| Phife Dawg Quick Info | |
|---|---|
| Height | 5 ft 3 in |
| Weight | 78 kg |
| Date of Birth | November 20, 1970 |
| Zodiac Sign | Scorpio |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
Phife Dawg was an American rapper who was best known for his work as a member of the popular hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest with whom he had released the albums People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (April 1990), The Low End Theory (September 1991), Midnight Marauders (November 1993), Beats, Rhymes and Life (July 1996), The Love Movement (September 1998), and We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (November 2016). The 1st, 5th, and 6th of those albums had been certified ‘Gold’ by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) while the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th albums had been certified ‘Platinum’. The last 4 of the aforementioned albums had all peaked within the ‘Top 3’ of the US R&B charts while the 2nd album, The Low End Theory, has often been regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever released. With the group, he had also released 5 compilation albums and 2 EPs. Ventilation: Da LP (2000) was the only solo studio album that he had released during his lifetime. Phife Dawg’s work has often been credited with helping to challenge the ‘macho posturing’ of rap and hip-hop music during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Born Name
Malik Izaak Taylor
Nick Name
Phife Dawg, The Phifer, Phife Diggy, The Five-Foot Assassin, The Five-Footer, Malik The Five-Foot Freak, The Funky Diabetic, Dynomutt, Mutty Ranks, The Trini-Gladiator, Don Juice, Dr. Pepper
Age
Phife Dawg was born on November 20, 1970.
Died
He died on March 22, 2016, due to complications related to diabetes in Contra Costa County, California, United States. He was 45 years old at the time of his death.
Sun Sign
Scorpio
Born Place
Queens, New York City, New York, United States
Nationality
Education
Phife Dawg had attended the Pine Forge Academy, a co-educational, Seventh-day Adventist Christian boarding school in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
After his freshman year of high school there, he had taken a transfer to the Springfield Gardens High School, a public school in Springfield Gardens, Queens.
Occupation
Rapper
Family
- Father – Walt Taylor
- Mother – Cheryl Boyce-Taylor (Poet)
- Siblings – Mikal Taylor (Twin Brother) (d. 1970)
- Others – Zinzi Clemmons (Cousin) (Writer)
Genre
Hip Hop, Rap
Instruments
Vocals
Labels
- Jive Records
- Groove Attack Records
- RCA Records
- Epic Records
- Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Net Worth
Phife Dawg’s net worth had been $5 million according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.
Build
Average
Height
5 ft 3 in or 160 cm
Weight
78 kg or 172 lbs
Girlfriend / Spouse
Phife Dawg had dated –
- Deisha Head (1998-2016) – Phife Dawg had first met Deisha Head through a mutual friend in 1998 and they had started dating soon after. The couple got engaged in 2001 and got married a few months later. They had 2 children together – a daughter named Jessica Marcia Taylor and a son. The couple was together until Phife Dawg’s death in March 2016.
Race / Ethnicity
Black
He was of Afro-Trinidadian descent.
Hair Color
Black
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Stocky frame
- Often made appearances in baseball hats
- Sported a trimmed goatee
Religion
Christianity
Phife Dawg Facts
- His twin brother, Mikal, was born prematurely and had died shortly after birth.
- He had first met future rapper and record producer Q-Tip as a child and had suggested to him, as a 9-year-old, that they should become rappers after getting inspired by the song Rapper’s Delight (1979). They would go on to become members of the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest.
- He had been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus in May 1990. He had used the phrase ‘funky diabetic’, referring to his diagnosis, in the single titled Oh My God which was a part of the aforementioned group’s 3rd album, Midnight Marauders.
- Phife Dawg had undergone a kidney transplant in 2008, the donor being his wife Deisha Head. The transplant became unsuccessful by 2012 and he had to repeat the procedure after this.
- He was an avid sports fan and used to be featured regularly on various radio shows and sports programs on ESPN. He had also been included as a playable character in the basketball video games NBA 2K7 and NBA 2K9.
- In November 2016, a portion of Linden Boulevard, at the intersection of 192nd Street in St. Albans, Queens, where he grew up, had been renamed as the Malik ‘Phife Dawg’ Taylor Way. It was the location for the shooting of the music video for his group’s 1991 song titled Check the Rhime.
Featured Image by Phife Dawg / Instagram
