NEW YORK — Phife Dawg, a masterful lyricist whose witty wordplay was a linchpin of the groundbreaking hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, died Tuesday from complications resulting from diabetes, his family said in a statement on Wednesday. He was 45.
Born Malik Isaac Taylor, he was known as the “Five Foot Assassin” because he was 5 feet 3 inches tall.
“Malik was our loving husband, father, brother and friend. We love him dearly. How he impacted all our lives will never be forgotten. His love for music and sports was only surpassed by his love of God and family,” the statement read.
The family did not disclose any other details.
Taylor, who earned respect for his skillful and thoughtful rhymes, was part of a number of rap classics with Tribe, including “Scenario,” “Bonita Applebum,” “Can I Kick It?” and “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo,” among others.
“I like ’em brown, yellow, Puerto Rican or Haitian, name is Phife Dawg from the Zulu Nation,” he famously rapped on “Electric Relaxation.”
Taylor grew up in Queens, New York, with fellow Tribe member Q-Tip. In high school, the two met Ali Shaheed Muhammad, who is from Brooklyn, to form Tribe. Jarobi White later joined the group. The collective – known for its artistic songs and lyrics – recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of their debut album, “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.”
They were pioneers of rap, blending genres like jazz into hip-hop and offering rap fans a different sound and style than the gangsta rap that dominated airwaves at the time.
Taylor and Q-Tip were known for trading words on songs and playing off one another.
“I was just learning,” Taylor said in a recent interview with The Associated Press when asked about recording the group’s 1990 debut album. “I was just watching Q-Tip.”
In the November interview, he was just as passionate about rap as he was when the Tribe launched its career. The group had some tense moments – seen in the 2011 documentary “Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest” – but thoughts of re-grouping were being considered. To celebrate the group’s 25th anniversary, they performed together on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Taylor said he was ready to tour again with his band mates.
“I’m going to speak for myself – that’s always the case for me, whether we’re together or not. These are my brothers. I know nothing but them. I only wanna work with them,” he told the AP. “In terms of going on tour, I wanna go on tour with them.”
Tribe proved influential to rappers, from Pharrell to Busta Rhymes. The music world and other celebrities mourned Taylor on Wednesday, including actors Chris Rock and Don Cheadle, DJ-producer Mark Ronson, musician Sean Lennon, country singer Darius Rucker, R&B singer Jill Scott as well as rappers Chuck D, Big Sean, Macklemore and Swizz Beatz.
“Today is a dark day in hip-hop,” rapper Talib Kweli tweeted.
At his Wednesday concert in Sydney, Australia, Kendrick Lamar spoke about Taylor’s influence on him and had the audience of 18,000 chant the late rapper’s name.
“We lost one of the pioneers in hip-hop today by the name of Phife Dawg,” Lamar said.
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