Forever (Phife Dawg album)

2022 studio album by Phife Dawg

Forever

Studio album by

Phife Dawg

Released| March 22, 2022 (2022-03-22)
Genre| Hip hop
Length| 53:05
Label|

* Smokin' Needles
* AWAL

Producer|

* Malik Taylor (exec.)
* Dion "DJ Rasta Root" Liverpool (exec.)
* 9th Wonder
* Angela Winbush
* Bobby Ozuna
* G Koop
* J Dilla
* Khrysis
* Luke Austin
* Nottz
* Potatohead People
* Riddim Kidz
* The Roux
* V.Rich

Phife Dawg chronology
| Ventilation: Da LP
(2000)  | Forever
(2022)  |

|
|

Singles from  Forever

1. "Nutshell Pt. 2"
Released: February 11, 2021
2. "French Kiss Trois"
Released: September 2, 2021
3. "Forever"
Released: March 19, 2022

Forever is the posthumous second and final studio album by American rapper Phife Dawg. It was released on March 22, 2022, the sixth anniversary of his death, by Smokin' Needles Records and AWAL. It features guest appearances by his bandmate Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, Maseo and Posdnuos of De La Soul, Dwele, Angela Winbush, Redman, Illa J, and Little Brother, among others. The album was mostly complete at the time of Phife Dawg's death, and was later completed by his business partner and collaborator, DJ Rasta Root.

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Metacritic| 77/100[1]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [2]
The A.V. Club| B−[3]
Clash| 7/10[4]
Exclaim!| 7/10[5]
HipHopDX| 3.9/5[6]
Pitchfork| 7.0/10[7]
Rolling Stone| [8]
Tom Hull – on the Web| B+ ()[9]

Forever was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on seven reviews.[1]

## Background

[edit]

Before his death on March 22, 2016, Phife Dawg had spent roughly a decade recording tracks for his second album, originally titled Songs in the Key of Phife: Volume 1 (Cheryl's Big Son).[10][11] According to DJ Rasta Root, two-thirds of the album was recorded before he stepped in to complete it.[8] For the final third of the album, he used "a lot of blueprints and clues" that Phife Dawg had left behind, in the form of rap notebooks that detailed producers, featured guests, and liner notes that he wanted for the album.[10] DJ Rasta Root noted, "Down to the mix engineer [Bob Power], the photographers, everybody involved had some connection with Phife."[10] His bandmate Ali Shaheed Muhammad mixed two tracks, "Nutshell Pt. 2" and "French Kiss Trois".[10][12]

## Promotion

[edit]

Forever was promoted with three singles, "Nutshell Pt. 2", "French Kiss Trois", and the title track "Forever". Music videos were released for "Nutshell Pt. 2" on March 22, 2021, "French Kiss Trois" on September 3, 2021, and "Forever" on March 31, 2022.[13][14][15]

## Track listing

[edit]

Credits are adapted from Tidal.[16]

Forever track listingNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Producer(s)| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Cheryl's Big Son (Intro)" (featuring V.Rich)|

* Dion Liverpool
* Vincent Richardson

* DJ Rasta Root
* V.Rich

| 0:43
2.| "Only a Coward"|

* Malik Taylor
* Patrick Douthit

| 9th Wonder| 4:02
3.| "Fallback" (featuring Rapsody and Renée Neufville)|

* Taylor
* Christopher Tyson
* Marlanna Evans
* Renée Neufville

| Khrysis| 4:15
4.| "Nutshell Pt. 2" (featuring Busta Rhymes and Redman)|

* Taylor
* Liverpool
* James Yancey
* Trevor Smith Jr.
* Reginald Noble

| J Dilla| 3:41
5.| "Sorry" (featuring V.Rich)|

* Taylor
* Liverpool
* Dominick Lamb
* Richardson
* Jon Bonus

| Nottz| 4:05
6.| "Dear Dilla (Reprise)" (featuring Q-Tip)|

* Taylor
* Liverpool
* Kamaal Fareed
* Richardson
* Demontrious Lawrence

| DJ Rasta Root| 3:51
7.| "Wow Factor" (featuring Maseo)|

* Taylor
* Tyson
* Vincent Mason Jr.

| Khrysis| 2:43
8.| "Residual Curiosities" (featuring Lyric Jones)|

* Taylor
* Liverpool
* Janelle Clinton
* Marcus Daniels

| Riddim Kidz| 4:20
9.| "God Send" (featuring Dwele)|

* Taylor
* Andwele Gardner
* Bobby Ozuna
* Robert Mandell

* Ozuna
* G Koop

| 4:52
10.| "Round Irving High School" (featuring Cheryl Boyce-Taylor and Angela Winbush)|

