While the legendary five-foot assassin tragically passed away in March this year, his legacy is certainly sticking around for a lot longer. While many succumbed to the thought of never hearing new Tribe again, low and behold, A Tribe Called Quest came through with an incredible new record just weeks ago, composed entirely in secrecy, and shocking the world. Now for fans, there is even better news, Phife Dawg’s widow says that he has an entire album ready for release.
During a press conference held before the momentous co-naming of Linden Boulevard to Malik ‘Phife Dawg’ Way, Desha Head Taylor, revealed that there is in fact new material on its way, and it’s not far away at all. “His solo album will be out probably sometime during the first quarter of 2017. He completed his entire solo album before he transitioned, so we’re excited about releasing that.”
Taylor then went on to speak about his enthusiasm for Tribe’s latest album, We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service, saying “he was really excited about this project”, explaining times she was luckily enough to have glimpses into the work, “he would make a certain face when hearing the beat, he would make a frown like ‘I’m feeling this'”.
The upcoming solo album, which in it’s early stages was to be titled Give Thanks, will serve as the highly anticipated and follow-up to his 2000 solo debut, Ventilaton: Da LP. First teased with his J Dilla produced gem Nutshell, it was a bold first taste of what’s to come.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cujUZvwqVjA
Phife’s debut boasted production from not only Jay Dee, but Hi-Tek, Pete Rock and more, and A Tribe Called Quest’s latest record featured the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Andre 3000 and Anderson .Paak to name just a few, so who knows what kind of heavyweight collaborations may be lurking amongst the tracklist of Phife’s last album.
One thing is for certain, we can’t wait to find out!
Image: Okayplayer
The hip-hop world has been steaming this week with the incredibly exciting news that one final A Tribe Called Quest album will be coming out in just two weeks from now. According to a handwritten note distributed by Q-Tip, the album was recorded after the Paris bombings of November 2015, with enough completed before the untimely death of Phife Dawg earlier this year, that the release was ready to be fully realised.
In a fabulous new interview with the New York Times, Q-Tip has now revealed more details about the album, as well as a long discussion about his relationship with Phife Dawg, the creation of the last album, and having had to deal with his passing at just 45 years old.
Set for release next Friday, November 11, the album title is We Got It From Here, Thank You For Your Service, a title which sounds sentimental, and was initially conceived by Phife Dawg. As well as all four members of A Tribe Called Quest featuring on the album – Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Jarobi White and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, special guests including Jack White, Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder, Busta Rhymes, André 3000 and Sir Elton John will be adding their own flavours to the forthcoming record. This is huge news considering the calibre and respect that these names hold; André 3000 has certainly enjoyed one hell of a resurgence in 2016, while Jack White appeared on Beyoncé’s album earlier this year, and Kendrick Lamar, well, he’s Kendrick Lamar. And he was in Sydney on the night Phife Dawg died, leading the crowd in an emotional chant honouring the late legend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Zqol7ARCk
The album was conceived and created well before Phife had any indication that his days might be numbered. It was their first new record in 18 years and they were incredibly excited about what it might entail.
After playing their first live TV performance in 15 years, the group were inspired to write a new record, and it wasn’t long before they set to it in Q-Tip’s studio. The studio, called “phenomenal” by Busta Rhymes, was reportedly decorated with ” bamboo floors and pink mood lights” to create a “warm aesthetic.” It was also something of a living museum, with equipment collected from across the music globe. The recording board had previously been used by Blondie and The Ramones, a tape reel used by Frank Zappa, and other equipment acquired from the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.
Interestingly, the group had decided that anyone involved in recording the album were required to actually visit the studio and work together as a group, which doesn’t always happen these days, considering that many artists simply record their music or features and send it away. “Everybody spat their rhymes in front of each other. We were throwing ideas around together,” said Busta Rhymes.
Jack White arrived without any equipment and began to use one of the guitars in the studio. Tip and Jack had met before, and were fans of each others’ work. “We really didn’t know what we were doing, it was just a ‘hurry up and press record’ kind of moment,” said Q-Tip.
Jack White has an ongoing relationship with hip-hop and many rappers, and it seems like it stretches far back to even his childhood. “They were trying to break new ground, and they had a musicologist’s attitude toward what they were doing with their samples,” he said. “I mean, you’ve got Can I Kick It? over a Lou Reed sample from Walk on the Wild Side. That really showed that they were miles and miles deeper than most other people in pop music.”
https://youtu.be/O3pyCGnZzYA
The album’s creation process was as exciting as ever, with a reinvigorated energy permeating through the studio walls and each artist involved. “I seen them laughing and joking and high-fiving, and you can just see that young, invigorated ‘we’re-just-getting-our-first-opportunity-to-do-this’ energy again!
