A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg Dead at 45

Phife Dawg, one of the co-founders of A Tribe Called Quest, has died, Rolling Stone reports. The influential rapper, born Malik I. Taylor, was 45 years old. Update (3/23 1:08 p.m. EST): Phife Dog died from "complications resulting from diabetes," according to his family and manager. Find the full statement below, and find tributes from artists including Kendrick Lamar, Questlove, Chance the Rapper, Chuck D, and more, here. Update (3/23, 7:20 p.m. EST): A Tribe Called Quest have now shared a statement—read it below.

Phife grew up in Queens with Q-Tip. Together with Ali Shaheed Muhammad, they formed A Tribe Called Quest in 1988. Their first recording, "Description of a Fool" was released in 1989. They were signed to Jive that year, and in 1990, they released their excellent debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. The next year, they released another classic, The Low End Theory. They released three more LPs—1993's Midnight Marauders, 1996's Beats, Rhymes and Life, and 1998's The Love Movement—before splitting up. Beginning in 2006, the group reunited off and on over the years. When it was announced that they'd perform with Kanye West in 2013, Q-Tip called those the final Tribe shows. They performed one last time in 2015 on "The Tonight Show" with the Roots.

Phife released one solo album, 2000's Ventilation: Da LP, which featured production from J Dilla, Pete Rock, and others. He appeared on several other artist's tracks. He was a huge sports fan, which he frequently referenced in his lyrics.

Statement from Phife's family:

"We regret to share the news that on Tuesday March 22nd, 2016, Malik has passed away due to complications resulting from diabetes.

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."

Dion Liverpool, his manager adds, "While I mourn the loss of my best friend and brother, I also will celebrate his incredible life and contribution to many people's ears across the world. Even with all his success, I have never met a person as humble as he. He taught me that maintaining a positive attitude and outlook can conquer anything. Now my brother is resting in greatness. I'm honored to have crossed paths with him. Riddim Kidz 4eva."

The family asks that their privacy be respected at this difficult time.

Statement from A Tribe Called Quest:

Our hearts are heavy. We are devastated. This is something we weren’t prepared for although we all know that life is fleeting. It was no secret about his health and his fight. But the fight for his joy and happiness gave him everything he needed. The fight to keep his family happy, his soul happy and those around him happy, gave him complete and unadulterated joy... until he heeded his fathers call.

We love his family his mother, his father, his son, his wife, his nieces, his family here in New York, Atlanta, California and Trinidad.

Thank you for the outpouring of prayers and support from the fans, fellow artists, music outlets, blogs, radio stations, DJ’s, social media and the music community at large. This too is part of his joy and means a lot to him. His family is overwhelmed by the support, well wishes and are thankful. His music and what he’s contributed is seismic and hard to measure. He’s affected us as much as he’s affected all of you. We’re inspired by his daily joy and courage. He wasn’t in pain. He was happy.

We take comfort in knowing he will be beside his grandmother.