WATCH: Kendrick Put Lighters In The Air For Phife Dawg At His Sydney Show

Sad news for the rap community yesterday, after it was confirmed legendary A Tribe Called Quest rapper Phife Dawg – real name Malik Taylor – died from complications related to diabetes, aged 45.

A bunch of the industry’s biggest names, including Questlove, Chuck D, Just Blaze and El-P, paid their respects to the Five Foot Assassin after the news of his death started to circulating, and Kendrick Lamar took a moment to shout-out to Phife on stage at his Sydney show last night.
“Today, we lost one of the pioneers in hip-hop, by the name of Phife Dawg,” Rick shouted out. “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. Let’s get this chant going.” 
In a vid posted by triple j’s Matt & Alex, the crowd at Allphones Arena can be heard chanting in unison: “Phife! Dawg!”.

King Kendrick Lamar pays tribute to the late Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest

Posted by Matt and Alex on Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Phife battled health problems for years, even undergoing a kidney transplant in 2008 as a result of the diabetes.

His family remembered him in a statement released yesterday:

“Malik was our loving husband, father, brother and friend. We love him dearly. How he impacted all our lives will never be forgotten. His love for music and sports was only surpassed by his love of God and family.”

🙁 RIP Phife.
Photo: Getty / FilmMagic.

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