Hip-hop legend Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest passed away from “complications resulting from diabetes”.
According to a statement from his family and manager (via Pitchfork), the Five-Foot Assassin succumbed to the Type 1 disease, which he’d been battling for years after first being diagnosed in 1990 and receiving a kidney transplant from his wife in 2008.
Meanwhile, as news of his death at the young age of 45 continues to spread, tributes to the pint-sized MC are beginning to flow in from across the hip-hop community and beyond.
Among them, Kendrick Lamar offered a powerful tribute during his show in Sydney last night, saying: “We lost one of the pioneers of hip-hop today,” and starting an 18,000-person chant for Phife.
Talib Kweli penned a tribute essay forBillboard on Phife Dawg, describing the immense influence he had on both himself and hip-hop itself. “Phife Dawg was authenticity in the flesh,” he writes. “Loyal to a fault and fiercely protective of this culture we call hip-hop, Phife embodies the very best of us. The Trini gladiator, the anti-hesitator — Phife will forever be a part of the reason for the music I love and make a living from. And for that, I owe him the world.”
While on social media, Questlove, Chance The Rapper, Sean Lennon and more have all paid their respects, and Larry Fisherman AKA Mac Miller has shared his own take on Diggy’s famous 5 Foot Assassin freestyle as tribute.
Feel the Phife Dawg love below.
UPDATE 24/03/16, 10.31am: A Tribe Called Quest have also now shared a statement, read it below.
Statement from A Tribe Called Quest:
Our hearts are heavy. We are devastated. This is something we weren’t prepared for although we all know that life is fleeting. It was no secret about his health and his fight. But the fight for his joy and happiness gave him everything he needed. The fight to keep his family happy, his soul happy and those around him happy, gave him complete and unadulterated joy… until he heeded his fathers call.
We love his family his mother, his father, his son, his wife, his nieces, his family here in New York, Atlanta, California and Trinidad.
Thank you for the outpouring of prayers and support from the fans, fellow artists, music outlets, blogs, radio stations, DJ’s, social media and the music community at large. This too is part of his joy and means a lot to him. His family is overwhelmed by the support, well wishes and are thankful. His music and what he’s contributed is seismic and hard to measure. He’s affected us as much as he’s affected all of you. We’re inspired by his daily joy and courage. He wasn’t in pain. He was happy.
We take comfort in knowing he will be beside his grandmother.
Kendrick Lamar makes a request... pays tribute to 5ft Assassin, Phife Dawg Posted by Thomas Vincent Torres on Wednesday, March 23, 2016
King Kendrick Lamar pays tribute to the late Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest Posted by Matt and Alex on Wednesday, March 23, 2016
My Mellotron was tagged by Phife. Thinking of all the great music he brought us. Malik Taylor R.I.P. A photo posted by Sean Ono Lennon (@sean_ono_lennon) on
https://twitter.com/chrisrock/status/712593883960631296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://soundcloud.com/larryfisherman/5-foot-assassin-larry-fisherman-tributeI wanted to hang out with these guys so bad as a teenager. Now I count them among my friends. #RIPPHIFE we love you A photo posted by Talib Kweli (@talibkweli) on
