TIME MACHINE POET OF THE WEEK

 

Born	November 20, 1970 St. Albans, Queens, New York, U.S.
Died	March 22, 2016 (aged 45) Contra Costa County, California, U.S.

Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor) was an American hip-hop pioneer that co-established the world-acclaimed rap group “A Tribe Called Quest” along with musician Q-Tip, Jarobi White, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.  His lyrical abilities on albums such as 1991’s “The Low-End Theory” and 1996’s “Beats, Rhymes, and Life,” established him as one of Hip-Hop’s most successful artists in the 90’s.  Standing at only 5’3 tall, his harden demeanor on tracks present a stature that can’t be reached. 

“The five-foot assassin with the roughneck business
I float like gravity, never had a cavity
Got more rhymes than the Winans got family
No need to sweat Arsenio to gain some type of fame
No shame in my game cause I’ll always be the same“

The unique sound and structure of A Tribe Called Quest allowed Phife Dawg to release two solo albums (one of these posthumously).  Much more of his life is chronicled in the documentary “Beats, Rhymes & Life,” named after their 1996 album.  Phife Dawg is our TIME MACHINE POET OF THE WEEK.

This is an official PROJECT ASTRAL article.

– Color Pessoa