Phife Dawg’s recent passing came as a shock to the hip-hop community, but just days after his death, the late rapper may soon have a street in his hometown named in his honor.
Shortly after news broke that Phife, real name Malik Taylor, died last week, fans of the legendary rapper started a petition to co-name a stretch of Linden Boulevard in Queens, New York after his legendary group, A Tribe Called Quest. The petition, which has garnered close to 5,000 signatures, asked that the 192nd and 193rd streets of the busy avenue be changed to “A Tribe Called Quest Boulevard” to pay homage to the collective.
Now, after receiving significant residential and city council support, coordinators have reportedly hit a snag in the renaming process. According to TMZ, campaign members need the city-required approval of the Five Foot Assassin’s family before the change can be made official.
The document’s author, LeRoy McCarthy, who is also working to recognize Big Pun, Biggie Smalls, and the Wu-Tang clan in the same manner, told NY1 that the street tribute is necessary because the group is “royalty.”
“They’ve been around since the late eighties and we want to honor them with a street name,” he said.
Phife Dawg died on March 23 as a result of complications from diabetes following years of health issues and a kidney transplant in 2008. He was 45 years old.