Kobe Bryant Reflects on the Death of Phife Dawg

Warm thoughts have been pouring in from the hip-hop community for Phife Dawg following the announcement of his death on Wednesday (March 23). But the Five Foot Assassin's influence extended way beyond the boundaries of rap. NBA legend Kobe Bryant was recently asked his thoughts on the passing of the A Tribe Called Quest rapper and Bean had some high praise for the late MC.

"It's the passing of a legend," said the future NBA Hall of Fame guard. "I mean, he made timeless music. That's very hard nowadays with music being in the moment. What they've been able to do is make music that stands the test of time. You can release a Tribe album, and it's just as relevant and hot now as it was then. That speaks to the attention to detail and perfection of their craft."

Similar sentiments have been attached to Phife's legacy by rappers from Run The Jewels to Kendrick Lamar.

On the latest episode of Q-Tip's Abstract Radio show on Beats1, he allowed several rappers to come on and speak their peace about Phife including Andre 3000, who had this to say. “A Tribe Called Quest is everything, everything to me,” he noted. “There will not be no OutKast without A Tribe Called Quest. It was everything to me in high school, just listening to Q-tip run the verses. And I remember being really interested in vocabulary. He actually made me want to know more about words and use them as tools. Like, words that you may have not even know before. He made it actually cool to use those words.”

Malik will be missed.

30 Albums That Will Make You Appreciate Hip-Hop