Phife Dawg

Malik Isaac Taylor (born November 20, 1970, Queens, New York), better known as Phife Dawg, also known as the Five Foot Assassin and The Five Footer because he stands at 5 ft 3, is an American rapper, and a member of the acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest with high school classmates Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (and for a short time Jarobi White).   His MC alias, Phife, was named after the fife, a small flute often used in the military and in marching bands, changing the first "f" of fife to the phonetically similar "ph". Phife Dawg references the origin of his name in A Tribe Called Quest's song "Jazz", in which Q-Tip says, "And after the horns you can check out the fifer" (the "fifer" being someone who plays upon a fife). The size of the instrument is an obvious comparison to his stature.   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, and Black Sheep's "Let the Horns Blow" with Al' Tariq and Trugoy, among others. In 2000 he released his first solo LP, Ventilation: Da LP. Currently Phife is anticipating a second album titled Songs in the Key of Phife. He stated on Billboard's website that he would like to get Method Man, Faith Evans, De La Soul, and Redman, as well as his fellow ATCQ bandmates.