A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg Pens A Letter To J Dilla In Song (Audio)

A Tribe Called Quest played a critical role in the career of J Dilla. Back in his days as Jay Dee, it was Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed that gave some early credits and opportunities to the thump-maker from Detroit, Michigan. By virtue of Dilla Dog’s work on Beats, Rhymes & Life and The Love Movement, many Heads learned about Slum Village, and the rest was history.

In the 2000s, when Tribe went on hiatus, Phife stayed working with Dilla, care of his Ventilation: Da LP solo debut (which also featured Hi-Tek, Pete Rock, and Fred Wreck). Almost eight years since the passing of James Yancey, the 5 Foot Assassin opens up about their relationship and pays tribute to The Ummah’s secret weapon, in “Dear Dilla.”

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This is believed to be the first single from Diggy’s MUTTYmorPHosis project, coming soon.