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Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagicRapper Phife Dawg, best known as a member of pioneering alternative rap collective A Tribe Called Quest, has reportedly died at age 45.
Various sources are reporting Dawg’s death, mostly hanging it on various tweets from players in the hip-hop community, although Rolling Stone says it has confirmed the rapper’s passing. No cause of death was given, though it’s known he was diabetic.
Born Malik Taylor, Phife Dawg was one of the four original A Tribe Called Quest members, along with Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhamed and Jarobi White, the latter of whom left the group after their first album, 1990’s People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.
In addition to his work with ATCQ, which disbanded in 1998 after releasing five albums, Taylor occasionally contributed guest verses to various other rap projects. He released a single solo album, 2000’s Ventilation: Da LP. In 2006, he reunited with his fellow A Tribe Called Quest members for a brief North American tour.
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