Age, Biography and Wiki

Phife Dawg (Malik Izaak Taylor) was born on 20 November, 1970 in New York City, U.S., is an American rapper (1970–2016). Discover Phife Dawg's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 45 years old?

Popular As Malik Izaak Taylor
Occupation Rapper
Age 45 years old
Zodiac Sign Scorpio
Born 20 November 1970
Birthday 20 November
Birthplace New York City, U.S.
Date of death March 22, 2016
Died Place Oakley, California, U.S.
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 20 November. He is a member of famous Rapper with the age 45 years old group.

Phife Dawg Height, Weight & Measurements

At 45 years old, Phife Dawg height is 1.6 m .

Physical Status
Height 1.6 m
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Dating & Relationship status

He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Not Available
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Phife Dawg Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Phife Dawg worth at the age of 45 years old? Phife Dawg’s income source is mostly from being a successful Rapper. He is from United States. We have estimated Phife Dawg's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Rapper

Phife Dawg Social Network

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Timeline

1970

Malik Izaak Taylor (November 20, 1970 – March 22, 2016), known professionally as Phife Dawg (or simply Phife), was an American rapper and a member of the group A Tribe Called Quest with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (and for a short time Jarobi White).

He was also known as the "Five-Foot Assassin" and "the Five-Footer", because he stood at 5 ft.

Phife Dawg was born Malik Izaak Taylor on November 20, 1970, in Queens, New York City, the son of Trinidadian immigrant parents Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, a poet, and Walt Taylor.

Born prematurely, his twin brother Mikal died shortly after birth.

His mother settled in the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens, where Phife Dawg was raised, when she was 13 years old.

He was a cousin of writer Zinzi Clemmons.

He first met his friend Q-Tip at the age of two, and at nine years old, Phife Dawg suggested that they should rap, after hearing "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang for the first time.

He attended Pine Forge Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist boarding school near Philadelphia, for his freshman year of high school, later transferring to Springfield Gardens High School in Queens.

1980

Phife has been described as having had a "self-deprecating swagger", and his work with A Tribe Called Quest helped challenge the "macho posturing" of rap and hip-hop music during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

1985

Phife Dawg formed A Tribe Called Quest, then simply named Quest, with Q-Tip and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad in 1985; the group was later expanded with the addition of Jarobi White.

A Tribe Called Quest were closely associated with fellow hip-hop acts De La Soul and Jungle Brothers, with the groups collectively known as the Native Tongues.

1989

A Tribe Called Quest was initially offered a demo deal by Geffen Records in 1989, but signed to Jive Records to release its 1990 début People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.

1990

Taylor was diagnosed with diabetes in 1990.

Conflicting reports indicated it as type 1, while other sources reported it as type 2.

1991

Phife Dawg's contributions to the group increased on its second album, 1991's The Low End Theory, which saw Phife—often calling himself "the Five-Foot Assassin"—rapping about social and political issues; the record has since been acclaimed by critics and musicians.

Phife's work has been cited as an influence on Kanye West, Jill Scott, The Roots and Common, while the 1991 album The Low End Theory is considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever.

1993

The group released three more albums that decade—Midnight Marauders in 1993, Beats, Rhymes and Life in 1996, and The Love Movement in 1998—before disbanding as a result of conflict both with their record label and internally.

He described himself as a "funky diabetic" in the single "Oh My God" from A Tribe Called Quest's 1993 album Midnight Marauders.

2000

In 2000, he released his debut solo album, Ventilation: Da LP.

2008

In 2008, Taylor developed renal failure and received a kidney transplant from his wife, but it was unsuccessful, and by 2012 he again required a transplant.

2011

The group's troubles, especially the sometimes tense relationship between Phife and Q-Tip, were featured in the 2011 documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, directed by Michael Rapaport.

Phife also performed with other artists.

He was featured on the Fu-Schnickens song "La Schmoove", Diamond D's "Painz & Strife" with Pete Rock, and Chi-Ali's "Let the Horns Blow" with Dres, Al' Tariq and Trugoy.

After the group disbanded, he continued playing live shows to help cover medical costs, and revealed in the 2011 documentary film Beats, Rhymes & Life that he was "just addicted to sugar ... it's really a sickness".

2013

In 2013, it was reported that Phife was working on another solo album, MUTTYmorPHosis.

2015

On November 13, 2015, A Tribe Called Quest reunited for a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.

That night, Phife and Q-Tip decided to put aside their differences and record a new group album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, in secrecy.

2016

A single, "Sole Men", was released one day after Phife's death (March 23, 2016) along with a posthumously released video.

Another single, "Nutshell", was released online in April 2016 along with a posthumously released video.

Phife spent four months working on the album before his death; it was completed by the surviving members and released on November 11, 2016.

On March 22, 2016, Taylor died at age 45 in his Oakley, California, home due to complications of diabetes.

On November 19, 2016, a portion of Linden Boulevard, at the intersection of 192nd Street in St. Albans, was honorarily renamed "Malik 'Phife Dawg' Taylor Way".

The location is significant as the site of the video for A Tribe Called Quest's song "Check the Rhime".

2017

In February 2017, it was announced that Phife's second studio album would be released later in the year.

The single "Wanna Dance" was released that month and features Dwele and Mike City.

Phife Dawg's second solo album, Forever, was released on March 22, 2022, the sixth anniversary of his death.

Taylor was married to Deisha Head-Taylor and had two children, a daughter and a son.

He was a fan of the New York Knicks, and was a playable character in the video games NBA 2K7 and NBA 2K9.