Kendrick Lamar Pays Tribute to Phife Dawg at Concert

The tragic passing of A Tribe Called Quest's Phife Dawg has shaken the hip-hop community to its core. Kendrick Lamar is currently on tour in Australia and heard the news during today's (March 23) performance at Sydney's Allphones Arena. Seizing the opportunity to honor the fallen rapper's legacy, the superstar rapper led the crowd of 18,000 in a chant of Phife Dawg's name.

"There's 18,000 in this arena tonight, but I need one favor," said K.Dot. "Today, we lost one of the pioneers of hip-hop by the name of Phife Dawg...We're gonna give it up for him for allowing me to do what I do on this stage today."

The untitled unmastered. MC then began a call and response of Phife's name as the 18,000  paid homage to the pioneering rapper.

Phife, born Malik Isaac Taylor, was born on November 20, 1970 in Queens, New York. There he became childhood friends with Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, or Q-Tip. They would go on to form A Tribe Called Quest with Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White. Their debut album People’s Instinctive Paths and the Paths of Rhythm was released on April 10, 1990, and they would go on to become one of the most historic rap groups of all time.

The Queens native struggled with Diabetes and had a kidney transplant in 2008. His cause of death is currently unknown.

30 Albums That Will Make You Appreciate Hip-Hop