The Diary

A supremely confident collection from an artist just gearing up for greatness. [Jun 2016, p.111]

The Diary is almost certainly for the diehards but even casual fans will find a lot to like.

The Diary testifies once again to Dilla’s immense talent.

There 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.

It’s an album that’s a handy reminder of how inseparable weirdo experimentalism is from the badass mainstream in hip hop.

Nothing 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.

His 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.

The Diary's strongest cuts come when Dilla is behind the board.

What 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.

Sure, 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.

The 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.

The 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.

Hyped 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.

Most of the songs on The Diary work far better in isolation than they do when treated as part of a unified whole.

While producers including Karriem Riggins and Madlib serve him well here, it’s clear that Dilla expressed himself best through his beats.

The 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.