Following the death of Phife Dawg yesterday (March 22), A Tribe Called Quest has come forward to release a statement. Between 1990 and 1998, Phife released five albums with the team of Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Additionally, Jarobi was involved with the group upon its inception.

As published by Rolling Stone, A Tribe Called Quest released the following statement in memory of its late co-founding MC:

“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 father’s call.

We love his family, his mother, 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, DJs, social media and the media 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.”

A Tribe Called Quest, which had estranged status for much of the 2000s, has not released material in 18 years. In 2015, the group performed and appeared as a quartet upon the 25th anniversary of its Jive Records debut, Peoples Instinctive Travels and the Paths Of Rhythm. Previously, the group toured extensively, despite not recording.

Related: Phife Dawg’s Family & Manager Release Statements About His Life And Cause Of Death