Hip-hop mourns the death of Phife Dawg
The hip-hop community mourns in wake of the death of Malik Taylor, the rapper known as Phife Dawg, whose clever rhymes helped send A Tribe Called Quest into both commercial and critical success. Phife died last Tuesday, March, 22, 2016, from complications related to diabetes. Taylor was 45.
Taylor nicknamed himself the Funky Diabetic, and the Five-Foot Assassin, both names which referenced his stature and health problems.
Phife had health issues for many years. He even underwent a kidney transplant in 2008 to help combat a longtime battle with diabetes. “It’s really a sickness,” Phife said in A Tribe Called Quest’s documentary, Beats, Rhymes & Life. “Like straight-up drugs. I’m just addicted to sugar.”
“Malik was our loving husband, father, brother and friend,” his family said in a statement. “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.”
Phife was a founding member of A Tribe Called Quest, a group that was both innovative and broke boundaries, with their genre-blending mix of jazz and hip-hop. Phife and fellow Tribe member Jarobi had planned to start a group together until they met Q-tip and producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The four emerged with 1991’s benchmark album Low End Theory. A number of classic tracks such as “Buggin’ Out,” “Check the Rhime,” and “Scenario” introduced the world to A Tribe Called Quest’s influence which can still be found resonating in the youth today.
“Family, my heart is shattered at the loss of my beautiful son,” Taylor’s mom, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, wrote on Facebook. “Thank you for your love and good wishes. Malik made me so proud, and he was a good and humble son. What holds me is that he brought joy through his music and sports, and that he lived a magical life. He is with his beloved grandmother and his twin brother Mikal today. God bless you Malik Boyce-Taylor. Please send prayers to my daughter-in-law Deisha.”
The group challenged conceptions surrounding hip-hop, including the posturing of gunplay and explicative material. The group also addressed issues around date rape, and the use of the N-word on the Midnight Marauders track “Sucka Nigga.”
Phife Dawg appeared on all five of the group’s studio albums, but most iconically appeared on the Low End Theory and 1993’s Midnight Marauders. Fans around the world intimately vibed with Taylor over tracks like “Can we Kick it,” “Electric Relaxation,” and “Award Tour.”
Taylor moved to Atlanta from New York following the release of Midnight Marauders amist rising tensions and internal fighting within the group. Two more albums would follow, however. 1996’s Dilla co-produced Beats, Rhymes & Life, and 1998’s The Love Movement.
After the group dissolved, Taylor continued his battle with diabetes. He reunited with the group on occasion for live shows, partially to help with medical costs. “Even though I knew I had [diabetes], I was in denial,” Taylor said in the documentary. “I had to have my sugar. You have to accept it. If you don’t accept it, it’s going to kick your ass.”
In an interview with London-based hip-hop blog, The Come-Up Show, Phife stated what he valued most was “good health.”
“Trust me on that one. I mean, you can have all the accolades, all the money, all the cribs, all the women you want to fraternize with, whatever it may be. But, if [your] health ain’t right, you ain’t going to be right. There’s a lot of diseases that […] creep up on you. Diabetes is one of those illnesses, and it finally came and kicked my butt.”