The estate of late A Tribe Called Quest rapper Phife Dawg released his new song, “French Kiss Deux.” It’s the second single that his estate and collaborators have shared in advance of the legend’s upcoming posthumous album Forever.
Throughout the song, Phife Dawg shouts out the women of Montreal, Québec for their looks. He sings on the hook, “Just dance, just dance/Ladies in Montreal, femme de la France.” A big portion of it is about Montreal girls shaking their ass, but beyond that, it’s about living a vibe and having a good time. The track was produced by Canadian synth-funkers Potatohead People and features J Dilla’s brother Illa J for a verse.
There’s not much to the lyric video. There’s a collage that opens the video showing what appear to be hand-drawn illustrations of Black women, assumedly representing the girls of Montreal. Apart from that, the animations have a very corporate look to them, with splashes of color, patterns and squiggles coming to life for easy transitions. It’s mostly a visual aid for the lyrics, so fans can catch fun lines like “And you know I feel my eye beams staring at yo’ ass girl/Heh, damn girl.”
Although the lyrics are lighthearted, Phife Dawg, born Malik Isaac Taylor, would be really happy to hear that Forever will soon be shared with the world, according to his family. His estate told Complex about how he had begun work on the album before his passing in 2016, “We are excited about the partnership with AWAL for Malik’s posthumous album release. We give all glory to God for allowing Malik to accomplish everything his heart desired, including his solo music. He worked really hard to complete his album before he transitioned, and he was ready to share an album that was near and dear to his heart with his fans. His fans meant the world to him.”
The previous single released from Forever was “Nutshell Part 2,” featuring Busta Rhymes and Redman. Its traditional boom bap production and Phife Dawg’s impactful vocal delivery helped it sound like an old school hip hop jam. Forever was initially announced in 2016 for a 2017 release, but has been delayed since then as more collaborators were brought on board to help finish the album.
Taylor was 45 years old when he died due to complications with diabetes. He had been working on A Tribe Called Quest’s highly-acclaimed comeback album, We got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your service, at the time, which came out less than a year later and was renamed and dedicated to him in his honor. Over the course of his career, he earned a high level of respect for his work with A Tribe Called Quest as well as his presence as a rapper.
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