Phife Dawg

As the cofounder of A Tribe Called Quest, Phife Dawg (Malik Izaak Taylor) did much to expand the scope of hip-hop. He and Tribe partner Q-Tip (Jonathan Davis) were lifelong friends, meeting as kindergarten classmates and Little League ballplayers in the Jamaica area of Queens. Young Dawg got his musical inspiration from and the block parties that sprung up in the early days of hip-hop. With DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad and part-time member Jarobi White, the pair formed A Tribe Called Quest in 1988. A critical and popular success from the start, the group innovated by sampling vintage jazz records (and offbeat rock choices like Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side"), and by including socially progressive messages. Along with the like-minded De La Soul, Jungle Brothers and the evolving Beastie Boys, the Tribe was embraced by an audience that was put off by the more hardcore gangsta rap. Though Q-Tip took most of the spotlight on the debut, Phife had a notable moment on the hit "Can I Kick It?," where he asks "Mr. Dinkins, would you please be my mayor?" The song arguably helped get David Dinkins elected mayor of New York in 1990. 1991's sophomore album The Low End Theory was a highwater mark for the Tribe and for hip-hop in general. Its creative sampling of Grover Washington Jr., Weather Report and Joe Farrell, among many others, led new fans to those artists. Dawg and Q-Tip were now sharing the raps more equally, with Dawg's grittier rhymes as the counterpoint to Q-Tip's abstract ones. The feminist slant of "The Infamous Date Rape" was largely new territory for male-dominated rap. The group continued its winning streak with 1983's Midnight Marauders, their most upbeat album and their best seller. The Tribe splintered after two more, less celebrated albums, by now Phife was deep into his struggle with diabetes (He was diagnosed in 1990, and even mentioned it in a Marauders song). His first solo album Ventilation: Da LP came out in 2000, earning mixed review for its harsher sound and lyrics; the latter were sometimes addressed at the estranged Q-Tip. Continued health problems prevented a followup, and in 2008 he unsuccessfully received a kidney transplant from his wife. A Tribe Called Quest reunited in November 2015, performing "Can I Kick It?" on the Tonight Show. It was their final performance, Phife died of complications from diabetes four months later.