Joe Budden, SZA, and more shared some beautiful messages about their late friend, Jas Waters, also known as Jas Fly, who passed away earlier this week at 39 years old. The news broke on Wednesday (June 10th) that Jas, a prominent hip hop journalist and TV writer for shows like This Is Us and Kidding, had died. Although her cause of death is still unknown, the news was devastating for those who knew and loved Jas. Many took to social media to pay their respects.
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Late Wednesday night, Joe took to Instagram to remember Jas. “Many of us are in a lot of pain tonight,” he wrote on a photo of Jas, “and the person who would know the perfect thing to say to brighten our spirits has gone home….. i love you, trust you and will miss you.. Rest peacefully Queen Jas.”
SZA also paid tribute to Jas on social media by retweeting one of her old tweets with a kind message. “You had a purpose before anyone had an opinion,” Jas had written back in 2015. “Remember that. And when asked ‘who do you think you are?’ answer ‘whom I was created to be.'” SZA quoted this wisdom with, “Thank you for your time here and honest perfectly put words. Rest in Love queen.”
Fellow writer Issa Rae took to Twitter as well to tell a story about the first time she got an interview with Jas. “I‘ll never forget being so excited to get an interview w/ @JasFly for Necole Bitchie back when I was working on ABG,” Issa recalled. “I could feel her warmth through the phone. Over the years, I got to know & appreciate her even more. She was so generous, beautiful and REAL. I’ll miss you, girl.”
Rest in peace, Jas. Sending our love to her friends and family.