(AllHipHop News) Late rap pioneer Phife Dawg is set have a street in his native New York City renamed in his honor.
The A Tribe Called Quest star, real name Malik Taylor, died in March, aged 45, and on Wednesday (August 3), he will be posthumously saluted by Mayor Bill de Blasio for his contribution to Big Apple culture.
Phife’s management officials reportedly confirmed that the mayor is signing a bill to co-name Linden Blvd at 192 to Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor Way.
The event will take place at City Hall in Lower Manhattan at 10:00am.
The street dedication was initially proposed by fans in a petition shortly after Phife’s passing from complications related to diabetes.
The corner where Linden Boulevard intersects with 192nd Street in Queens is already steeped in A Tribe Called Quest history as it is widely recognized as the birthplace of the group, fronted by Q-Tip.
The street was referenced in a number of their songs, including “Steve Biko (Stir It Up)” and “Check the Rhime,” for which they shot the music video outside Nu-Clear Cleaners, a dry cleaning business on the road back in 1991.
Fans are also petitioning city officials to approve plans to have a mural honoring the band erected on the side of the building at the famed intersection.
The design by artist Vince Ballentine takes inspiration from the artwork of their 1993 album Midnight Marauders, and features the faces of Phife, Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White on a black background with red and green stripes.
The words, “A Tribe Called Quest… Represent, Represent” and the band’s circular logo also feature on the mural design.