Laid to Rest: Phife Dawg of a Tribe Called Quest, 1970-2016
The world of hip hop, all of music in fact, is one man down. Phife Dawg, a founding member of the breakthrough New York City group A Tribe Called Quest, died of complications from diabetes on March 22, 2016.
RIP Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest, 1970-2016
Phife, his co-founder Q-Tip, and later bandmates Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White set new standards of musicality, lyricism and intellect with their work. But you didn’t have to hear one second of their magically rhythmic tracks to know that Phife had a way with words: his group was called A Tribe Called Quest, their albums had magnetic names like The Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders, The Love Movement.
People were immediately drawn to nomenclature that poetic, realizing that good things were certain to follow in their tracks—and Phife and his collaborators rarely disappointed.
Born with the name Malik Taylor in Queens on November 20, 1970, Phife would go on to help solidify New York City’s global leadership in hip hop. New York facilities like Battery Studios, Greene Street Studios, and Soundtrack all benefited from his vision. Revered NYC audio resource Bob Power recorded and mixed Phife’s visions in the group’s landmark 1991 album The Low End Theory, calling it no less than “the Sgt. Pepper’s of hip hop.”
“Phife was more than a perfect foil for Q-Tip,” Power told SonicScoop. “The balance between the two — and contrast, in both their rapping styles and lyrical agenda — was one thing that made the group work so well.
“In the studio, Phife was pretty much the same off-mic as on. Not the constant wise guy, but certainly very quick on his (verbal) feet. Fun to be around, and certainly all heart. Knew more about basketball than most pro sports commentators. And if you think about the track ‘Scenario,’ you know that he was not verbally cowed by anyone!”
No matter what side of the glass you work on, that’s the sort of influence we all dream of. An expert weaver of rhythm and language, Phife Dawg’s musical contributions will always live on.
Prepare to be aurally astounded by “Scenario”:
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