Phife Dawg dies: A Tribe Called Quest star was 'Hip Hop royalty'

The world of hip-hop is in mourning following the death of A Tribe Called Quest's Phife Dawg, aged 45.

The rapper, who had struggled with diabetes for several years, found fame with the group's 1991 single Can I Kick It? and appeared on all five A Tribe Called Quest albums, performing for a final time in November on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

An official statement has not yet been released, but Rolling Stone confirmed the news after DJ Chuck Chillout posted a message on Twitter.

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Dawg founded the "philosophically-focused rap group" in 1985, along with his classmates Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammed, says BBC News. The broadcaster describes his contribution as "a punchy foil to the more mellifluous Q-Tip" on tracks such as Check the Rhime and Scenario.

Rolling Stone singles out the album Low End Theory as a "landmark fusion of hip-hop and jazz" that has influenced countless rappers and producers. It also quotes an interview with Dawg last year, in which he said: "I am in a good spot, but I have my good days and I have my bad days."

The Source website refers to the band simply as "Hip Hop royalty".

Dawg had been a member of one of the greatest rap groups of all time, says XXL magazine, but "was always the underrated one... who had to play the background as Q-Tip emerged as the leader". As a result, "he may have never gotten the roses while he could still smell them".

It was the rapper's "occasionally fractious" relationship with Q-Tip, along with "differing creative opinion and frustration with their label", that led to A Tribe Called Quest's demise, says The Daily Telegraph.

News of his death prompted an outpouring on Twitter, where #RIPPhife has been trending worldwide. Among those to tweet tributes were Public Enemy's Chuck D and producer Mark Ronson, who said Dawg had made "some of the most beloved hip hop ever".