By Chris Rockwell

“King Duce is gonna be big! Not only is the King Duce logo screaming, but I respect the crew behind the logo.”

Phife – founding member of legendary New York Hip Hop group, “A Tribe Called Quest”

BIG NEWS!! Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor has teamed up with King Duce!

Phife’s record label “Smokin Needles” and King Duce Records are teaming up to create a powerful combination of east coast and west coast artists and influences. And Phife is bringing some of the hottest emerging and big name artists in the world. I can’t wait till you get to hear what I’m listening to in the studio right now! Phife will also be a creative force designing King Duce apparel, including his signature King Duce hat and apparel series.

To have Phife in the studio for King Duce is like having NBA guard and NYC playground legend Rod Strickland on your basketball team. Phife’s platinum records and industry respect speak for themselves. And after getting to know him better, I can confidently say that he is one of the most creative guys I’ve ever been around. Try spending an hour brainstorming ideas with him on music, fashion, sports and you’ll see that Phife’s outlook is about celebrating the best in people and offering up valuable ideas and wisdom without expecting anything in return. Plus, he has a sense of humor that could challenge the best comedians of today. He does a rendition of his mother scolding him as a child that is worthy of a stand up skit. He transforms his voice into her Caribbean dialect originating from his island of Trinidad and begins the back and forth dialogue between his Queens, New York accent and his mother’s Caribbean accent. I’ll have to film it someday…

I first met Phife about a year ago. In fact, one of my first blog articles for King Duce was about this memorable meeting. Fast forward to one year later, Becky and I are at Phife’s place for a killer barbeque with his family and watch some NFL games and talk about King Duce. Coincidentally, it was the one year anniversary of his kidney transplant. His wife was the organ match and gave one of her kidneys up to save him. It’s an amazing comeback story that has received national media attention. With renewed energy and inspiration, Phife has found himself in a creative renaissance of sorts. And King Duce was the right project at the right time.

So, to kick things off, we decided to meet up at The Grill, a recording studio in the east bay to film Phife for the King Duce documentary piece and listen to some of his latest work. He also had a young artist in tow that he was working with named Snack Box and they were smashing out a new track that was making everyone move! Phife’s business partner Lamar invited us to a show in Berkeley at the Shattuck Downlow to watch Phife perform with this sick group of musicians called the Kev Choice Ensemble. He hit the stage and showed the fans why he and his music are legendary, and still relevant today. It was awesome to watch a sea of college aged fans know all the lyrics to every track he dropped on them. And the ridiculously talented live band made the songs pop with rich colors and energy. It was one of the most memorable shows I’ve seen in a long time.

No time to waste! Phife and I have already begun working on multiple projects, including producing music, apparel, and filming a King Duce documentary piece. Stay tuned. This story is gonna get good!

Duce Up!!