Earlier this month, at a memorial for the late Phife Dawg being held at the historic Apollo Theater, rap legend KRS-One delivered heartfelt freestyle dedicated to the iconic Tribe Called Quest co-founder. Today, KRS has shared yet another tribute with us, in the form of a track simply titled “The Phife Tribute.”
In the track, produced by DJ Static, KRS-One shouts out Phife’s “children and his wonderful wife,” as well as praising the late five-foot assassin for his lasting influence on rap and culture. “I’m spitting this for Phife Dawg/ This is what he meant to me/ Or meant to us,” KRS-One spits. “Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust/ Phife Dawg influenced all of us.”
As proof to that last line, the track ends with 16 bars of empty beat, for any rapper to jump into and add their own tribute to Phife. “Calling all emcees!” reads the song’s Bandcamp description. “To spit a 16 bar! In honor of Phife Dawg!”
Malik Taylor (Phife Dawg’s given name) passed away last month at the age of 45 of complications from diabetes, which he had been battling for most of his adult life. His influence, along with the rest of the members of Tribe Called Quest, will be felt eternally not only in hip-hop but in general music culture
You can listen to the track and view the video of the memorial freestyle below:
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