Listen to A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg’s J Dilla-Produced Single "Nutshell"

A Tribe Called Quest‘s Phife Dawg, aka Malik I. Taylor, passed away last month due to complications from diabetes. At the time of his death, he’d been working on a solo album called Give Thanks. Today, Apple’s Beats 1 premiered a song from that album called “Nutshell,” which features a beat from the late J Dilla. “Phife loved his fans, and was so excited for them to hear his new music,” his widow Deisha Taylor said in a statement. “I feel like he would have wanted it this way.” Phife’s friend and manager Dion Liverpool said, “The single displays Phife’s legendary wordplay as he describes himself, in a nutshell, so to speak.” Listen to the track above or on Apple Music. Update (4/5, 9:40 p.m. EST): Watch the song’s music video below.

The American Diabetes Association and the National Kidney Foundation will receive 50% of the proceeds from the song’s sale. “Malik had always wanted to use his voice to raise awareness and formally educate young people about diabetes, so we think this is the perfect way to honor him and contribute. This will be an ongoing relationship with these two great organizations,” said his family.

A video for the song debuts today at “The Celebration of Phife.” The event is being held at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and streamed via Revolt right now. (It shares a name with a similar celebration that took place yesterday morning at NYC’s St. Albans Park.) 

Read “Dave Chappelle and 12 Other Comedians on Phife Dawg, A Tribe Called Quest’s Heart (and Funny Bone),” “10 Lyrics That Prove His Prowess” and “Why A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg Was Sports Fans’ Favorite Rapper” on the Pitch.

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