Throwback Thursday: Watch A Tribe Called Quest & The Roots Freestyle On Lorna's Corner

I can’t think of a more fitting early morning Throwback Thursday. While we continue to mourn the loss of the late great Phife Dawg, let’s take some time to celebrate some of the beautiful art Phife left us with. A great example of this would be this 1995 freestyle with The Roots. Maybe you’ve seen it before, maybe you haven’t, either way it’s more than worth revisiting. The clip features The Roots and A Tribe Called Quest freestyling on Hartford, Connecticut public access show, Lorna’s Corner (aired in 1995). Rahzel handles the beatbox as Consequence sets things off then hands the mic over to Black Thought, before Phife closes things out - classic ish.

H/T: The Key

Earlier today, A Tribe Called Quest made an official statement on Phife’s passing, you can read that below. R.I.P. Phife.

Our hearts are heavy. We are devastated. This is something we weren’t prepared for although we all know that life is fleeting. 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.

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. 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.