Phife Dawg

Malik Isaac Taylor (born November 20, 1970), better known by his stage name Phife Dawg (or simply Phife), is an American rapper of Trinidadian descent, and a member of the group A Tribe Called Quest with high school classmates Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (and for a short time Jarobi White). He is also known as the "Five Foot Assassin" and "The Five Footer", because he stands at 5 ft 3 in.

In addition to being a member of pioneering hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, Phife has performed in songs with other artists. He was featured on the Fu-Schnickens song "La Schmoove", Diamond D's "Painz & Strife" along with Pete Rock, Chi-Ali's "Let the Horns Blow" with Dres, Al' Tariq and Trugoy. In 2000, he released his debut solo album, Ventilation: Da LP. As of 2013 it was reported that Phife is working on a solo album titled MUTTYmorPHosis.

He is a playable character in the video game NBA 2K7 and NBA 2K9. Phife Dawg has mentioned being a "funky diabetic" in the single "Oh My God" from the group's third album, Midnight Marauders, and he does indeed have diabetes.

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group that was formed in 1985, and was composed of MC/producer Q-Tip, MC Phife Dawg aka Phife Diggy (Malik Taylor), and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album in 1991. He continued to contribute to the band sporadically before rejoining for their 2006 reunion. Along with De La Soul, the group was a central part of the Native Tongues Posse, and enjoyed the most commercial success out of all the groups to emerge from that collective. Many of their songs, such as "Bonita Applebum", "Can I Kick It?", "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo", "Scenario", "Check the Rhime", "Jazz (We've Got)", "Award Tour" and "Electric Relaxation" are regarded as classics. The group released five albums between 1990 and 1998 and disbanded in 1998. In 2006, the group reunited and toured the US. The group is regarded as pioneers of alternative hip hop music, having helped to pave the way for many innovative artists.

Quest

In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and (frequently) as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and the overcoming of many obstacles, typically including much travel. The aspect of travel also allows the storyteller to showcase exotic locations and cultures (an objective of the narrator, not of the character).

Quest objects

The hero normally aims to obtain something or someone by the quest, and with this object to return home. The object can be something new, that fulfills a lack in his life, or something that was stolen away from him or someone with authority to dispatch him.

Sometimes the hero has no desire to return; Sir Galahad's quest for the Holy Grail is to find it, not return with it. A return may, indeed, be impossible: Aeneas quests for a homeland, having lost Troy at the beginning of Virgil's Aeneid, and he does not return to Troy to re-found it but settles in Italy (to become an ancestor of the Romans).

Tribe

A tribe is viewed, historically or developmentally, as a social group existing before the development of, or outside, states. A tribe is a distinct people, dependent on their land for their livelihood, who are largely self-sufficient, and not integrated into the national society. It is perhaps the term most readily understood and used by the general public. Stephen Corry, director of Survival International, the world's only organisation dedicated to indigenous rights, has defined tribal people as "those which have followed ways of life for many generations that are largely self-sufficient, and are clearly different from the mainstream and dominant society". This definition, however, would not apply in countries in the Middle East such as Iraq, where the entire population is a member of one tribe or another and therefore tribalism itself is dominant and mainstream.

There are an estimated one hundred and fifty million tribal individuals worldwide, constituting around forty percent of indigenous individuals. However, although nearly all tribal people are also indigenous, there are some who are not indigenous to the areas where they live now.

Electric Relaxation

"Electric Relaxation" is the second single from A Tribe Called Quest's third album Midnight Marauders. It contains a sample of "Mystic Brew" by Ronnie Foster.

Charts

References