Illa J

A Tribe Called Quest member Phife Dawg’s life was tragically cut short in 2016 when he passed away due to complications related to type one diabetes. Even just one year after he passed, memorials, tributes, and remembrances were still pouring out in celebration of the legendary figure. Of course, there was the Tribe farewell album released in 2016 that included a few appearances from the late MC, but then rumblings began to stir that a posthumous album from Phife himself would be making its way into listeners hands at some point.

In late 2020, those rumblings became official and now a few songs have been released to help promote the album. First, the album title was revealed to be Forever, a fitting label for a posthumous release, and then the debut single “Nutshell Pt. 2” featuring Redman and Busta Rhymes was released in early February. An animated lyric video for that track followed up, and today, a second single has debuted. “French Kiss Deux” features J. Dilla’s younger brother Illa J and is an homage to Montreal, Canada.

Produced by Potatohead People-produced, the song hews closely to its title and focuses on a potential romantic connection. Listen to the track below and look for the full album Forever coming out later this year.