The Estate of Phife Dawg has debuted a new music video with Complex for posthumous single “Nutshell PART 2” (Ft. Busta Rhymes & Redman) on Smokin’ Needles Records/AWAL. The release falls on the 5-year anniversary of Phife Dawg’s untimely passing on March 22nd in 2016. The video precedes the upcoming four-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated multiplatinum New York-born MC and member of A Tribe Called Quest’s highly anticipated LP, Forever, which as Phife would say, “album soon come.”
The music video was directed by Tony Reames and produced by Dion ‘Rasta Root’ Liverpool, and features cameos from Busta Rhymes, Redman, Q-Tip, Consequence, and Dj Rasta Root. “Nutshell PART 2” is a follow-up to the original version of “Nutshell,” a song that highlighted Phife’s lyrical elasticity over a lo-fi loop, snappy drums, horn swells, and scratches. Prior to Phife’s tragic 2016 passing, he spent time working on this album, partnering with trusted collaborators and assembling a catalog of songs representative of his art.
Of the upcoming album’s release, Phife’s family stated that “He worked really hard to complete his album before he transitioned, and he was ready to share an album that was near and dear to his heart with his fans. His fans meant the world to him.”
Phife made a name for himself as a founding member of A Tribe Called Quest, where he, along with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, released some of the most influential hip-hop albums of all time, including The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders. In 2000, he debuted his first solo Ventilation: Da LP, to massive critical acclaim. In 2015, he reunited with A Tribe Called Quest, recording We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service, which debuted #1 on the Billboard Top 200 almost immediately following Phife’s passing.
Check out the video above.
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