Phife Dawg: Founding Member Of A Tribe Called Quest Dies At 45 [TWEETS]

Phife Dawg, from the rap group A Tribe Called Quest, has passed away.

The beloved and clever rapper, whose real name is Malik Taylor, died on Wednesday at the age of 45. The cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but Taylor had health issues for years. After battling Type 1 diabetes for a long time, he underwent a kidney transplant in 2008 thanks to a donation from his wife.

"It's really a sickness," he said in 2011. "Like straight-up drugs. I'm just addicted to sugar."

Taylor had even labeled himself "the Funky Diabetic" in several of A Tribe Called Quest's songs. He eventually became a diabetes advocate and shared his personal story in the 2012 documentary "Beats, Rhymes and Life."

Phife Dawg formed A Tribe Called Quest in the late 1980's along with Q-Tip, whose real name is Jonathan Davis, DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White, who eventually left the group at the height of their success. Quest went on to sign to Jive Records and release five studio albums.

Their first album, "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm," was released in 1990. After they put out the first album, the following four were extremely successful. The 1996 album "Beats, Rhymes and Life" was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 while its follow-up "The Love Movement" was No. 3 on the chart. In 2005, the rap group was awarded with a Special Achievement Award at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Awards.

Phife even released a solo album in 2000 called "Ventilation: Da LP" following the group's break up in 1998. Even though they are no longer an official rap group, they have reunited for several shows over the years, including a recent performance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

When the tragic news of his death was made public, several rappers and friends took to social media to remember the great rapper and share their condolences:

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