A TRIBE CALLED QUEST’S FIVE FOOT ASSASSIN

To fans of Queens hip hop philosophers A Tribe Called Quest, Phife Dawg’s deft, upbeat raps were an essential and grounding counterpoint to his co-rhymer Q-Tip’s more cerebral wordplay. Born Malik Taylor, he met Q-Tip when he was two: a guest contribu- tor to the group’s 1990 debut – source of their biggest UK hit, the Lou Reed/Blockheads-sampling Can I Kick It? – Phife would be a fully-fledged member for 1991’s jazz-informed landmark The Low End Theory. The group would continue to shift platinum with Midnight Marauders (1993) and Beats, Rhymes And Life (1996), but they would not record after ’98’s The Love Movement. Phife released his sole solo album Ventilation: Da LP in 2000, and reunited with his old band for live shows from 2004