A Tribe Called Quest rapper Phife Dawg dead at 45

A Tribe Called Quest rapper Phife Dawg has died at the age of 45, The Telegraph reports based on news from the hip-hop community. Phife suffered from diabetes and had recently been in ill health, receiving a kidney transplant from his wife in 2008. The exact cause of death is not yet known.

A native of Queens, New York, Phife — who was born Malik Isaac Taylor — co-founded the influential rap group A Tribe Called Quest in 1985 with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

While the music certainly speaks for itself, watch Phife talk about his career with I Am Hip-Hop below. Jeva Lange

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