Besides hip hop, Phife Dawg loved his sports, especially basketball, especially the Knicks. With his untimely passing this week, numerous people from the world of sports have sent their condolences and showed their love for Phife. The latest in line is none other than Kobe Bryant, who spoke about the impact of Phife & Tribe as a whole.

@IamJoeSports

“It’s the passing of a legend. I mean, he made timeless music. That’s very hard nowadays with music being in the moment. What they’ve been able to do is make music that stands the test of time. You can release a Tribe album, and it’s just as relevant and hot now as it was then. That’s speaks to the attention to detail and perfection of their craft.”

Since Kobe is in his late 30’s now, he came up right in the middle of the era where A Tribe Called Quest was on top and lyrics and skills still mattered so it’s no surprise he spoke so eloquently of Phife and the music as a whole.

Salute to Kobe for his words and RIP Phife!

Shout to Complex for the find!