The world misplaced a significant cultural icon on Monday with the passing of Sly Stone. The Sly and the Family Stone frontman was greater than only a groundbreaking musician. As one of many first racially built-in bands through the peak of the Civil Rights period, Stone additionally helped to dismantle racial limitations and promote a message of unity.
It’s a permanent legacy that has not gone unnoticed within the music world and past. Back in January, Hulu premiered a documentary about Stone’s influence on the world in Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius). So it’s hardly stunning that the six-time Grammy winner was one of many first to weigh in on the large gap left behind by Stone’s passing.
Related: Legendary Funk Rock Innovator Dies at 82
In a transferring Instagram submit, Questlove shared his personal obituary of the late, nice artist, writing:
“Sly Stone, born Sylvester Stewart, left this earth today, but the changes he sparked while here will echo forever. From the moment his music reached me in the early 1970s, it became a part of my soul. Sly was a giant—not just for his groundbreaking work with the Family Stone, but for the radical inclusivity and deep human truths he poured into every note. His songs weren’t just about fighting injustice; they were about transforming the self to transform the world. He dared to be simple in the most complex ways—using childlike joy, wordless cries, and nursery rhyme cadences to express adult truths. His work looked straight at the brightest and darkest parts of life and demanded we do the same.”
The Roots singer/drummer went on to share that Stone had confronted various struggles, together with an habit that compelled him out of the highlight for fairly some time. “But he lived long enough to outlast many of his disciples, to feel the ripples of his genius return through hip-hop samples, documentaries, and his memoir,” Questlove continued. “Still, none of that replaces the raw beauty of his original work. As I reflect on his legacy, two lines haunt me: ‘We deserve everything we get in this life’—a line from the Sly Lives! documentary that feels like both a warning and a manifestation—and, of course, the eternal cry of ‘Everyday People’: ‘We got to live together!’ Once idealistic, now I hear it as a command. Sly’s music will likely speak to us even more now than it did then. Thank you, Sly. You will forever live.”
Questlove wasn’t the one musician to pay tribute to Stone. Public Enemy frontman Chuck D gave due to The Roots singer for his stellar documentary, and posted “Rest in beats Sly Stone” to his Instagram.
Rest In Beats SLY Stone ..and we should always THANK @questlove of @theroots for preserving his FIRE blazing on this Century. 2 documentaries and ebook . GET EM pic.twitter.com/avFoE2qUlA
— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) June 9, 2025
………and The Family Stone Rest In Beats SLY pic.twitter.com/sdUx9ob1Mw
— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) June 9, 2025
Comedian Steve Martin proved that Stone’s influence went far past the music world along with his personal submit to X, through which he recalled how Stone “was always positive and fabulously funkified.”
"Everybody is a star…"
Sly Stone was at all times constructive and fabulously funkified.
Dug all of it.
RIP#SlyStone— Steve Martin (@UnrealBluegrass) June 9, 2025
Queen Latifah remembered Stone as an “innovator and “funk aficionado.”
RIP to Sly Stone. Innovator, funk aficionado, and frontman of Sly & The Family Stone pic.twitter.com/W2DlX8GIci
— Queer Latifah 🥂 (@TheAfrocentricI) June 9, 2025
If you need to study concerning the musically profound & complicated lifetime of Sly Stone, Questlove just lately launched his documentary on Hulu & Disney Plus. Worth a watch to honor the genius behind Sly & the Family Stone and funk as we all know it. pic.twitter.com/DEItUYrW6M
— Queer Latifah 🥂 (@TheAfrocentricI) June 9, 2025
Bosch star Titus Welliver shared his disappointment over Stone’s dying, describing him as “The greatest musician of mine since I was a kid. We will never again see a genius such as his.”
Sly Stone has departed. The best musician of mine since I used to be a child. We won’t ever once more see a genius corresponding to his. RIP King pic.twitter.com/ljP5MOOa3V
— TitusWelliver (@welliver_titus) June 9, 2025
Actress/singer Holly Robinson Peete posted a message on to the artist, saying: “You didn’t just make music—you shifted the culture. As kids in Philly, my brother played Sly, I was Cynthia on my imaginary horn. We lived your music.
Rest in power, Sly Stone. 🎶💔
You didn’t just make music—you shifted the culture.
As kids in Philly, my brother played Sly, I was Cynthia on my imaginary horn.
We lived your music.
You gave us the groove & the message.
Thank you, genius. 🙏🏾#SlyStone #RestInPower #FamilyAffair pic.twitter.com/N5O2TDNvOP— Holly Robinson Peete 💃🏾♍️ (@hollyrpeete) June 9, 2025
Discussion about this post