“I hadn’t seen Phife that happy since we were kids.”
Q-Tip was emotional when he discussed finishing the album after Phife’s death. “Sometimes I just have to like take a break and walk away. It gets heavy. It doesn’t necessarily get sad, it just gets heavy. I literally feel the energy from him when I hear his voice.”
“I just want to celebrate him, you know?”
The interview can be read in full here. It also reveals that a completed Phife Dawg solo album should be coming out in 2017.
Image: New York Times / Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images
Sunday, November 20 will be the birthday of late legend Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor, the game-changing A Tribe Called Quest rapper who sadly passed away earlier this year at just 45 years old. The day will be commemorated one day early this year, with the official unveiling of a newly renamed street in his home area of Queens, New York. At 1 pm on Saturday November 19, the corner of Linden Boulevard at 192nd Street in St Albans, Queens, will officially be renamed Malik ‘Phife Dawg’ Taylor Way.
The site marks the corner where the iconic video for Tribe’s Check The Rhime was filmed, and where there currently lies a mural in honour of A Tribe Called Quest. The renaming was instated by Daneek Miller, council representative of District 27. It was later approved by New York mayor Bill de Blasio, and will be unveiled by his family and loved ones. Said Phife’s wife, Deisha Head Taylor, “The thought of having Linden Boulevard at 192, renamed to Malik ‘Phife Dawg’ Taylor is indescribable. This is a perfect representation of who Malik was, and what Queens meant to him. Whenever he mentioned Queens, Linden Boulevard at 192, was a focal point of reference, so I am certain he would be pleased with having it renamed in his honour. We are extremely grateful for those who were part of the entire process; from the initial effort to the signing of the bill, this historical moment means so much to his family, friends, and fans.”
His mother, poet Cheryl Boyce-Taylor added, “I’m in awe as an immigrant mother. My family came from Trinidad to the US in the 50’s and 60’s. We worked as housekeepers, nannies and home attendants to educate ourselves and our children. For a moment I lost faith in this country. The renaming of 192nd St. & Linden after my son Malik, has made my American Dream come through. I am so happy. He was an incredible child. I was blessed to know and love him.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QWEPdgS3As
Read more: Unearthed Phife Dawg interview provides insight into ATCQ breakup and more
Read more: Flashback Friday Phife Dawg edition: A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory
The hip-hop world is still mourning the passing of A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg, who passed away in March at age 45. Now, it has been announced that a street in Queens, New York, will be renamed in tribute to the legend, who lost his life due to complications related to diabetes.
Linden Boulevard, situated on 192nd Street in St Albans, Queens, will soon be renamed Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor Way. A mural is already in place at the back of a dry cleaning store on the street, featuring the famous artwork of Tribe’s groundbreaking sophomore album The Low End Theory.
Image: Fact
The street held particular importance for Phife and Q-Tip, who grew up there and referenced it at least six times in Tribe songs, most notably on Check the Rhime (“Back in the days on the boulevard of Linden, / We used to kick routines and presence was fittin’ / It was I the abstract”), Steve Biko (“Linden Boulevard represent, represent / Tribe Called Quest represent, represent”), Jazz (We’ve Got) (“Make sure you have a system with some phat house speakers / So the new shit can rock, from Mars to Massapequa / Cause where I come from quality is job one / And everybody up on Linden know we get the job done”) and 1nce Again (“I fought my shit up on Linden in the one-nine-two / Forever writing never biting ain’t shit else to do”).
Read our special edition tribute Flashback Friday on ATCQ’s “The Low End Theory”
Image: Brian Ach via New York Daily News
The world is still grieving after the sudden and devastating death of Phife Dawg. The five foot assassin was one of the most influential figures in hip-hop, and provided so much inspiration to so many people around the world, many artists who we now revere today included. Tributes continue to flow to honour his legacy, and whilst words don’t quite do it justice, they do serve as a way we can remember him as the incomparable, incredible artist that he was.
As revealed on DJBooth recently, a lost interview from 2001 with the man himself has now come to light. Providing a glimpse into not only the state of his promising solo career which he had just embarked on, but also insights into the demise of his group, A Tribe Called Quest and his thoughts on the then-state of hip-hop, it’s a must-read for any Phife fan.
