:

Wikitia