Phife Dawg Working on Comeback LP, Sports Talk Show

Famed A Tribe Called Quest MC Phife Dawg is back on his grind. Fans haven’t heard much from the Queens-bred rapper since he was diagnosed with diabetes, but after undergoing a successful kidney transplant, they won’t have to wait much longer.

In a recent interview with okayplayer.com Phife Diggy revealed that he has been hard at work on his first solo album in a decade called Songs in the Key of Phife. According to Phife, since June, he’s been writing "none-stop" on the disc and would like to get it out sometime this summer. “I got like at least 40, 50 songs but now I just want to pick the top 15 and throw in three bonus cuts,” he said. “In a perfect world like Keri Hilson would say, I wouldn’t mind it coming out sometime between August and November.”

So far Phife has recorded with producers Oh No, Illmind, and former Tribe Called Quest member Ali Shaheed Muhammad, as well as his own production company, Riddim Kids, which consists of DJ Rasta Roots and up-and-coming beatmaker Stat Box. He is also looking forward to working with DJ Scratch, Rico Wade of Organized Noise and KRS-One.

PD’s hustle doesn’t end there, though. He also has plans for a talk show and a clothing company. “I’m working on my own sports talk show, sports/music talk show, working on a pilot for that and I think I'ma call it The Fanalyst,” he said. “I’m also working on a clothing line... Well, I’m in a partnership for this clothing line called King Duce and it’s also a record label that I’m partnering with. I’m gonna be head of urban music as well of head of urban wear.”

In related news, actor Michael Rapaport and fellow Queens, New York MC Nas are currently prepping the release of a documentary on ATCQ. —Elan Mancini