Phife Dawg, a masterful lyricist whose witty wordplay was a linchpin of the groundbreaking hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, has died at age 45 following complications resulting from diabetes.
Born Malik Isaac Taylor, he was known as the Five Foot Assassin because he was five feet, three inches (161cm) tall.
"Malik was our loving husband, father, brother and friend. We love him dearly. How he impacted all our lives will never be forgotten. His love for music and sports was only surpassed by his love of God and family," his family said in a statement on Wednesday.
The family did not disclose any other details.
Meanwhile in Atlanta, journalist Mark Arum paid tribute to the rapper during a traffic report on television station, WSB-TV.
Video of the tribute posted to the station's Facebook page has been viewed more than one million times.
Taylor, who earned respect for his skillful and thoughtful rhymes, was part of number of rap classics with Tribe, including Scenario, Bonita Applebum, Can I Kick It? and I Left My Wallet in El Segundo, among others.
"I like 'em brown, yellow, Puerto Rican or Haitian, name is Phife Dawg from the Zulu Nation," he famously rapped on Electric Relaxation.
The music world and other celebrities mourned Taylor on Wednesday, including actors Chris Rock and Don Cheadle, DJ-producer Mark Ronson, musician Sean Lennon, country singer Darius Rucker, R&B singer Jill Scott as well as rappers Chuck D, Big Sean, Macklemore and Swizz Beatz.
At his Wednesday concert in Sydney, Kendrick Lamar spoke about Taylor's influence on him and had the audience of 18,000 chant the late rapper's name.
"We lost one of the pioneers in hip-hop today by the name of Phife Dawg," Lamar said.
"We're gonna give it up for him, for allowing me to do what I'm doing on this stage right here, right now, today."
