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Apr 21, 2016While The Diary has its shining moments, it also has some issues. ... For Dilla fans, The Diary proves to be an essential listening.
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Q MagazineApr 20, 2016A supremely confident collection from an artist just gearing up for greatness. [Jun 2016, p.111]
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Apr 19, 2016The Diary is almost certainly for the diehards but even casual fans will find a lot to like.
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Apr 14, 2016The Diary testifies once again to Dilla’s immense talent.
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Apr 14, 2016There are musical and lyrical nods here to R. Kelly, Jay Z, Big Punisher and more. For better and worse, The Diary is strikingly of its time.
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Apr 14, 2016It’s an album that’s a handy reminder of how inseparable weirdo experimentalism is from the badass mainstream in hip hop.
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Apr 14, 2016Nothing here totally confounds the suspicion that Yancey was a brilliant producer, but merely an able rapper. Still, as a respectable cap on a great body of work, The Diary will do nicely.
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Apr 14, 2016His legacy was going to live on whether The Diary was released or not. This just broadens the scope of the legend and gives us even more to appreciate.
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Apr 19, 2016The Diary's strongest cuts come when Dilla is behind the board.
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Apr 18, 2016What a solo album with all of his own bars over all of his own beats would have sounded like, we’ll never know; The Diary does more than enough to fire all of our imaginations, though.
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Apr 15, 2016Sure, it’s certainly not his best long-player, but the highlights stacked here--the truly awesome ‘The Introduction’, established heaters like ‘Fuck The Police’ (sequenced perfectly here towards the climax)--ensure The Diary is, in the end, a solid addition to the J Dilla catalogue.
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Apr 14, 2016The Diary of J Dilla might not rival its maker's best output, but it's a pivotal and illuminating chapter, even when heard out of sequence. Just as importantly, it fulfills the wish of a master musician.
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Apr 20, 2016The Diary is notable for presenting an official release to his intended debut. And, just like any diamond unearthed after many years, The Diary is flawed, but still precious.
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Apr 22, 2016Hyped as the final batch of unissued material assembled during his lifetime, like most mythical artefacts, the reality proves a little disappointing. Not that there isn’t decent stuff to enjoy here. The Introduction and the Gary Numan-sampling Trucks are both capable head-nodders while The Ex features prime production work by Pete Rock and a brilliant vocal turn by Bilal.
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Apr 22, 2016Most of the songs on The Diary work far better in isolation than they do when treated as part of a unified whole.
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Apr 18, 2016While producers including Karriem Riggins and Madlib serve him well here, it’s clear that Dilla expressed himself best through his beats.
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Apr 15, 2016The album is recognisable in name only. Only a few songs register in their entirety as actual conceivable moments that the artist would have presumably been comfortable releasing.
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Aug 2, 2016Dilla's legacy is invincible at this point, a point proved by the endless artists that still shout him out on their records. However, any lesser musician's entire discography would be forever tarnished by a release as lackluster as The Diary.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 15 out of 18
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Mixed: 1 out of 18
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Negative: 2 out of 18
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Apr 15, 2016
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Apr 17, 2016
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Apr 16, 2016