Queens street renamed after Phife Dawg
New York City recognized the late A Tribe Called Quest rapper with Malike Taylor Way.
“Back in the days on the boulevard of Linden,” a boasting Phife Dawg rapped on the 1991 track “Check the Rhime,” reminding listeners and fellow MC’s of the street he grew up on in the St. Albans section of Queens, New York. Twenty-five years later, the fallen A Tribe Called Quest member will be immortalized with a street co-named in his honor on the intersection of Linden Boulevard and 192 St.
Earlier this week, on Wednesday morning (August 3), at the Surrogate’s Court in New York City, Mayor Bill DeBlasio approved a motion, confirming the renaming as Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor Way.
“My heart is heavy but all of these wonderful things has lifted it, somehow, and so I just want to thank everybody. And I just want us to continue his work,” ihs mother, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, told REVOLT. She attended the town hall affair with her husband Walt Taylor and Quest member Jarobi White.
In addition to Phife, D’aja Robinson, a fourteen-year-old who was shot and killed by gang members while riding the Q6 bus line in Jamaica, Queens, was recognized.
Check out our interview with Phife’s parents and Jarobi speaking about the ceremony.