A Tribe Called Quest's Phife Dawg has died
The news of his death was announced on Twitter this morning
Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest has passed away, aged 45.
Hip hop figure DJ Chuck Chillout tweeted earlier today, paying tribute to the ATCQ co-founder who had reportedly suffered health problems since being diagnosed with type one diabetes in 1990. He also had a kidney transplant in 2008.
Behind hip hop gems such as 'Can I Kick It?' and 'Bonita Applebum', both taken from the group's era-defining debut album 'People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm', Phife Dawg, real name Malik Isaac Taylor, also released a solo album, 'Ventilation: Da LP,' in 2000.
He joined fellow ATCQ members Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last year and also appeared in 2011 documentary *Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest**.*
Chuck D, Mistajam, Gilles Peterson and MC DRS are among those to have paid tribute to him on Twitter.
Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor, follow him on Twitter