A Tribe Called Quest Responds To Phife Dawg's Death: 'Our Hearts Are Heavy'

News broke on Wednesday that rapper Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest passed away, and the remaining members of the group have released a statement in his honor.

Phife Dawg, whose real name is Malik Taylor, died at the age of 45 after a 26-year battle with Type 1 diabetes. Although the popular rap group had been broken up since 1998, it was still together for eight years and had even recently reunited for several shows, and the group said the news was "devastating."

"Our hearts are heavy. We are devastated. This is something we weren't prepared for although we all know that life is fleeting," A Tribe Called Quest wrote on its website. "It was no secret about his health and his fight. But the fight for his joy and happiness gave him everything he needed. The fight to keep his family happy, his soul happy and those around him happy, gave him complete and unadulterated joy...until he heeded his fathers call. We love his family his mother, his father, his son, his wife, his nieces, his family here in New York, Atlanta, California and Trinidad."

As so many artists took to social media following his death to express their love and share their condolences, Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White then went on to thank everyone for their support during this tragic time. "Thank you for the outpouring of prayers and support from the fans, fellow artists, music outlets, blogs, radio stations, DJ's, social media and the music community at large," they continued. "This too is part of his joy and means a lot to him. His family is overwhelmed by the support, well wishes and are thankful. His music and what he's contributed is seismic and hard to measure. He's affected us as much as he's affected all of you. We're inspired by his daily joy and courage. He wasn't in pain. He was happy. We take comfort in knowing he will be beside his grandmother."

They then shared a tribute photo to their fellow group member on both Instagram and Twitter writing, "We love and miss you."