Phife Dawg
Forever
Smokin’ Needles/AWAL
Listen Below
Six years after his death, hip-hop music misses Malik Izaak Taylor a.k.a. Phife Dawg something terrible. As both a member of the beloved A Tribe Called Quest and a solo artist, Phife earned the love and respect of his fans and peers. He succumbed to complications from diabetes in early 2016, while he was in the midst of recording Tribe’s reunion (and final) album. What was often forgotten is that he was also working on a long gestating sophomore solo release. The result, Forever, serves as a fitting exclamation point to his recording career.
Forever became reality based on the efforts of Deisha Head-Taylor, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, and Dion "Rasta Root" Liverpool. Those are his widow, his mother, and his manager, respectively. While Deisha and Cheryl sought out ways to get Forever released, Rasta Root did much of the nuts-and-bolts work. He eventually assembled the album from years’ worth of recordings, drawing from many in various stages of completion.
Liverpool, an Atlanta resident, had worked with Phife since 1998, serving as his DJ, and eventually becoming his manager, business partner, and close friend. Hence, he had intimate knowledge of Phife’s post-Tribe musical proclivities, making him an ideal candidate to steer the album, enlist guest emcees, and clear samples when necessary.
Forever was pulled together from Phife’s many recording sessions as part of his follow-up to Ventilation: Da LP (2000), his first solo LP. The nearly 15-year process was filled with many fits and starts. Along the way, Phife apparently worked on numerous different projects and long-players. Some of the material here seemed intended for MUTTYmorPHosis, a project he was developing around 2013. Still others come from sessions that ran simultaneously to his work on We Got It From Here…
Rasta Root said he worked hard to make Forever sound like a complete project sprung from Phife’s mind. In an interview with the Klyph Notes podcast in late 2021, Liverpool revealed that 90% of the beats on Forever is material that Phife had rapped to. The other 10% is made up of beats that he said he knew, as Phife’s best friend, that he would have loved. “This is the closest thing to him leaving us a manuscript of what he wanted,” Liverpool stated.
Some songs were completed before Phife’s death. Some are remixed and reimagined versions of material that was released either before he passed or shortly afterwards. Rasta Root has said Phife completed about 30% of the album before his death, so he understandably had to fill some of the gaps with guest appearances, including long-time friends and like-minded artists. The result is an incredibly dope album that exceeds expectations.
The album’s production helps hold the album together. Rasta Root has said that he strove to make sure that Forever sounds like what the typical Tribe fan would expect after the group’s long hiatus. It captures what would be the natural progression of Phife’s sound: gritty (but not grimy) with ample amounts of bounce. It also helps that the album was mixed by people intimately familiar with Phife and Tribe’s studio sessions. Ali Shaheed Muhammed himself mixed down two tracks, before being pulled away to work on Queen Latifah’s Equalizer show. The rest of the mixing duties were handled by Bob Power, the engineer who made his name working on Tribe’s previous releases.
It’s impressive that none of the material on Forever sounds dated, even though Phife’s most recent rhymes are six years old. The subject matter throughout the project is evergreen, with Phife frequently contemplating relationships, human frailty, and growing up. On “Only a Coward,” the album’s opening track, Phife hands out tough love to those living foul and in need of getting their shit together. He turns that lens on himself with “Sorry,” where he laments his past infidelities and how they have impacted the lives of his loved ones.
Forever is captivating when Phife shares episodes from his life. “God Send” features Phife chronicling the years leading up to his 2008 kidney transplant, examining his own health and the ups and downs he was going through with Tribe. On “Residual Curiosities,” he describes the unlikely circumstances through which he met the woman who’d become his wife. He explains the process of becoming a contented family man on “Fallback,” reflecting on all the wisdom he hopes to impart to his children.
The album features a “reprise” of “Dear Dilla,” a track Phife originally released back in 2014. Rasta Root gives the track a lush, soaring backdrop as Phife speaks to his departed friend, mourning his absence. Q-Tip croons on the chorus, making the track even more bittersweet.
Sometimes the Five-Foot Assassin cuts loose on the tracks and Forever is better for it. The Khrysis-produced “Wow Factor” features Phife celebrating the good things in life. This includes but isn’t limited to the “Wordplay of Nas, militance of Chuck D” and “Draya Michelle’s body, Sofía Vergara’s titties.” Maceo of De La Soul provides the song’s chorus and ad-libs, complementing the swirling track.
“Nutshell Pt. 2” features some primo alliterative brawling by Phife and friends Busta Rhymes and Redman over a bouncy track by J Dilla. Phife’s solo endeavors often featured some of the production legend’s best work, and this rugged track, complete with stabs of vocals and organs, is no exception. The original version of the track was intended for an EP called Give Thanks that was never released. Both Busta and Redman sound energized here, with the latter rapping, “Keep your friends close and enemies closer / It’s rappers like me that’d piss off Oprah.”
Redman makes another appearance on “French Kiss Trois,” which, as the title suggests, appears to be the third iteration of the song. Part “Deux,” featuring Phife and Illa J (Dilla’s younger brother), was released last year, but I personally have never heard the original installment. It’s a lush composition produced by Canadian beatmakers Potatohead People, who fill the track with horns, watery keys, and hard-hitting drums. The three emcees seek out their perfect mates, as Phife describes scoping out the object of his affection in a Montreal club. Meanwhile, Redman envisions a ride-or-die woman “who will fart in the tub with ya.”
At times, Forever seems a bit stretched out, but that’s a function of its posthumous nature. Some entries don’t feature Phife rapping at all, which would be more of a sticking point if the songs in question weren’t as dope as they are. “Round Irving High School” is a spoken word piece by Cheryl Boyce-Taylor. Phife’s mother delivers a heartfelt requiem for her son, often speaking directly to him over a lush track crafted by Angela Winbush (of the R&B duo Rene & Angela) and Rasta Root.
“2 Live Forever” features verses by Posdnuos of De La Soul and Little Brother’s Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh, who all eulogize the five-foot assassin and expound on their efforts to leave a lasting legacy through their music. “I sit between forgotten and relevant,” Pos muses. “Flapping both like wings but never land.” The song ends with an extended soliloquy from Phife, who implores artists to make music that will impact and educate the youth.
Forever fittingly ends with the title track, which, according to Rasta Root, is the last song that he ever recorded. Phife recalls his lifelong interactions with music, first as a fan, then as an artist. He gives an honest, unvarnished recollection of his career’s ups and downs, particularly concerning the dissolution of A Tribe Called Quest. “If I could do it all over again, I’d sit down with my friend,” he confesses. “Was zero reason why this shit had to end.” However, he makes it clear he holds his brethren in high regard. “Can't speak for everybody or where my dudes' heads are at,” he raps. “But I love you motherfuckers true, spit all facts.”
Most artists don’t get one great final artistic statement after their death. Phife was fortunate enough to have two. Forever serves as a fitting cap to Don Juice’s career. It shows how much he had to give and leaves the listener grieving that there won’t be any more.
Notable Tracks: “Fallback” | “Forever” | “Nutshell Pt. 2” | “2 Live Forever”
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