what I mean is that to anybody who loves hip hop, this is heavy on the heart. I don't know why we're spending any time picking apart how I worded my grief though.

I'm not being sensitive, I'm just busting your balls. I'm almost insulted that you didn't pick up on that. I don't care about this crap at all. I like you and all, but I forgot I'd even said that. I was just pointing out the silliness of your statements. My heart ain't hurtin'.

Yeah, this is a major, major loss for the hip-hop world. You're absolutely right. It's fucking Phife Dawg, man! Are people not getting that Phife was in ATCQ? This is like a George Harrison passing to the hip-hop community.

I'm very saddened by this. Spent the day blasting Tribe. One of hip-hop's greatest talents, and certainly one of (if not THE) greatest group in the genre's history.

RIP Phife dawg.

My bad to seem to pick on you.

We all hurting about it

So sad, RIP. :(

That also cancels the possibility of getting a reunion album, which I've been hoping for for a while.

Listening to Butter..

all good buddy.


I listened to Low End and MM last night back-to-back. I have to say this passing has hurt me more than any musician I can recall in a very long time. No disrespect to any other lost ones of course. But Tribe has meant so much to me since I was like 12. I discovered their music at such an important and formative time in my life. Not only did they lead me to so much other hip hop, but their samples and liner notes also exposed me to so much jazz. As a teen, the arrival of Beats Rhymes And Life and The Love Movement where treated like... I don't even have an analog. All I can say is that a new Tribe album back then was pretty much the biggest musical event that could happen to me. Y'know? They were one of those groups where I had to have everything. When I was 15 or 16 I imported the Revised Quest For The Seasoned Traveler remix album... I also amassed a rather ridiculous collection of ATCQ singles on cassette, vinyl, CD... I mean I'd even buy every compilation or soundtrack that had a new Tribe song on it. I was serious.

Y'all know that I put Q-Tip on a giant pedestal. There's no denying that. And for good reason I think - having his hands in helping craft Illmatic and The Infamous; co-forming The Ummah w/ Dilla; etc. BUT... while I've followed his solo career post-Tribe, it's always been my wish that there would be another Tribe album. I love Q-Tip, But I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing him juxtaposed w/ Phife & Ali. And I spent the years after Love Movement always having a feeling in the back of my mind that this could be the year. I always expected that one day, out of the blue, Tribe would just surprise drop a new album on us. I think that part of what has hit me so hard about this is that now I know that can't ever happen. This naive fantasy that I've had since I was like 17 is gone. And now the teenager in me has to finally let go and admit that Tribe is truly over forever.

Real sad day.

Indeed.

Phife always told it like it was, never rapped about shit that was not REAL to him, and I loved him for it.

I agree with Rob about Phife

Yeah, this one feels big. I was probably personally more shattered by Lou Reed's death (I still haven't fully come to grips with the fact that we're living in a Lou-less world), but this affects me on a personal level more than most.

Clearly you and I have some similarities in how we handle our fandom. I too am a "collect them all!" kind of guy when it comes to my favorite groups. You said you did this with Dipset too, correct? I've always been like that. Definitely a completist when it comes to my true favorites.

Tribe was one of the first hip-hop groups I ever got into. For me, ATCQ was always an untouchable force. I know I've long argued in favor of Wu-Tang being the Beatle of hip hop, but I've changed my stance on that. It's certainly Tribe, at least for that era.. As a group they influenced hip-hop more than any other group or collective, and they popped up just in time to set the tone for an entire generation of rap and hip-hop artists (gangsta rappers aside) who pursued sonic exploration and blended genres. All of the game's true "artists" have Tribe to thank for making hip-hop a musical genre instead of simply a vocal one. Hip-hop instead of just "rap."

Phife's passing is unexpected and hits home. I'm sure there are almost no hip-hop fans in our age group who won't be affected by this. It's sad shit.

I'm trying to rep you guys but it won't let me! I can't rep any of you!
Done it too many times. I've even been deliberately spreading rep around more to address this problem, but so far it's done no good.

Anyway, I'm repping you all in my heart.

one thing making me really happy this week is seeing Phife get his due props. He always kind of seemed overshadowed by Q-Tip. But it's great to see him being remembered on his own terms. Not as "the other rapper in ATCQ" y'know? PFork ran a nice article today about Phife's love of sports. I even heard a nice obit on NPR yesterday. It feels good that this isn't just a footnote. It seems like people realize how important this is, and why we need to keep remembering such an special person.

Stop being a bitch, go spread rep randomly to other users and come back. THAT is how it works. Share the love

I said that's exactly what I've been doing, you taint. How did you miss that?

Actually, I haven't been doing it randomly. I've been passing out good rec to new folks though. But I must have pos repped the shit out of you guys if I'm still backed up. Whoweee.

I confess i didn't read

fascist! don't understand why you guys are so obsessed with shit music boring party hip hop.

all you fuckheads talk about is hip hop this hip hop that. ya'll are so narrow minded.

"so and so released an ep and single, so good" no it's not good. it sucks shit. it '
s garbage and will be forgotten and so and so got his ass shot like a dumbass and I took a duimp in gargabe n3ext to the president while have in a baby blue eyes ae4re ok ne panitu.

this is what I think of guys: I thtnk you shourl comparer dick and cat dparar and fuck each woth with condeums and eat a lost of shit wholel taking cokck n the ass and whle watching tv electing s and pacing gass wjp;e r4e;aced amd re ,'amdd. pray I meend to god and iwich oiuyr soul the be4st.

can't get no perfect than that. nothing I think he did is dated.

It is a 10/10 but so is 1999, as well as Sign O which is about a million times better. If you only know Purple Rain you don't really know Prince. Trust me, it was the only Prince album I was familiar with for the longest. Boy was I missing out.

I'm a huge Prince fan, but his music often does sound like some typical 80's pop shit with dusty synths and all that. The mastering on those albums is horrible and when I hear "Let's Go Crazy" I can't help but think of corny people in the 80's dancing funny: