Phife recalls he and Dilla trying to get in touch with each other before Dilla
passed away in 2006.
“He and I were playing phone tag,” Phife said according to
HipHopDX. “I didn’t even know he was that sick until it was too late. We didn’t realize we were both going through a lot with our health and never got to sit and talk about it together.”
Phife was referring to his bout with diabetes and Dilla's fight with lupus.
The A Tribe Called Quest emcee says that through his new song
#dearDilla, he feels as if he's finally had that conversation he's been wishing for with J Dilla. "I felt like this song is that conversation,” Phife says. "I’ve been wanting to record a dedication to J Dilla for the longest. It just seemed to finally be the right time to do it. It was very therapeutic for me to do this. There are a lot of people dealing with renal failure and I wanted to make this a conduit, a way for people to put their health issues out there.”
The video for #dearDilla is scheduled to premiere February 6 at the Midotwn Art Cinema in Atlanta. It will also be shown February 7 (J Dilla's birthday) at
Dilla Day in Detroit.