On his solo endeavour (which had recently been released just prior to this interview), Phife spoke about the change in dynamic and how he then only had himself to answer to. He goes onto say that the ideas he worked on for his solo album were in his mind for a long time, but that he had to “chill” as “I wasn’t only representing myself, I was representing 2 other individuals so I always had to hold back on certain things and represent what Tribe was all about.”
“Now that I was on a solo mission, it was all about me, so I put my best foot forward and did what I had to do. It was a little bit difficult of course because you didn’t have the other 2 around to like really conversate on what should go down and what shouldn’t, but at the same time we were a veteran group so it was about that time for me to do my own thing anyway. I think it came at the right time. It just didn’t work out the way I wanted it to.”
Not working out the way he wanted to was also discussed, as Phife previously mentioned before this question that he was not happy with how the release of his album went. “I was happy with it as far as what we achieved in the studio and what we put together, but as far as the marketing and distribution, no I wasn’t happy at all, and it wasn’t the labels fault it was actually the distributors,” citing that the distributors only distributed the record to “40% of the markets.”
“It did well for the markets that it was in but it could have done better and I felt like it was a waste a time basically, and I hate working my tail off and it goes in vain.”
Phife went onto imply that their label at the time, Jive, was part of the reason the group broke up. Saying that the label were “embracing the Backstreet Boys thing and the N’Sync and Brittany Spears thing,” he detailed the tension that stemmed from this. When asked if Jive was the reason for the break, he replied, “Jive is one reason, and at the same time being together for ten years is a very long time. We needed a break so to speak, so we could go off and venture into different things, but it didn’t have to go down the way that it did.”
The interview then delves into the “political bullshit” of the break up, as well as their last album, The Love Movement and Phife’s involvement in it (or lack there of). It’s a very interesting read, and you can see it for yourself here.
Image: DJBooth
It was only a little over two weeks ago that Phife Dawg, aka Malik Izaak Taylor, aka the Five-Foot Assassin passed away from diabetic complications. In the time since he passed, Nutshell, a track featuring a beat from J Dilla from his would-be next album Give Thanks, was released, and the majority of the hip-hop community has come out to share words on the late great.
A tribute held at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem went down today, with Busta Rhymes, Kanye West, The Roots, D’Angelo, André 3000, Chuck D, Consequence, KRS-One and A Tribe Called Quest all paying respect among family and friends. There were a number of performances, including D’Angelo and the Roots together with You’ve Got A Friend, and video messages from a number of NBA players old and new. Kanye swapped words with Dave Chappelle who was sitting in the audience, and claimed that “Anything I ever did wrong, blame Tip and Phife because y’all raised me.” Busta Rhymes came to tears talking about Phife’s influence on him, and “[thanked] my man Malik Taylor, Phife Dawg, the Five-Foot Assassin, for being the big brother I needed when I was at a crossroads in my life,” André 3000 divulged plans between Outkast and A Tribe Called Quest to collaborate on an album, among many other things said. Check a loop of the tribute below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMqcyX1w3XY
Kanye tribute to Phife. . Apollo Theater
A video posted by @memewilliams on Apr 5, 2016 at 5:37pm PDT
A video posted by EDUARDO DONOSO (@e.donosonyc) on Apr 5, 2016 at 5:25pm PDT
A video posted by Lyric Jones (@lyricjones) on Apr 5, 2016 at 5:58pm PDT
For a man who had such an impact on music, on the creation of a genre, and the careers of so many, no doubt the tributes will continue. At age 45, Phife, the self-proclaimed ‘funky diabetic’, was taken far too quickly – but the feeling of the tribute, and general sentiments following his passing, are that it was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. We are better for having known him, and he lives on in, in his impact, and of course his music.
Check out our flashback to A Tribe Called Quest’s Low End Theory here.
Image: Acclaim
The music world was caught off guard by the unexpected, and tragic death of the one and only Phife Dawg. A hip-hop great, he pioneered the genre with his sharp flow, wicked lyrics and his knack for knowing what sounds good before anyone else. The hip-hop community, and world at large have been openly mourning this huge loss, with the likes of Kendrick Lamar and many more taking time out from their performances to pay tribute to the legend.
A tribute concert is happening right now for Phife Dawg, but whilst that is happening, a brand new track has been released. It has been teased for a day or so, and now the moment has finally arrived. Titled Nutshell, the track sees Phife rapping over a sublime beat from none other than J Dilla– a match made in musical heaven.
