Five years ago on this date, (March 22nd), the world of Hip-Hop lost one of its most enigmatic and lyrically versatile MC’s when it was announced that Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor) , one-fourth of the legendary A Tribe Called Quest passed away due to complications from diabetes at his home in San Francisco.

Proudly representing the borough of Queens, New York, Phife Dawg had a few nicknames that spoke to

his flawless capability as an MC, but the “Five Foot Assassin” tag was a calling card and a promise whenever he stepped up to the microphone. Starting out with Q-Tip (Jonathan Davis), Jarobi White and Ali Shaheed Muhammad to form A Tribe Called Quest in high school back in 1985, he helped usher in a new era in Hip-Hop and was one of the architects of the Native Tongues family.

As many would flock to Q-Tip’s charismatic bars and persona, Phife Dawg balanced it out with lyrics that were always introspective as they could be full of swagger like Rod Strickland’s ball-handling skills running point guard for his beloved New York Knicks. Inner turmoil would see Phife notably make a scaled-back appearance on the Beats, Rhymes and Life album in 1996, with The Love Movement being the last ATCQ project in 1998 before the group’s breakup. Phife would go on to release his only full length album Ventilation in 2000. A Tribe Called Quest would reunite for concert performances, and Phife Dawg also came back for the group’s last album, We Got It From Here, Thank You for Your Service in 2016, laying down bars before passing away.

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