HIP-HOP Phife Dawg's Peers Remember A Tribe Called Quest's 'Five-Foot Assassin,' Including Nas, Pete Rock & More

Ask anyone in the spotlight or far away from it, and the reaction to Phife Dawg's death is the same: Not only was the Queens native nice on wax, he was also one of the kindest humans to have a mic in his hand. As hip-hop mourns the loss of A Tribe Called Quest's resident "five-foot assassin," his peers (one even fighting back sniffles) recall how Phife Dawg impacted the culture and their personal come-up.

Pete Rock, Rapper/DJ/Producer

"I met Phife in 1990, somewhere in New York. Regardless of when and where, that's how long we've been friends. I just kind of took a liking to Phife, not only because of the island background -- I'm Jamaican, he's Trini -- it was one of those things where he could relate to me, understand me and would work with me, you know? And I love him to shreds for that. [His death] just hit me in the gut like a Mike Tyson bolo -- you hear me sniffling right now. He loved sports, he loved music, he loved rapping. He loved hearing new talent and comparing what was going on at the present moment. He was one of those dudes that was very much into the culture, regardless of what you may have heard about the breakup of A Tribe Called Quest. But one of the most important key things that sticks out with Phife is him being a down-to-earth individual. No matter who you were, he adapted to you. He's one of those dudes I could just let my hair down with and keep it real with. We didn't have too much pride to say, 'Hey man, I love you.’”

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Prodigy, Mobb Deep rapper

"Phife was nice, man. He was ill [and] had the dope punchlines. When we first started creating Mobb Deep, [A Tribe Called Quest] inspired us to create dope music. They were just very unique, doing their own thing, not following the trends or nothing. It's very important when you look back at that legacy -- the production, the rhymes -- they were trendsetters. Nobody can carry on Tribe's legacy. That's what they do."

Ed Lover, Radio Host

"I met Phife before there was A Tribe Called Quest, before their first record even dropped, back in Queens. For me what sticks out in my head is when they did the 'Check the Rhime' video on top of the Nu-Clear cleaners on Linden Boulevard where we all grew up at. That's the first time, really, anybody came back to the neighborhood in that manner and did something to that magnitude.

"Phife was the regular guy in Tribe. If Q-Tip was Run, Phife was D.M.C. He was the glue, the foundation of what's cool about A Tribe Called Quest. They made it OK to just be who you are, to just be a weirdo if you want to the a weirdo, you know? Tribe didn't wear the uniform: They didn’t wear Kangols, didn't wear chains, didn't have gold teeth. They wanted to be who they were, and they made it okay for the Hieroglyphics crew to be that way, for J Dilla to be that way, for Kanye West to be that way. And it trickles down to the young guys today, from Kendrick Lamar to J. Cole.

"Phife was laid-back, pretty much all the time. But if you really wanted to get him to talk, just start talking sports. Especially basketball. Compare the ‘90s Knicks teams to today’s Knicks? Oh my god! It would drive him straight crazy! He was cool, calm and collected, but if he was talking sports he was out of control. [Laughs]”

Phife Dawg, Founding Member of A Tribe Called Quest, Dead at 45

Havoc, Rapper of Mobb Deep

"I always was a fan of Phife Dawg. He was all about innovation with his lyrics. As far as him, Q-Tip and Tribe Called Quest becoming a staple of hip-hop like they did, it really gave me the inspiration to know I could become somebody in hip-hop 'cause they were from Queens and I was from Queens. It was a boost to my motivation, just seeing how international they became. Phife Dawg was an ill lyricist and everybody respected him, so every time I think of Tribe Called Quest, I always think of the Five Foot Assassin. They did a video for 'Buggin' Out,' and he had the bugged-out eyes. His line, 'Microphone check one two what is this' -- that one stands out for me, but there are so many [great] verses that you can't just pick one."

Barry Weiss, RECORDS founder/executive, former CEO of A Tribe Called Quest label home Jive/Zomba

"The guy was such a sweetheart, He didn't have a bad bone in his body—total positive energy.

"He was the perfect yin to Q-Tip’s yang. Q-Tip was sort of bon vivant, the guy with panache, the “Abstract Poetic. Phife added the street element. He was like the salt — he grounded the group on the street. He just brought it all down to earth. He was like the everyman.

"I don't think there would be an Outkast and a Kanye West if there wasn't A Tribe Called Quest. I think you can draw a straight line from A Tribe Called Quest to Outkast, to Kanye West, to Kendrick Lamar. I don't think any of those successors would be what they are today had the path not been paved by Tribe."

Styles P, Rapper of the LOX

"Tribe was so impactful to hip-hop. If you're from that era, what they did for music was show you that you could be yourself. Phife's one of the godfathers of this. You didn't have to be a gangster, you didn't have to be extra-political, but you could be conscious. You could do something legal and rap about it -- it just meant so much to the culture. Like on 'Butter,' he's telling you 'I'm dope, I'm fly, but I go to school. Girls like me, before they might have not.' It was so refreshing because it wasn't political, it wasn't criminal -- it was what was needed.

"The whole Native Tongues movement was just incredible. It gave kids the opportunity to just feel free, be artistic, and make music for the sake of making music. At that time, you had your Public Enemy's, you had your N.W.A's -- it was a lot of really hardcore shit out there. When you heard the first album [People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm], it was so refreshing and so new. Phife will forever be held in very, very high regard in hip-hop. He's a god MC in this shit. He'll be up there watching over us with all the other great MCs."

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Nas, Rapper

"Phife represented Queens, N.Y. -- where I'm from -- like nobody could. He got me through some real times growing up. Before I ever traveled to different countries, before I had ever been in the control room of a high-level recording facility, Phife and A Tribe Called Quest were in charge of the soundtrack of my teenage years. They made you move and think at the same time. He had presence, and together they sparked a cultural revolution. Through that music, Phife was my homie, older brother, mentor, teacher, wing-man, jokester, a trillion different things. He gave me exactly what I needed. He helped kicked down huge steel doors around the world so that guys like me could walk thru them with ease. He’s a legend!"

Hi-Tek, Producer

"First off, I'm a huge Tribe Called Quest fan, so when Phife's manager Fudge (R.I.P.) hit me about doing some stuff for his solo LP [2000's Ventilation: Da LP] I was all in. If I'm not mistaken, the Ventilation LP came out a month before me and Talib's Train of Thought LP. I just remember being a little stunned that Phife from A Tribe Called Quest hit me up. I'm thinking, 'What could he want from little old me?' Tribe with Q-Tip's production was flawless. At the time, I think I also felt the tension between Phife and Q-Tip, which I was a little heartbroken by, because I was such a fan of the group. Phife was really pissed at Jive Records and felt they betrayed him. I remember Phife coming to Cincinnati straight to the studio and expressing how much of a fan he was of the work I had been doing with Talib and Mos Def. He was excited about being in Cincy and working with me. I was really green at the time and a little intimidated, but he made me feel comfortable and wasn't picky with the beats at all. He actually made me get on the mic with him, which I was still a little nervous about at the time. I remember him just having a lot of confidence in me like we'd known each other for years. Both him and Fudge were cool dudes and we always kept a relationship from that point on. I can't believe both of them are gone. I'm such a student to the Tribe legacy."