In Passing
Malik Taylor (Phife Dawg)
by Mirlande Jean-Gilles
When A Tribe Called Quest released their debut
album, “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths
of Rhythm,” I was 16 going on 17-years-old and
trying to figure out my place in the world. I loved
the music instantly. It changed my life. I had never
heard anything
like it. I loved their beats, rhymes, music videos,
politics, Afro-centric aesthetic, intelligence and
their fun. They were saying many things that I was
feeling but they made it funky. They were brilliant!
And they were from Queens? I was from Queens!
In my mind I was a “Native Tongue.” They didn’t
know who I was but they gave me the courage
to be myself. When I saw them, I saw my own
reflection. I found somewhere I fit in. I didn’t feel so
weird. When I saw Tribe, I saw my crew.
When I finally purchased the full album on cassette I
played it all the time. I’d plead with my dad to let me
play the tape in the car. He’d acquiesce but shake
his head and laugh at the music. I remember trying to
explain the song “Ham and Eggs” to him, but he just
didn’t get it! How could he not understand the genius
that was A Tribe Called Quest?
Artist: Kieyan Chauhan
On March 22, 2016, I logged on to Facebook and
found out that Malik Taylor aka Phife Dawg passed
away from complications from diabetes. He was
only 45 years old. Though I didn’t know Malik
personally, I cried as if I had lost an old friend. I
blasted A Tribe Called Quest’s music. I checked in
on my people who I knew loved Tribe as much as
I did. A part our childhood was gone. Malik Taylor
was gone. I couldn’t believe it. There wouldn’t be
any more rumors of a possible Tribe reunion or
new music from the group. I was glad my kids
had already gone to school because I was a mess.
Eventually, I had to go out but I stayed on the verge
of crying. On the bus I kept listening to Tribe. I
was in shock. I couldn’t believe the world was just
continuing to operate like things were normal.
22
african Voices
A year later they released, “The Low End Theory.”
Phife rapped more on that album. He dropped
lyrical gems that left me laughing and gasping
in disbelief.
Yo, microphone check one, two what is this?
The five foot assassin with the roughneck business
I float like gravity, never had a cavity
Got more rhymes than the Winans got family
Phife comes at you so hard it’s like he’s making
up for lost time. One of the reasons that “The Low
End Theory” is such an amazing album is that Phife
gets free reign on it. Q-Tip and Phife were perfectly
balanced. Phife was straight up, no holds barred
with his style and lyrics. His message was loud
and clear. Q-Tip’s rhyme style was chill, poetic and
ethereal. Phife was grounding. He pulled the duo
back to reality. They were so different but it worked.
In 1993, A Tribe Called Quest dropped “Midnight
Marauders.” In “Oh My God,” Phife delivers this