The Shining - J Dilla aka Jay Dee
Metascore
80 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Pretty much every track is a head-turner.
  2. It's easily among the best of his work in his entire career.
  3. Though bittersweet, the CD lives up to its mastermind's lofty legacy. [25 Aug 2006, p.87]
  4. If Donuts was Jay Dee's swan song, The Shining is a glimpse of what his work may have sounded like in the future.
  5. The Shining's biggest flaw is that it feels awfully slight, thanks to a run time of less than 37 minutes.
  6. 80
    While not quite hitting the heights of the recent Donuts LP, it again proves his brilliant nose for hip hop's pleasure points. [Oct 2006, p.123]
  7. 80
    The Shining stands as a combination of Dilla's best sides. [Jul/Aug 2006, p.130]
  8. Though it's disjointed, a little bumpy, and -- in places -- perceptibly unfinished-sounding, The Shining is a very worthy addition to Dilla's discography.
  9. 80
    Shining brims with clear-cut and fully resolved ideas. [Oct 2006, p.138]
  10. "The Shining" documents the totality of who Jay Dee was as an artist and performer.
  11. Although not nearly as hot as early 2006's Donuts, The Shining shows for a handful of great collabo's and bangin' beats and further paves the way for Dilla's powerhouse legacy.
  12. In contrast [to 'Donuts'], The Shining is more of a general audience record, by virtue of its song-length tracks and pervasive vocals from Dilla and his crew. As such, it presents challenges that Donuts didn't.
  13. The Shining is not a masterpiece, obviously, and nobody ought claim it as such, but it does show the producer striking out in a moderately novel direction and finding consistently satisfying results.
  14. A few bumps aside, The Shining is the a fitting epitaph for an artist who left us too damn young, too damn soon. [#15]
  15. 70
    [An] excellent, star-studded farewell. [Sep 2006]
  16. [A] dark, magnetic opus. [24 Aug 2006, p.90]
  17. 70
    Sports the trademark soul loops, crackling drums, and underwater ambience of his best past work. [Sep 2006, p.103]
  18. The Shining welcomes listeners to reflect on the magnitude of Yancey's career, as any posthumous work is apt to do. Unlike Donuts, however, this newest offering will not leave Yancey's listeners despondent about what could have been but, rather, will provide a fitting epitaph for what was.
  19. The problem, then, is that while the whole CD is incredibly solid and expertly crafted, it's for the most part unremarkable.
  20. While most of the tracks on The Shining lack the abstract ideas and flow of Donuts, it's still an admirable record.
  21. 66
    For the most part, Jay Dee sounds like The Shining's administrator, rather than its sole (and soul) creator. [#22, p.102]
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. SamD
    10
    I first heard of J Dilla a few weeks ago, months after he died. I heard a strange noise outside my room. I came out and there were my four buds sitting around a stereo listening to Shining's opener Geek Down, stoned out of their minds, completely silent, with big grins on their faces. This is an amazing record. I wondered why Busta doesn't rhyme on the aformentioned opener; I later read that Dilla told him not to, he just wanted someone to 'Geek the **** out.' RIP Dilla, this is some amazing music. Full Review »
  2. DERRICKJ
    9
    The J-Dilla last Cd is like scraping the bottom of the bowl of your favorite ice cream, first with a spoon, then then your finger, and last you are licking the bowl, it tastes devine but you know there no more in the ice box. Full Review »
  3. JJKahn
    10
    This is an absolutely fantastic album from Dilla.