The estate for legendary emcee Phife Dawg has officially unveiled his long-awaited posthumous album, Forever. The project debuted today (Mar. 22) via AWAL, which is the sixth anniversary of the day he passed away.
The new album is equipped with 13 tracks and a long roster of collaborators including names like Rapsody, Renée Neufville, Busta Rhymes, Redman, Q-Tip, Lyric Jones, Little Brother, POS, and plenty others. On the production side, the boards were handled by the likes of J Dilla, 9th Wonder, Angela Winbush, and more. Prior to the album’s release, fans were able to enjoy “Nutshell Pt. 2,” which sees Phife rapping in his zone alongside his peers, Redman and Busta:
Peep the rebirth of the reborn as I rebuild reconnect with this rebel, redefining raw skill/ I realign, readjusted, refocused, reanalyzed what’s real versus bullshit/ Had to refuel, reactivate to reemerge, reevaluate, recalculate, bitch, I return, redefine, re-energize, get reacquainted
Of the project’s anticipated release, collaborator and executive Producer Dion “Rasta Root” Liverpool shared: “I am really excited for Phife and his legacy. I know he is somewhere smiling and reading the credits and staring at artwork.”
Phife Dawg’s wife Deisha Taylor added: “We are overwhelmed with excitement about the release of Malik’s album. We’ve waited 6 years for this, so our joy is boundless.”
Before his untimely passing in 2016, the four-time GRAMMY Award-nominated New York-born MC spent time working on the album, partnering with trusted collaborators and assembling a catalog of songs representative of his art. There were initial early reports said the project was going to be titled Give Thanks and the body of work was originally slated to be released in 2017. In 2016, fans got to listen to the song “Nutshell” produced by J Dilla and the track “Beat The System” in 2020.
Be sure to press play on Phife Dawg’s posthumous album Forever down below. Rest In Peace, Phife.