As the hip-hop community still mourns the death of A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg, his family pays tribute by releasing a snippet of his J Dilla-produced song, “Nutshell.”
Members of Phife Dawg’s estate shared a snippet of the song on Beats 1 radio and plan to release it exclusively on Apple Music later on today. In a 30-second tribute video, hip-hop greats like Dave of De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Dinco D of Leaders of the New School, and Ras Kass describe Phife’s impact.
Towards the end of the video, you can hear Phife rapping, “the undefeated, unblemished, underrated, unfiltered, unafraid, unaffected, unabashed, the undeniable.”
All sales proceeds will go to the American Diabetes Association and the National Kidney Foundation. Take a listen to the 30-second teaser below.
1. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest perform as part of the Smokin Grooves Tour at Shoreline Amphitheatre on September 1, 1996.
Source:Getty
1 of 15
2. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest perform as part of Lollapalooza 1994 at Shoreline Amphitheatre.
Source:Getty
2 of 15
3. Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest during Rock the Bells Concert - August 6, 2006 at Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord, California.
Source:Getty
3 of 15
4. Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest performs as part of Rock the Bells 2010 at Shoreline Amphitheatre on August 22, 2010 in Mountain View, California.
Source:Getty
4 of 15
5. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest perform during the 7th Annual Rock The Bells festival on Governors Island.
Source:Getty
5 of 15
6. Phife at the 'Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest' Premiere at the Temple Theater during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2011 in Park City, Utah.
Source:Getty
6 of 15
7. Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest attends SPiN Decision Makers Panel With Hype Williams presented by Bing on January 23, 2011 in Park City, Utah.
Source:Getty
7 of 15
8. Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest visits the Tribeca Film Festival 2011 portrait studio on April 27, 2011.
Source:Getty
8 of 15
9. Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jarobi White attend the Los Angeles Premiere of 'Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest' After Party on June 24, 2011.
Source:Getty
9 of 15
10. Phife Dawg and Q-Tip perform onstage at the 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards at Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center on September 29, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Source:Getty
10 of 15
11. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest perform on the main stage on day 3 of the Yahoo! Wireless Festival at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on July 14, 2013 in London.
Source:Getty
11 of 15
12. Phife of A Tribe Called Quest performs at 2013 H2O Music Festival at Los Angeles Historical Park on August 17, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.
Source:Getty
12 of 15
13. Phife Dawg and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest perform at Univision Radio's H2O music festival at Los Angeles state historic park on August 17, 2013.
Source:Getty
13 of 15
14. Phife Dawg performs for the #BigTicket showcase at Tattoo on February 6, 2015 in Toronto, Canada.
Source:Getty
14 of 15
15. Phife Dawg and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest perform during Hot 97's 'Busta Rhymes And Friends: Hot For The Holidays' concert at Prudential Center on December 5, 2015 in Newark, New Jersey.