* Cheryl Boyce-Taylor
* Angela Winbush
* Richardson

| Winbush| 5:07
11.| "French Kiss Trois" (featuring Redman and Illa J)|

* Taylor
* John Yancey
* Nate Drobner
* Nick Wisdom

| Potatohead People| 3:58
12.| "2 Live Forever" (featuring Posdnuos, Little Brother and Darien Brockington)|

* Taylor
* Kelvin Mercer
* Phonte Coleman
* Thomas Jones III
* Jermaine Williams
* Kevin Jackson
* Luke Austin
* Ronnie Mason Jr.

* The Roux
* Luke Austin

| 5:24
13.| "Forever"|

* Taylor
* Liverpool
* Lamb
* Richardson

* Nottz
* DJ Rasta Root
* V.Rich

| 5:57
Total length:| 53:05

Sample credits

* "2 Live Forever" contains a sample of "On Love", performed by David T. Walker.
* "Forever" contains samples of "Triumph", performed by Wu-Tang Clan and "Ms. Jackson", performed by Outkast.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Reviews for Forever by Phife Dawg". Metacritic. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
2. ^ Thomas, Fred. "Phife Dawg – Forever". AllMusic. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
3. ^ McLevy, Alex (24 March 2022). "The posthumous album from Tribe Called Quest's Phife Dawg is a soulful look back in time". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
4. ^ Murray, Robin (22 March 2022). "Phife Dawg – Forever". Clash. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
5. ^ McLean, Wesley. "Phife Dawg's 'Forever' Captures the Late Artist's Warm, Wise Spirit". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
6. ^ Ritchie, Matthew (April 2022). "Phife Dawg 'Forever' Grants The Legend A Space To Say Goodbye On His Terms". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
7. ^ Thompson, Paul A. "Phife Dawg – Forever". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
8. ^ a b Newman, Jason (22 March 2022). "Phife Dawg's Posthumous Album 'Forever' Is a Beautiful Tribute to a Hip-Hop Legend". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
9. ^ Hull, Tom (June 27, 2022). "Streamnotes: June 27, 2022". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
10. ^ a b c d Bethea, Charles (21 March 2022). "Giving Phife Dawg the Sound of "Forever"". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
11. ^ Arnold, Paul (16 May 2010). "Phife Dawg: His Name Is Mutty Ranks". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
12. ^ Slingerland, Calum. "Phife Dawg's Posthumous Album Features Q-Tip, J Dilla, Busta Rhymes and More". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
13. ^ Eustice, Kyle (22 March 2021). "Phife Dawg, Redman & Busta Rhymes Resurrect That New York Sh*t For 'Nutshell Pt. 2' Video". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
14. ^ Eustice, Kyle (3 September 2021). "Redman, J Dilla's Brother Illa J + DJ Rasta Root Continue Phife Dawg Album Rollout With 'French Kiss Trois'". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
15. ^ Elibert, Mark (31 March 2022). "Watch Phife Dawg Rap From The Heavens In The Emotional 'Phife Forever' Video". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
16. ^ "Credits / Forever / Phife Dawg". Tidal. Retrieved March 26, 2022.

* v
* t
* e

A Tribe Called Quest

* Q-Tip
* Phife Dawg
* Ali Shaheed Muhammad
* Jarobi White

Studio albums|

* People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
* The Low End Theory
* Midnight Marauders
* Beats, Rhymes and Life
* The Love Movement
* We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service

Compilations|

* Revised Quest for the Seasoned Traveller
* The Anthology
* Hits, Rarities & Remixes
* The Lost Tribes
* The Best of A Tribe Called Quest

Solo albums|

* Amplified
* Ventilation: Da LP
* Shaheedullah and Stereotypes
* The Renaissance
* Kamaal the Abstract
* Forever

Singles|

* "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo"
* "Bonita Applebum"
* "Can I Kick It?"
* "Check the Rhime"
* "Jazz (We've Got)"
* "Scenario"
* "Hot Sex"
* "Award Tour"
* "Electric Relaxation"
* "Oh My God"
* "1nce Again"
* "Stressed Out"
* "Rumble in the Jungle"
* "Find a Way"
* "Like It Like That"
* "We the People...."

Other songs|

* "The Space Program"

See also|

* Discography
* Native Tongues
* The Ummah
* Soulquarians
* Lucy Pearl
* J Dilla
* Chris Lighty
* Bob Power
* Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest

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