A Tribe Called Quest Gets Crucial Stamp of Approval for NYC Street Cred

Phife Dawg is one key step closer to getting a permanent tribute in his hometown -- renaming the street he rapped about all the time ... A Tribe Called Quest Boulevard.

After Phife died last week, a petition was started to encourage city council members to co-name Linden Blvd (represent, represent) in Queens. It's already approaching its goal of 5,000 signatures.

Sources involved in the campaign tell us they crossed another hurdle -- getting Phife's family to sign off on the plan. We're told NYC requires such approval before putting a celeb name on a street sign. Also, Councilman Daneek Miller says he's fully behind the plan because "A Tribe Called Quest is fundamentally important to the history of Queens."

There are also proposals on the table to co-name streets in honor of The Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun and Wu-Tang Clan.