The accompanying visuals kick off and end with Phife’s peers and colleagues talking about how much he meant to them, and what he is in a “nutshell”. In the middle of the clip, it’s Phife himself rapping in a graffitied warehouse – a bittersweet symbol of such a talent gone too soon. His lyrics are brash, hard hitting and full of that braggadocio that made him so loved. A fitting tribute, indeed.
Check out the clip below, and while you’re at it read our retrospective on A Tribe Called Quest‘s The Low End Theory.
Image: nextimpulsesports.com
Since his untimely passing last week, the tributes within the hip-hop community have flooded in for Malik “Phife Dawg” Isaac Taylor. Now, fans have started a petition to honour the rapper by naming a street in New York City after the legendary group he was a part of.
Linden Boulevard in Queens could soon become known as “A Tribe Called Quest Boulevard” after fans created a petition for the name change. The goal is to reach 5,000 signatures at Change.org before it will brought to Council member Daneek Miller and Speaker Melissa Mark- Viverito, who will ultimately decide whether or not the street will be renamed. At the time of writing it currently has over 4,000 signatures.
Phife Dawg died of complications from diabetes last week at the age of just 45-years old and since then tributes have continued to come in for him.
“It’s not just a Queens thing, because he was from Queens, it’s a world thing. The world is hurting because Phife and A Tribe Called Quest impacted the whole world,” DJ Enuff told PIX 11.
“Phife was the type of cat that articulated everything. He respected his craft,” Kool DJ Red Alert said.
While Chuck D labelled him a “hip-hop and rap word warrior”, and actor Elijah Wood called him a “pioneer.” Last week in Sydney, Kendrick Lamar delivered a rousing speech about Phife, starting a chant from his 18,000 crowd.
The influential A Tribe Called Quest were formed in 1986 in the local Queens area and went on to achieve huge success and popularity, and are often cited as one of the greatest hip hop groups ever.
The rest of the group, which includes Q-Tip, Jarobi White, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad posted a message about Phife’s passing shortly after the news last Tuesday.
“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 father’s call,” the message said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHRnvjCkTsw
Image: HipHopDX
The hip-hop world was rocked this week, by news of the tragic passing of legendary Phife Dawg, at just forty-five years old. Part of one of hip-hop’s most important groups, A Tribe Called Quest, tributes have been pouring in from every corner of the musical world – including a touching speech given by Kendrick Lamar at a concert here in Sydney last week.
Along with the tributes, statements, tweets and interviews, a slew of unreleased music, live performances and more has been getting released by friends and collaborators. Below, listen to a previously unreleased freestyle featuring Phife Dawg, Wildchild and Madlib, recorded back in 1999 on Tim Westwood’s radio show. Raw and uncut, it’s another memorable snippet of music from the talented, influential artist we’ve lost way too soon.
Q-Tip has also released a tonne of unheard material, on Abstract Radio, his Beats 1 radio show. Dedicating the entire episode to Phife, you can listen here to two hours of “funky, rare and live performances” from his own archives. As well as the recordings, you can listen to Outkast, Chuck D, Kendrick Lamar, El-P and many more call in to pay tribute and share their own memories.
Read our special edition Flashback Friday: A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Low End Theory”
Image: HipHopDX
As a product of 90s and early 2000s gangster rap, I was a loyal West Coast fan (no, not the football team, the rappers from the West Coast of America). With a couple of exceptions – Notorious Big, DMX and Xzibit – I had no real East Coast connection. I even recall seeing one of the early memes with a picture of Nas and Jay-Z that read, “Who is the real king?” and I laughed and thought it was satirical. Rap’s contest wasn’t between two East Coast rappers, it’s between Biggie and Tupac – East versus West.
I can’t remember exactly how old I was, but it was “back in the day when I was a teenager,” when taping things on VHS was still a thing. My mate D-Dubbs taped an episode of Rage that Xzibit was hosting, and the tape was then passed around our group of mates like a three-paper. He played mostly West Coast rap, lots of Ice Cube, Snoop, and Dre. He also played some rock, and some old school hip-hop. I remember vividly this one black and white video with three guys walking around a city. The first MC comes on, cool, calm and collected: “Stern firm and young with a laid-back tongue / The aim is to succeed and achieve at 21.”
Compared to the gangster rap I was used to listening to, this was a wake up slap.
Then, a second MC comes in with a slight Caribbean patois, “Competition, dem Phifer come sideway / But competition, dey mus’ me come straightway,” before completing the rest of the verse in an American accent.
It was the smoothest rapping I had ever heard. There was an incredible chemistry between the two, and their lyrics said so much; they were intelligent, they weren’t violent, nor were they overly misogynistic.
