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(AllHipHop News) Progressive Era frontman Joey Bada$$ addresses the recent passing of close friend/rhyme partner Capital STEEZ on Shade 45′s Sway In The Morning. This was the first time Joey decided to speak publicly on the situation of his fellow group member’s death outside of sharing a few condolences to his fallen friend through his twitter account.

“I’ve been trying not to get lost in my thoughts,” Joey admits to Sway. “It truly hurts losing a brother, a best friend. It hurts a lot.”

Reports of Capital STEEZ’s (born Jamal Dewer) death began circulating online on Christmas Day last month. While no official cause of death was announced, it was speculated that the 19-year-old rapper had committed suicide based on a final tweet that appeared on his timeline. The tweet simply read, “The end.” In the interview Joey does confirm that Dewer’s cause of death was indeed “self-inflicted”.

[ALSO READ: Silent Killer: Hip-Hop Can No Longer Ignore Mental Illness]

Mental heath issues have long been a taboo subject in many hip hop circles, but the recent high profile apparent suicides of Capital STEEZ, music executive Chris Lighty, and 22-year-old YouTube artist Freddy E have pushed the discussion to the forefront. Like Lighty and Freddy’s passings, Cap STEEZ’s death was seen by many as shocking especially since the young, up-and-comer and his crew were on the cusp of major stardom. Pro Era had just released their second compilation mixtape, PEEP: The Aprocalypse, three days before STEEZ took his own life, and his solo 2012 digital release, AmeriKKan Korruption, was well received by hip hop critics.

Capital STEEZ first captured the attention of music fans when he appeared alongside Joey Bada$$ in the video for “Survival Tactics” off Joey’s breakout mixtape 1999. The two emcees also trade rhymes on Peep: The Aprocalypse’s “Like Water”, “Interlude 47″, “K.I.N.G.S.”, and “Last”.