The Grind Date
by De La Soul
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. RapReviews.com
    100
    They were just waiting for the right time to kick precisely the right rhyme, so that "The Grind Date" would go down not just as an important date in rap history but in the pantheon of all musical endeavours since the dawn of mankind. It's that damn good.
  2. Stylus Magazine
    90
    The Grind Date is as notable for what it lacks--skits, filler, bullshit--than for what it has.
  3. Urb
    90
    Worthy of being considered among the year's finest. [Dec 2004, p.106]
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  5. Tiny Mix Tapes
    90
    A great hip-hop album, an accomplishment that whipper-snappers in both hip-hop and the pop-music world at large would benefit from attempting to emulate.
  6. Lost At Sea
    85
    The Grind Date is almost shockingly excellent. This is De La Soul at their most focused – no skits, no filler, no weird interludes.
  7. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    Notably fresh for a group that's been rhyming for 15 years. [8 Oct 2004, p.117]
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  8. ShakingThrough.net
    82
    The Grind Date is the sound of a rejuvenated heavyweight who may have lost his belt but has in no way has conceded the fight.
  9. Pitchfork
    82
    The Grind Date brings together an unimaginable team of the underground's hottest producers and meshes their idiosyncrasies without dissidence.
  10. Village Voice
    80
    A superbly sequenced set chock-full of clever entendres, oozing with existentialisms on par with those of Buhloone Mindstate and De La Soul Is Dead.
  11. Vibe
    80
    Sophisticated compositions and insightful lyrics. [Nov 2004, p.162]
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  12. Neumu.net
    80
    By corralling five hungry producers with a flair for the earthy funk and slippery samples that guided some of De La's best albums, the veteran trio have recorded the true successor to 1996's Stakes Is High.
  13. The A.V. Club
    80
    Flying boldly in the face of youth-addicted popular culture, The Grind Date celebrates the joy and wisdom of adulthood.
  14. The Wire
    80
    The best thing they've done since Stakes Is High. [#250, p.73]
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  15. Los Angeles Times
    75
    As this standout collection of songs shows, with its astounding lyrical acumen and stellar beats, De La Soul surely ranks among the best rap groups of all time. [24 Oct 2004]
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  16. Spin
    75
    Their jabs cut and the beats burn. [Nov 2004, p.118]
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  17. cokemachineglow
    75
    De La Soul [are] wise enough to keep the filler to a minimum, thus presenting a more consistent product than that offered by their followers/peers.
  18. AllMusic
    70
    Without a concept to tout, The Grind Date doesn't gel like AOI: Bionix, but it does show De La Soul keeping everything together more than 15 years after their debut.
  19. Alternative Press
    70
    A satisfying and surprisingly profane comeback. [Jan 2005, p.114]
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  20. PopMatters
    70
    The dominant descriptive word for the album is "solid". That's no criticism, as De La Soul's intent seems to be to show that they're still creating rock-solid music over a decade after their supposed heyday.
  21. Blender
    70
    Dulcet R&B hooks are spoonfuls of sugar that make De La catchy enough for a new generation of fans. [Nov 2004, p.132]
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Awards & Rankings

76
#76 Best Album of 2004
88
#88 Most Shared Album of 2004

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 4 out of 23
  1. AlexH
    Dec 1, 2006
    10
    One of the best hip hop cds I've heard in the last few years. Check out the MF Doom track. If you like it, i also recommend Handsome Boy One of the best hip hop cds I've heard in the last few years. Check out the MF Doom track. If you like it, i also recommend Handsome Boy Modeling School and Dr. Octagon ...… Full Review »
  2. DaneC
    Sep 3, 2005
    10
    Still supporting the DA Inna Sound Y'all age of rap, (although now not using the D.A.I.S.Y. abbrivition), De La Soul have bounced back Still supporting the DA Inna Sound Y'all age of rap, (although now not using the D.A.I.S.Y. abbrivition), De La Soul have bounced back from the Commerical sound of the AOI albums and there old record labels refusual to release an album to create what can only be deseribed as a masterful peice of work. I mean, it has with MF Doom, Flava Flav and Common rapping on this album, and Jake One and Madlib producing all one one 13 track album, and you even get to hear sean paul accually sound good on a track. Brilliant. Buy now.… Full Review »
  3. tomc
    Mar 13, 2005
    10
    super album from the smoothiest rap band ever!!!
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