Nelson Mandela: The music world reacts As Quincy Jones said in an emotional statement released on Thursday, "Today, as it did while he inhabited our planet, Nelson Mandela's spirit truly soars with the angels." Jones was just one of many in the music world who paid tribute to Mandela, who died on Thursday at 95. In a sweeping essay for Time, U2's Bono hailed the former South African president's influence, writing: "As an activist I have pretty much been doing what Nelson Mandela tells me since I was a teenager." Most musicians flocked to social media to offer tributes. Some posted pictures of the time they met Mandela, while others posted one of his countless influential quotes. In another statement, Roger Waters wrote: "Like most of us, I was never lucky enough to meet the great man, but today I feel I lost a true friend, because like Gandhi and Dr. King, Nelson Mandela was a true friend to all of us." Beyonce took to her Instagram to post a picture of Mandela embracing her at a 2003 concert that he hosted to raise awareness of the spread of HIV/AIDS in South Africa, and she thanked him "for all you have sacrificed to improve the lives of other human beings." As South African countrymen Ladysmith Black Mambazo wrote on Thursday: "If we all keep Mandela's way within us, we can achieve greatness." Here's a sampling of what was said elsewhere in the music world: