Phife Dawg reunited with his fans even years after his death through his last song, "Forever."
Six years after Phife Dawg's death, his estate dropped a new music video for the final song he ever recorded. It also serves as the title track of his new posthumous album.
The music video, which was helmed by Tony Reames and Dion "Rasta Root" Liverpool, features the song with lyric video animations. The directors also assured it could connect the late rapper to his fans by adding photos and videos of Phife Dawg taken throughout his life and career.
According to Reames, it took him a long time before he was able to recover from the depths of the song.
"DJ Rasta Root came up with the idea of personal photos and videos to match the message for the video. The lyrics are also all in Phife's own handwriting, we scanned a lot of his writings to create a font as if Phife himself was telling you the story. I'm forever grateful to be around Phife, his family, and everyone we met along the way," he said, as quoted by Rolling Stone.
Phife Dawg recorded his last song, "Forever," on Mar. 19, 2016, three days before his untimely passing. His estate started working on his posthumous album and completed it based on what the rapper left behind.
The "Forever" album, released earlier this month, has 13 tracks and features guests like Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Redman, De La Soul's Pos, and Dwele.
Phife Dawg's Death: What Happened to Rapper?
The hip-hop industry unexpectedly lost A Tribe Called Quest's rapper in March 2016. Phife Dawg, who was only 45 then, died due to complications from diabetes.
Before his death, he had already faced several health issues for years, including undergoing a kidney transplant in pursuit of beating his longtime battle against the chronic health condition.
His mother, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, wrote on Facebook how shattered they were to lose her son.
"What holds me is that he brought joy through his music and sports, and that he lived a magical life. He is with his beloved grandmother and his twin brother Mikal today. God bless you Malik Boyce Taylor. Please send prayers to my daughter-in-law Deisha," she went on.
Despite those health problems, Phife Dawg did not let them affect his career. He famously contributed verses to four songs on A Tribe Called Quest's debut album, "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm." One of his albums also made it to Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
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