A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg Has Passed Away

He was 45.

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The world received sad news early Wednesday morning: the co-founder of legendary hip-hop collective A Tribe Called Quest, Phife Dawg, has died at age 45. 

His cause of death has yet to be determined, but he struggled with diabetes since his diagnosis back in 1990. 

Back in 1988, Phife, born Malik Taylor, formed A Tribe Called Quest with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Their first track “Description of a Fool” came out in 1989, the group released their debut via Jive in 1990. Following three more LPs, the band split up, but came back together intermittently after 2006. Phife also released a solo album, 2000’s Ventilation: Da LP.

R.I.P. Phife.

h/t Rolling Stone

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