Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington was found dead Thursday morning as a result of a suicide, and his passing has sent waves through the music community.
Musicians across genres have been paying their respects to the 41-year-old, with fellow artists praising Bennington’s talent and character on social media.
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Music group the Black Eyed Peas also took the time to remember Bennington, discussing the late singer with Entertainment Tonight at San Diego Comic-Con Friday.
Read on to see what they had to say.
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‘We built a friendship’
“I mean, we had been in the studio with him a couple months ago, and he seemed in good spirits, so when I heard the news, for me, personally, it devastated me,” group member Taboo said of Bennington.
“I was driving. I remember calling [will.i.am]. I was like, ‘Dude, I can’t believe this. You know, he was just in the studio with us,’ ” Taboo added.
“You know, we built a friendship with him, which is even harder, when you build a friendship outside of working with each other,” he continued. “So our hearts and condolences go to his family and Linkin Park.”
‘We are just devastated’
The group also appeared on Good Morning Britain Friday via a live stream where they were asked about Bennington’s death.
“For someone in music, for someone that we have known for years… I mean we were just with him a month ago,” Digital Spy reports will.i.am as responding. “I just saw him in Amsterdam two months ago. We are sending our hearts to his family and all the other members of Linkin Park.”
“He’s a hero of a lot of people. We are just devastated. It’s a very sad day,” apl.de.ap added.
‘Masters of the Sun’
While speaking with ET, the band also spoke about their graphic novel, Masters of the Sun, created in collaboration with Marvel and illustrator Damion Scott.
“Masters of the Sun is a heroic tale of a group of street kids who battle with an ancient alien god that was sent to Earth to continue the black curse that turns drug dealers and gangsters into zombies, and it ties to conspiracy theories,” will.i.am explained.
“The heroes of the story are this awesome dude and his crew, Zulu X and the Blastmasters, and they’re inspired by their mentor that they find out later is a guy by the name of Master Sun,” he added.
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The novel goes hand-in-hand with an album, which will.i.am described as “jazzy, hip-hop, hard-rocking beats [and] deep lyrics about what’s happened in our community.”
Photo Credit: Twitter / @etnow
