Let the good news for A Tribe Called Quest carry over into next year! As their highly successful return continues, there’s now news regarding the release of a posthumous album from the late group member Phife Dawg.
Phife Dawg’s widow, Desha Head Taylor, confirmed the news with Okayplayer, saying, “His solo album will be out probably sometime during the first quarter of 2017. We’re working on it now.”
She continued, “He completed his entire solo album before he transitioned, so we’re excited about releasing that.”
Phife Dawg, born Malik Taylor, passed away in March of this year due to complications with diabetes. Before his death, he was already working on his new solo effort while also taking time to record We Got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service with his ATCQ bandmates, too. And now, the follow-up to Ventilaton: Da LP, his first solo project released in 2004, while find its way to fans after “Nutshell,” one the tracks expected to be included, premiered with a song and video shortly after his death.
The ATCQ member’s widow also shared her memories of how excited her husband was to be back working with his childhood friends again. As Q-Tip mentioned previously, the Five Foot Assassin gave his everything to help make the reunion album happen and Taylor make it sound like it was a rewarding experience for him. “There were times where he was working on the album where he would send me video footage of him rhyming over some of the beats that you would hear on the album,” she said. “He would make a certain face when hearing the beat, he would make this frown like ‘I’m feeling this,’ and you would hear his verses in the back. He was really excited about this project.”
There’s no word on whether the project will stick with the title originally associated with it, Give Thanks, or not. While we wait for more details on the album, watch the video for “Nutshell” below.
