Phife Dawg’s Solo Album Scheduled for Early 2017 Release

Phife Dawg's solo album is slated for an early 2017 release. The fallen lyricist's widow, Desha Head Taylor, revealed the news on Saturday (Nov. 19), according to OkayPlayer.

Two days ago, Linden Boulevard in Queens, New York was renamed Malik "Phife Dawg" Taylor Way. Head Taylor spoke briefly to the press prior to the ceremony honoring her husband. “His solo album will be out probably sometime during the first quarter of 2017," she said. "We’re working on it now. He completed his entire solo album before he transitioned, so we’re excited about releasing that.”

Yesterday (Nov. 20) was Phife Dawg's birthday, and the game sorely misses him. Fans of the Trini Gladiator will be glad to know he has a new solo project dropping soon. Of course, Phife was a big part of A Tribe Called Quest's new album, as well. We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service just hit No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, a huge accomplishment for the legendary hip-hop group.

Head Taylor says her husband had an amazing time working on We got it from Here. “There were times where he was working on the album where he would send me video footage of him rhyming over some of the beats that you would hear on the album,” she says. “He would make a certain face when hearing the beat, he would make this frown like ‘I’m feeling this,’ and you would hear his verses in the back. He was really excited about this project.”

Q-Tip also addressed the crowd at Phife's ceremony on Saturday, saying, “This is no coincidence ... This is divine order. So I want everybody to remember this album we put out has nothing to do with us…fame and notoriety. It’s for reason and purpose. That same reason and purpose is instilled and embedded in every one of you. Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Don’t feel bad because you have to sometimes do what you have to do to survive and to do better for yourself and your family.”

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