Hip Hop icon Phife Dawg of the rap group “A Tribe Called Quest,” died Wednesday at the age of 45.
He has been suffering through health issues including diabetes and kidney failure for several years.
According to BBC, Phife Dawg received a kidney transplant from his wife in 2008.
He was an influential member of the group and a co-founder of the group. He started back in 1985 at the age of 15.
Phife Dawg was born in 1970 as Malik Issac Taylor in Queens, New York .
The highlight of his career was when his group released their biggest single in 1991 “Can I Kick IT?”.
The BBC says that news of the icon’s passing was released on Twitter early Wednesday morning and was later confirmed by Rolling Stone magazine.
No official statement has been released from his family yet.
