QUEENS — The legend of A Tribe Called Quest will live on “on the boulevard of Linden.”
The pioneering rap group whose member Phife Dawg passed away in March, will soon get a mural on the side of Nu-Clear Cleaners at 19210 Linden Blvd. in St. Albans, as first reported by TMZ.com.
The building appeared in their 1991 video “Check The Rhime,” which opens with the lyrics, "Back in the days on the boulevard of Linden, we used to kick routines and presence was fittin'."
A Tribe Called Quest - Check The Rhyme - 1991 - Jive from DJ Upperkuts on Vimeo.
The mural, depicting the faces of the rappers, will be painted by muralist Vince Ballentine.
A portion of Linden Boulevard may also be co-named "A Tribe Called Quest Boulevard" sometime this summer. Local Councilman Daneek Miller has already submitted the co-naming proposal, which still has to be approved by a local community board and the City Council, according to Miller’s office.
A Tribe Called Quest was formed in 1985 and initially consisted of the late Phife Dawg, Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White, who left the group in the early 1990s.
Phife Dawg, born Malik Taylor, died on March 22 due to diabetes-related complications. He was 45.
Shortly after his death, his fans and friends started several petitions to honor him and the group by renaming St. Albans Park after the rapper and a portion of Linden Boulevard after the band.
