R.I.P. Phife Dawg (A Tribe Called Quest)

Read More A Tribe Called Quest Rap music innovators A Tribe Called Quest showcase their legendary style with this BEST OF collection. The compilation features fifteen influential tracks from the universally acclaimed group, including "Can I Kick It," … De La Soul De La Soul Long Island hip-hop trio at least knew that a lot of younger people in the Walker audience had maybe never even heard of them. But, playing with a harder edge than on record, the group (MCs Posdnuos and Dave, and MC/DJ Maseo) …

We recently learned that Phife Dawg (from A Tribe Called Quest) passed away on Tuesday because of complications from diabetes (read the details at nwitimes.com).

If you were a fan of 90s hip hop and rap, chances were you loved the trio (featuring Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad). The group, along with De La Soul, was a central part of the Native Tongues Posse.

Here is the official statement regarding the death of Malik I. Taylor, p.k.a Phife Dawg The 5 ft. Assassin:

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.

Below are more deaths for the month of March.

March (42)

[23 Mar 2016] Jimmy Riley, 61, cancer

[22 Mar 2016] Phife Dawg (A Tribe Called Quest), 45, diabetes

[21 Mar 2016] Nomoreloss, 30s, typhoid fever

[18 Mar 2016] David Egan (A-Train), 61, lung cancer

[17 Mar 2016] Trần Lập, 42, colorectal cancer

[17 Mar 2016] A. V. Prakash, 74, heart attack

[17 Mar 2016] Steve Young, 73, unknownk

[16 Mar 2016] Grace Chinga, ?, illness

[16 Mar 2016] Frank Sinatra Jr, 72, heart attack

[16 Mar 2016] Lee Andrews (Lee Andrews & the Hearts, Questlove's father), 79, unknown

[16 Mar 2016] Nirosha (Gemini Music), 23, suicide

[16 Mar 2016] Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan, 77, kidney disease

[15 Mar 2016] Daryl Coley, 60, unknown

[15 Mar 2016] Thanh Tùng, 67, illness

[14 Mar 2016] Nik Green (Blue Murder), ?, cancer

[14 Mar 2016] Tim Cretsinger (Groovefest American Music Festival), 61, throat cancer

[14 Mar 2016] Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (Master of the Queen's Music), 81, leukaemia

[12 Mar 2016] Lucas Anderson, 26, opiate overdose

[12 Mar 2016] Tommy Brown, 84,unknown

[12 Mar 2016] Conor Walsh, 36, heart attack

[11 Mar 2016] Louis Meyers (SXSW), 60, not given

[11 Mar 2016] Joe Ascione, 54, unknown

[10 Mar 2016] Gogi Grant, 91, natural causes

[10 Mar 2016] Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer), 71, suicide

[09 Mar 2016] Ray Griff, 75, aspiration pneumonia

[09 Mar 2016] Jon English, 66, complications during surgery

[09 Mar 2016] Naná Vasconcelos, 71,lung cancer

[08 Mar 2016] Sir George Martin (The Beatles), 90, not given

[08 Mar 2016] Andrew Loomis (Dead Moon), 54, mini strokes

[08 Mar 2016] Ross Hannaford (Daddy Cool), 32, cancer

[07 Mar 2016] Koyo Bala, 32, cancer

[06 Mar 2016] Aaron Huffman (Harvey Danger), 43, respiratory failure

[06 Mar 2016] Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Vienna Symphony), 86, illness

[06 Mar 2016] Kalabhavan Mani, 45, liver ailment

[05 Mar 2016] Chip Hooper (Agent for Dave Matthews), 53, cancer

[04 Mar 2016] Keli Rutledge, 18, car accident

[04 Mar 2016] Bankroll Fresh, 28, murder

[04 Mar 2016] Joey Feek (Joey + Rory), 40, cervical cancer

[04 Mar 2016] Ekrem Jevrić, 54, heart attack

[03 Mar 2016] John Thomas (Budgie), 63, pneumonia

[03 Mar 2016] Gwyneth George, 95, not given

[01 Mar 2016] Gayle McCormick (Smith), 67, cancer

For the full death list: Musicians who died in 2016.

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