Forever (Phife Dawg album)

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Forever
Studio album by
Phife Dawg
ReleasedMarch 22, 2022 (2022-03-22)
GenreHip hop
Length53:05
Label
  • Smokin' Needles
  • AWAL
Producer
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 ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubB−[3]
Clash7/10[4]
Exclaim!7/10[5]
HipHopDX3.9/5[6]
Pitchfork7.0/10[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Tom Hull – on the WebB+ ((2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention))[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 listing
No.TitleWriter(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"
9th Wonder4:02
3."Fallback" (featuring Rapsody and Renée Neufville)
Khrysis4:15
4."Nutshell Pt. 2" (featuring Busta Rhymes and Redman)
J Dilla3:41
5."Sorry" (featuring V.Rich)
Nottz4:05
6."Dear Dilla (Reprise)" (featuring Q-Tip)
DJ Rasta Root3:51
7."Wow Factor" (featuring Maseo)
Khrysis2:43
8."Residual Curiosities" (featuring Lyric Jones)
  • Taylor
  • Liverpool
  • Janelle Clinton
  • Marcus Daniels
Riddim Kidz4:20
9."God Send" (featuring Dwele)
  • Ozuna
  • G Koop
4:52
10."Round Irving High School" (featuring Cheryl Boyce-Taylor and Angela Winbush)
  • Cheryl Boyce-Taylor
  • Angela Winbush
  • Richardson
Winbush5:07
11."French Kiss Trois" (featuring Redman and Illa J)
Potatohead People3:58
12."2 Live Forever" (featuring Posdnuos, Little Brother and Darien Brockington)
  • 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

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.
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