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8.0
86005
8.0 |
NME
As a respectable cap on a great body of work, ‘The Diary’ will do nicely
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8.0
86064
8.0 |
Q
A supremely confident collection from an artist just gearing up for greatness. Print edition only
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8.0
86003
8.0 |
The Guardian
Testifies once again to Dilla’s immense talent
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8.0
86095
8.0 |
Spin
The Diary exists as its own thing: a complement rather than a continuation or spiritual relative to Donuts or The Shining, though it’s bittersweet that in its brevity, The Diary leaves you wanting more that will never come
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7.5
86006
7.5 |
Consequence Of Sound
He’s much more of a technician, knowing what rhythms and flows work on any given beat
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7.5
86542
7.5 |
Beardfood
‘The Diary’ serves as a painful reminder just how influential and talented Dilla was
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7.0
86001
7.0 |
Clash
It’s certainly not his best long-player, but the highlights stacked here
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7.0
86004
7.0 |
All Music
Might not rival its maker's best output, but it's a pivotal and illuminating chapter, even when heard out of sequence
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7.0
86071
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
The good outweighs the bad and there’s plenty of evidence to suggest Dilla made some shrewd calls in terms of who he reached out to
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7.0
86083
7.0 |
The 405
The best way to consider The Diary is as a portrait of an artist during a complicated period - on the cusp of mainstream success with his greatest work still ahead of him
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6.9
86088
6.9 |
Pitchfork
Just like any diamond unearthed after many years, J Dilla's long-lost solo album The Diary is flawed, but still precious
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6.0
86093
6.0 |
Slant Magazine
J Dilla runs through rap commonplaces circa the turn of the millennium
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6.0
86138
6.0 |
PopMatters
Fifteen years after J Dilla signed a two-album deal with MCA, his solo rap album The Diary is finally seeing release
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6.0
86203
6.0 |
Spectrum Culture
Listeners will likely only select a few standout tracks to throw into their vintage rap playlists
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6.0
86002
6.0 |
The Irish Times
Previously unheard gems
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6.0
86000
6.0 |
Crack
Donuts it ain’t, but if The Diary is the final statement from the J Dilla estate, it could have ended a whole lot worse
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6.0
86027
6.0 |
The Observer
While 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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5.0
86007
5.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Luckily, The Diary’s missteps are not enough to blemish or blot the eternal shine of the work the artist released in his living moments
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4.0
86021
4.0 |
The FT
A muddled blend of underground and mainstream
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4.0
85999
4.0 |
The Music
Don't remember him this way
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4.0
89012
4.0 |
Under The Radar
Any lesser musician's entire discography would be forever tarnished by a release as lackluster as The Diary
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