On what would be the MC’s 51st birthday today, the estate of A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg detailed the forthcoming posthumous album Forever. It is set to debut on March 22, on the anniversary of Malik Izaak Taylor’s death in 2016.
The New York-born rapper and 4x Grammy-nominee had partnered with trusted collaborators on Forever, and his estate alongside Smokin’ Needles Records are ready to release his final word as a solo MC. Forever will include “Nutshell PART 2” (featuring Busta Rhymes and Redman), which debuted earlier this year.
Taylor’s mother Cheryl Boyce-Taylor (a.k.a. Mama Phife) said in a statement of the upcoming record: “Forever, soon come. His voice is a steel pan cruising the sea salt edge of Trini waters. A balm, a salve, a son’s kiss on his mama’s cheek. What an amazing gift to receive on my beloved’s birthday. FOREVER… 3/22/22.”
Deemed the “Five-Foot Assassin,” Taylor contributed as a member of Quest to the legendary rap records The Low End Theory (1991) and Midnight Marauders (1993). Taylor was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus in May 1990, and died at the age of 45 due to complications with diabetes in his home in Contra Costa County, California.
