As a founding member of A Tribe Called Quest, Malik Taylor, better known as Phife Dawg, with his unforgettable one-liners, had a profound impact on the hip-hop genre.
Taylor, who passed away unexpectedly last spring due to diabetes related complications, will now be memorialized with a street named for him.
This memorial, according to Gothamist, was submitted by City Council Member I. Daneek Miller in early May after discussing the idea with Taylor’s widow.
On August 3rd, Mayor Bill de Blasio will sign a bill that co-names a portion of Linden Boulevard at 192nd Street in St. Albans “Malik ‘Phife Dawg’ Taylor Way,” for the late artist.
Since permanently re-naming a city street is basically impossible, co-naming the street and adding an additional street sign with Taylor’s name under the original, was the most logical way to honor Phife.
Fans of A Tribe Called Quest know that this Queens neighborhood was his old stomping grounds and where he met his friend and future bandmate, Q-Tip.
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This specific section of Linden Boulevard appears in songs “Check the Rhime” and “Steve Biko,” where Taylor raps about learning to rap on this street.
Since his death, a mural of the cover art for A Tribe Called Quest’s albums’ Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders has also been unveiled across the wall of Nu Clear Dry Cleaners on the corner of Linden Boulevard and 192nd Street.