Happy 20th Anniversary to Phife Dawg’s debut solo studio album Ventilation: Da LP, originally released September 26, 2000.
Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor was a member of the greatest hip-hop group of all time (at least in my opinion), A Tribe Called Quest. Q-Tip was considered the captain of the group, but Phife was way more than just his right-hand man. Their chemistry on the mic was infectious and formed one of the absolute best emcee duos. As expected, Q-Tip was the first of the two to release a solo record (1999’s Amplified) when Tribe split, but Phife followed close behind in 2000 with Ventilation: Da LP.
The influence and sway that A Tribe Called Quest had on the indie rap scene in the late ‘90s and early aughts was embraced by the group itself, especially Q-Tip, who would sometimes journey into the nascent underground circuit by working with Mos Def and Rawkus Records. It was a market Phife was also able to tap into, working with producers like Hi-Tek on Ventilation: Da LP, and even releasing the album on the indie label Groove Attack Records from Germany, who at the time were dropping a lot of underground hip-hop on wax.
Hi-Tek provides the instrumental for the single “Flawless,” which takes aim at Tribe’s former label Jive, and even airs out some of Phife’s issues with Q-Tip. It was sad to see at the time and felt like the final nail in the coffin of what was once A Tribe Called Quest. There would be reconciliation in years to come, but more on that later.
It was done in a more subtle way than a lot of their ‘90s contemporaries, but A Tribe Called Quest did like to get a bit raunchy in their lyrics. Phife carries on the tradition here, but goes all out with the sex raps throughout Ventilation: Da LP. The most obvious example can be found on “Bend Ova,” the title alone telling you most of what you need to know about the content. In full “Mutty Ranks” mode, Phife drops politically incorrect observations about the opposite sex in a way that would have probably made the shy Ali Shaheed Muhammad blush had this been a Tribe record.
“Ben Dova” also happens to be produced by J Dilla, then still going by the name Jay Dee. Q-Tip and the rest of A Tribe Called Quest were pivotal to J Dilla becoming who he did. He co-produced Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996) and The Love Movement (1998), as well as Q-Tip’s Amplified, and produces two tracks for Phife on Ventilation: Da LP. Dilla gives “Ben Dova” a bouncy soundtrack, while his other contribution to the album, "4 Horsemen (192 N' It),” is a more stripped-down affair. Phife and Dilla also shared a personal connection beyond music, both suffering from debilitating illnesses they would succumb to in later years.
Phife does comes across as being a bit too obsessed with sexualized imagery on Ventilation: Da LP, and with dissing weak rappers for being “too feminine.” The whole thing becomes very misogynistic at times, which was a shame to hear from someone part of a group that spoke so much positivity.
That being said, Phife still packs the album with the same witty and sharp verses, and the ability to get serious while still keeping it humorous, that made him so great with Tribe. Highlights include “D.R.U.G.S.,” where Phife spits, “When folks say they want some raw hip-hop / guess who they quick to call? / Diggy Dawg, cuz my shit be neanderthal / Some call it primitive, retaining to an earlier time / Can't help but go back to them years like '89 / When brothers gave a damn about the beats and rhymes.”
Or on “Lemme Find Out,” where he drops classic braggadocios lines such as: "An innovator when it comes to this / Feed my fam with this, put clothes on they back with this / Bust my ass to be a part of this / Livin’ my life with this /Makin’ people straight rejoicin’ this / Aw fuck it, I'm so nice with this / I make your broad drop her drawers for this.” This was the Phife we all fell in love with in the ‘90s and there’s enough moments like this on the album for it to find a home inside the Tribe canon, albeit on its fringes.
Something else interesting about “Lemme Find Out,” which is produced by Pete Rock, is the inclusion of a verse where Phife claims three of his previous albums were dope and two of them weren’t. This reflects the opinion of many fans at the time that Tribe’s mid-late ‘90s albums—Beats, Rhymes and Life and The Love Movement—were not great. It feels weird that Phife would side with the fans here, and even bring it up at all. Especially, considering that he is wrong. Both albums were in fact great, and with the benefit of hindsight, many others also now feel this way, especially now that J Dilla is held in such high esteem.
Phife Dawg never released another solo album between Ventilation: Da LP and his death in 2016. He did, however, play a big part in A Tribe Called Quest’s surprise reunion album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service (2016), recorded in secret and released a few months after Phife’s passing.
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