Then came the end of the video:
“If this is a stinker, then call me a stink, I ask ‘What? What? What?’ – now check it out,” one rapper said.
“Check what out,” the DJ chimed in.
“Check this out,” the other rapper echoed.
The video leapt into full colour. One of the rappers was wearing these weird, bugged-out eyes, as he spat some more incredible rhymes. “Yo, microphone check one two what is this/ The five foot assassin with the ruffneck business.”
Once the clip had finished, Xzibit told me that I’d been watching Q-Tip and Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ), and the film clip was of their two songs meshed into one – Jazz (We’ve Got) Buggin’ Out from their album The Low End Theory. There was something so simple and beautiful about the way they traded lines with each other over the groovy, jazzy production. Ali Shaheed Muhammad (DJ and producer in ATCQ) was a genius in the way that he fused hip-hop with laid-back jazz.
https://youtu.be/cxN4nKk2cfk
I listened to The Low End Theory again and again when I was younger, and since I learned that Phife passed away this week, I have been thinking a lot about this album. Tracks like Verses from the Abstract, Jazz, Buggin’ Out, Scenario, Vibe and Stuff, and Check Them Rhime, were all flawless tracks, and became a benchmark for what I came to consider good hip-hop. I couldn’t really afford to get more than just that album until much later in life, so for a long time, the only Tribe album I owned was The Low End Theory.
This album is also directly responsible for my taste in music today.
It encouraged me to branch out, to learn about other rappers out there, to hear the flows and inflections coming from different parts of America. We are talking about 90s hip-hop here, the era of the name-drop and shout-out – Verses from the Abstract had the most extensive shout-outs, so I jotted all their names down on a notepad and went to JB Hi-Fi.
https://youtu.be/p8iGF3M4IHc
At JB, I was too poor to afford even one CD, let alone the huge list that Tribe had just curated for me. So I’d just look at the album covers and rank them in order of how cool they looked, hoping that when I had a birthday, or found some money at NRG (happened once or twice) I could easily decide which CD I was going to get firsy.
A Tribe Called Quest was schooling me on Busta Rhymes; De La Soul; Rakim and Eric B; Brand Nubian; Pete Rock and CL Smooth; and Diamond D, which in turn opened up a whole world of new rap music for me to listen to.
It is hard to look back on your life and think that if I didn’t do this, or if I didn’t see or hear that, I might not be the person I am today.
My life would be very different right now, if I hadn’t heard The Low End Theory. If I had never heard Jazz, I might not have fallen in love with old school hip-hop; I might not have wanted to tell my own stories, and I might not have written a poem or a short story; I might have never studied journalism as a way to tell those stories, and I wouldn’t be here writing about it right now. I may not have been truly affected by Phife’s passing, and I wouldn’t have realised just how much of an impact this album has had on me.
I am not the only one – ATCQ has inspired countless artist and musicians, from The Roots and Common to Pharrell and Kanye. Even today, you can hear DJs and producers combining jazz and many other genres with hip-hop. These guys brought such experimentation to the table that the rest were sure to follow.
Tribe’s Low End Theory turns 25 this year, and looking back, it is still as strong an album today as it was in ’91. There is no way you would be disappointed if you were having a beer and someone chucked on Check the Rhime. You would totally look at the person next to you and say, “You on point, Tip.”
https://youtu.be/1QWEPdgS3As
The Low End Theory is one of the greatest albums ever produced. It’s hard to put words to how good it is, but the opening track Excursions does a great job of showing how good the album is.
https://youtu.be/NZWS6CITutY
Most people already knew how good of a lyricist Q-Tip was, from the Tribe’s first album, but this album was the first time the lyrical abilities of “The Five Foot Assassin” Phife Dawg were really showcased. He had an amazing ability to come out swinging. His first line of Buggin’ Out is still to this day the greatest opening line I have ever heard, but he had plenty more great intros on this album: “Now here’s a funky introduction of how nice I am / Tell your mother, tell your father, send a telegram,” on Check the Rhime, and “Heyo, Bo knows this, and Bo knows that / But Bo don’t know jack, ’cause Bo can’t rap,” from Scenario.
https://youtu.be/Q6TLWqn82J4
It pains me to know that Phife Dawg is no longer with us, and I owe a lot of the man I am today to A Tribe Called Quest’s influence. Rest in peace, Phife – your legacy and music will live forever and will continue to inspire many all over the world.
Rest in peace Malik Taylor, aka Phife Dawg, 1970 – 2016.
Image: Genius