Just two weeks after his untimely passing, Phife Dawg‘s “Nutshell” has arrived with an official video.
Produced by J Dilla (James Yancey), the new single is lifted from Give Thanks, an album the A Tribe Called Quest MC had been working on at the time of his death last month.
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In the new posthumous release, Phife (real name Malik Taylor) hands out another lesson in lyrical delivery. “Unaccustomed to unproven whack flows/Unresponsive to unapproved stages shows/That’s unacceptable, unexciting, lazy fucker/Phife here, canny, uncommon rhyme spitter,” he raps.
“Nutshell” was released overnight by Smokin‘ Needles Records and is available to download via iTunes. Fifty percent of the proceeds will be donated to the American Diabetes Association and the National Kidney Foundation (The Queens-bred wordsmith died March 22 due to complications resulting from diabetes).
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Its accompanying Tony Reames-directed clip, which features a host of hip-hop stars paying their respects to the late rapper, debuted Tuesday night at the “Celebration of Phife” event at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. Watch the clip below.