Cyrus Langhorne
Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West has paid homage to the memory of late hip-hop icon Phife Dawg this week.
Yeezy remembered the A Tribe Called Quest founder on Twitter Tuesday (April 5).
This week, fans have come together to pay homage to Phife in New York City.
Yesterday, A Tribe Called Quest hosted an event at St. Albarn’s Park in Queens, NY to celebrate the life of their late member, Phife Dawg, who passed away at the age of 45. Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theatre is hosting “Celebration of Phife” tonight with special guest appearances. “Nutshell”, a posthumous Phife Dawg single produced by J Dilla will premiere on Ebro’s Beats 1 radio show tonight. (The FADER)
A Tribe Called Quest issued a statement on his passing once the news went last month.
“Our hearts are heavy. We are devastated. This is something we weren’t prepared for although we all know that life is fleeting. It was no secret about his health and his fight. But the fight for his joy and happiness gave him everything he needed. The fight to keep his family happy, his soul happy and those around him happy, gave him complete and unadulterated joy… until he heeded his fathers call.
We love his family his mother, his father, his son, his wife, his nieces, his family here in New York, Atlanta, California and Trinidad.
Thank you for the outpouring of prayers and support from the fans, fellow artists, music outlets, blogs, radio stations, DJ’s, social media and the music community at large. This too is part of his joy and means a lot to him. His family is overwhelmed by the support, well wishes and are thankful. His music and what he’s contributed is seismic and hard to measure. He’s affected us as much as he’s affected all of you. We’re inspired by his daily joy and courage. He wasn’t in pain. He was happy. We take comfort in knowing he will be beside his grandmother.” (Statement)
Last month, rap star Kendrick Lamar paid homage to Phife during an Australia concert.
As the packed arena’s audience held their phones aloft, Lamar said, “Today, we lost one of the pioneers in hip-hop, by the name of Phife Dawg. Right now, ain’t nobody cheering about me. 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.” Then, he led the massive crowd in a call-and-response “Phife Dawg” chant, before concluding that “Forever hip-hop, we gonna be alright.” (Billboard)
