It was a sad day in the hip-hop community this week. Founding member of A Tribe Called Quest and rapper Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor died Tuesday at the age of 45.
While the cause of death has yet to be officially released, Rolling Stone reported that Taylor had dealt with many health issues due to a longtime battle with diabetes — he underwent a kidney transplant in 2008 — and noted that he said he was addicted to sugar like drugs. (Taylor also famously called himself “the Funky Diabetic” in several ATCQ songs.) In his final interview with the magazine last fall, Taylor was optimistic about the future and was working on a new album, Muttymorphosis, that was “basically my life story.”
The Queens native joined the New York City-based band at 19 and is credited with influencing the group’s rise to critical success. Taylor, with bandmates Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and honorary member Jarobi White, were game-changers to the early 1990s hip-hop sound. Together the foursome pioneered a more progressive style to their aggressive West Coast contemporaries that layered smooth jazz and Afro-centric beats with socially conscious lyrics. The iconic group was signed to Jive Records and recorded five studio albums. Last November, Tribe made its last performance together on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote the 25th anniversary reissue of their debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.
Since the news of Taylor’s death, artists like Questlove, Kendrick Lamar, Sean Lennon, Chris Rock, Chance the Rapper and Mac Miller, among others, have noted ATCQ’s importance to their own careers and took to social media to say goodbye to the late hip-hop legend known as Phife Dawg.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead will kick off three sold-out nights at The Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday, March 24 for 
NYS Music had the opportunity to chat with Jamie Madrox about the upcoming show. We discussed the band’s current and upcoming endeavors and what fans can expect from this tour. Jamie is always a fun and interesting person to chat with. He is passionate about horror movies and collecting horror related items and memorabilia, making for a great interview with writer Chris Besaw
According to a statement, “The Palace Theatre” acquired property behind the building up to Wilson Street in anticipation of future projects. Palace management felt the timing was right to buy as there is development beginning to happen around the theatre. No specific plans for the lots has been announced at this time.
