Donuts - J Dilla aka Jay Dee
Donuts Image
Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 15 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 51 Ratings

  • Summary: Acclaimed hip-hop producer James Yancey released this instrumental disc shortly before his death at the age of 32.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Years from now these "Donuts" will still be just as fresh as the day they first hit the store.
  2. Be forewarned: Donuts can be a frustrating tease when the average instrumental clocks in around the one-minute mark. But for those who hold a true appreciation for Dilla and his avoidance of predictable sounds and mainstream beats, Donuts will sound right on track.
  3. It’s entirely too richly tragic and fitting that the man’s last release is the apotheosis of his work, the finest and most representative example of what he contributed to music and, in turn, how music inspired him.
  4. 80
    Experiencing multitudes of brief bangers is a rare treat. [Mar 2006, p.113]

See all 15 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 39
  3. Negative: 3 out of 39
  1. 10
    This is simply amazing. I don't usually listen to this kind of music but I've learned to appreciate greatness no matter in what form it comes in and this is certainly a great album I've listened to over and over countless times. Collapse
  2. NVWhite
    10
    It was released more than 2 years ago, and I still listen to it daily. This album will still be relevant in 15+ years. How many other recent releases can you say that about? Expand
  3. 3rDialect
    8
    At first I was really disappointed in this album, mainly because I was expecting a cd full of beats I could use to rap over or learn techniques from. This isn't that kind of album. This should be treated as a dying man's projection of his internal emotions in dealing with an imminent death. James Yancey knew he was going to die, and the more I listen to this album the more it seems like an acoustic scream of anguish. He wrote this in hospital and I believe that if you listen to it without expecting 30 bangers or Jay Dilla hip-hop classics then you will appreciate it in a different light - and I don't think that's being sentimental. Expand
  4. TyroneB
    0
    Really bad album. Total let-down.

See all 39 User Reviews