I don’t know exactly what to say about Phife Dawg but I’m gonna try. A Tribe Called Quest was the first hip hop group that really resonated with me on a personal level. Before Tribe most of the rap groups I listened to were silly. Kid And Play, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. I was in the generation that was a little too young for Rakim, KRS-One and LL but Tribe Called Quest really was my favorite group of all time.
As a bit of a social outcast due to asthma, glasses, taking advanced classes at school and a general social awkwardness there were some times when my Walkman was the closest friend in my life. And in that walkman you would always find A Tribe Called Quest heavy in rotation. I played the words off of all those tapes and to this day I know all the words to every song, interlude, skit, ad lib all of it.
Being from the south and listening to Tribe and a lot of the Native Tongues in the 90’s I can say it wasn’t exactly the most popular group. Not that they weren’t respected but it wasn’t as big down here. I took it upon myself to be that annoying evangelist for Tribe. Advocating that everyone listen to them no matter what they were into. I’m sure I got on a ton of folks’ nerves.
“Oh you like Black Sheep? You gotta listen to Midnight Marauders!”
“You into NWA? You heard that new Tribe?”
“Metallica? Dude… you HAVE to listen to this Quest! You’ll love it.”
I’m sure my little brother can attest to this. As I became older and more understanding I realize now I wanted people to listen to Tribe because I felt that them understanding Tribe would somehow translate to them understanding me.
Phife and his sports references, pop culture jokes and lust for all the brown women always resonated with me more than Tip. The other thing about Phife is he was a TESTAMENT to hard work. While rapping and musicality seemed to come easy to Q-Tip, Phife always seemed to work at it. I can’t count how many times I heard folks write off the Five Foot Assassin as he continued to defiantly grow with each album. Watching that dude develop in his role and skills was a thing of beauty.
I eagerly awaited every album release, not only for the music but to see how Phife had grown this time. And he never let me down. By the end it seemed Tip was more interested in going solo. Any real fan of Quest knows it always felt inevitable that Tip would leave. It always felt like a countdown until that day when the group would no longer exist.
When I think about Phife I think about growing into being comfortable with yourself. I think about work ethic and not letting the criticism get to you. I no longer carry my Walkman or Tribe tapes with me everywhere I go now. I’m not always wearing headphones (although I do have them on at the moment) but I do still carry that confidence of Phife who would get on the mic and show the whole world his talent despite being “short, dark and plus my voice is raspy.”
Now I carry those tapes in my heart. Now I carry that confidence in my actions. A Tribe Called Quest walked me to and from the bus stop in High School almost every day. And somehow I feel like even though he’s gone those songs are still walking with me everyday.
Love, peace and A Tribe Called Quest.
RIP Phife.
