Career
He was also known as the "Five Foot Assassin" and "The Five Footer", because he stood at 5 feet 3 inches (160 m). Phife has been described as having a "self-deprecating swagger", and his work with A Tribe Called Quest helped to challenge the "macho posturing" of rap and hip-hop music during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Phife"s work has been cited as an influence on Kanye West, Jill Scott, The Roots and Common, while the 1991 album The Low End Theory is considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums released.
A Tribe Called Quest were initially offered a demo deal by Geffen Records in 1989, but signed to Jive Records to release their 1990 début People"s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.
Phife Dawg"s contributions to the group increased on their second album, 1991"s The Low End Theory, which saw Phife—often referring to himself as "the Five Foot Assassin"—rapping about social and political issues. The record has since been acclaimed by critics and fellow musicians.
The group released three further albums throughout the decade—Midnight Marauders in 1993, Beats, Rhymes and Life in 1996, and The Love Movement in 1998—before disbanding as a result of conflict both with their record label and between members. The band"s troubles, especially the tense relationship between Phife and Q-Tip, was featured in the 2011 documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, directed by Michael Rapaport.
He was featured on the Fu-Schnickens song "Louisiana Schmoove", Diamond Doctorate"s "Painz & Strife" along with Pete Rock, Chi-Ali"s "Let the Horns Blow" with Dres, First Rate (at Lloyd's)" Tariq and Trugoy.
In 2000, he released his debut solo album, Ventilation: Da LP. As of 2013 it was reported that Phife was working on a solo album titled MUTTYmorPHosis. A tenative single titled "Nutshell" was released online in late 2015.
