With the unfortunate and untimely passing of Phife Dawg, the late rapper’s family has decided to share some of his unreleased music. Phife Dawg was a member of the beloved group A Tribe Called Quest, and almost any hip hop artist or open minded musician has taken some influence from his work.
The first posthumous Phife Dawg track was released yesterday. Titled “Nutshell,” the song not only features lyrics rapped by the late Phife Dawg, but also production work by the late J Dilla. The collaborative potential is at an all time high, and “Nutshell” more than lives up to those expectations.
Watch “Nutshell” below:
The track comes as part of an album called Give Thanks, which Phife Dawg was working on at the time of his passing. We certainly hope more music is released in the near future.
A portion of the proceeds raised from purchasing the single will go to benefit the American Diabetes Association and the National Kidney Foundation. “Malik had always wanted to use his voice to raise awareness and formally educate young people about diabetes, so we think this is the perfect way to honor him and contribute. This will be an ongoing relationship with these two great organizations,” said his family in a statement. You can find “Nutshell” on iTunes.