Customer Reviews

Ruff Draft (Dlx)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dope, not his best work though. A lot of the Stones Throw/bandwagon Dilla fans say it's this AMAZING classic gem. It's dope... but not that dope. The one really cool thing that this EP does is bridge Welcome 2 Detroit to Champion Sound. It really helps put the dots together as in his progress and movement with his production style.

Although in my opinion this release isn't his best work, I highly suggest checking it out. It's some dope ish you can just pop in the jeep and ride to. (in the same vein as Sittin' On Chrome)

Choice cuts

Make 'EM NV
The $
Chrushin"
Nothing Like This (which was also released on Chrome Children)

3/5

The great thing about this album is Stones Throw released the instrumentals along with the CD. I gotta appreciate that, cause that didn't happen with The Shining.

Not everything on this one's classic, but it's J Dilla, and anything else we get from his mastermind is more than worth it. Just listen to "Let's Take it Back," "Nothing Like This," "The $," "Make'em Nv, "Crushin' (Yeeeeaah!)," "Wild," and "Take Notice." Not only was Dilla the best producer, but one of the better Detroit MCs. It's a priviledge that this album got released to the masses with extra tracks and instrumentals to boot. It's a must not just for hip hop fans, but for fans of true music period. Get two, one for the house and one for the car. You're gonna need it.

This truely is a great album. J Dilla is brilliant, easily one of the top hip-hop producers of all time. Many consider him a "horrible rapper," which isn't true. His production just outshines his lyrical style. This album is raw, and blissful. To put his albums (Stones Throw) in perspective...

Ruff Draft - Raw, street-influenced, yet blissful.
The Shining - Entirely about love, and does it oh so well.
Donuts - Masterpiece. Beautiful. You can feel the last words of a dying man on a 31-track instrumental album. Amazing.

This album isn't as good as Donuts, but compete with The Shining. A must for any hardcore Dilla fan.

Just copped this cd and I have to say its bangin. The beats are real hard and the album has a real nice flow to it. I cant think of one track that i skip over. I really liked donuts and welcome 2 detroit and this is simply another great dilla album. I am feeling his flow on this too-some people aren't and thats cool. And if you happen to just want to bump the raw beats your in luck my friend cuz stones throw got you covered with that instrumental cd included too. Bravo. Isn't it refreshing when you buy an album and you just love the whole thing? Not an eveyday thing.

I first copped the orignal album via the boot-leg circuit(now I have a real legit copy!!! Thanks ST!). What I love about this album is that it was Dilla in his rawest form. Let's take it back just took the album there for me. For me the album brought me back the days of DITC and the living legend Pete Rock. But the true innovation of this piece was Nothing Like This.... just ill. It drives home why so many people loved (and will continue) Dilla's music... while he was never on no corniess...he wasn't afraid to take it there it was the prelude to one my favorite albums of all time ...Electric Circus... thank Stones Throw for reissuing this. Let's hope that somehow we can get the MCA shelved project (48 Hrs) finally release!

This disc is a bit of an anomaly, because while Dilla may have been known for his beats, his rhymes went mostly under-appreciated through the majority of his life. So here, in these 20+ minutes (15+ w/o the bonus songs or 40+ w/ the instrumental disc) we get to hear the producer covering all bases, with only one brief guest spot from Guilty Simpson on one of the bonus songs. I'm not a Dilla obsessed dude, but once I heard "Nothing Like This" I was totally blown away. It sounds more like dreamy indie-pop than anything I ever heard from him, but the rest of the songs are more traditional. While the production feels perfectly in tune with that Madlib and MF Doom type sound (respectively), and most of his vocals are just shouts through echo effects in the background, he also steps into the spotlight and drops many verses and hooks in a style kind of like a mellower Malik B (the other emcee from The Roots). I'll admit from the get go that I'm more on the backpacker side of this sound, but this release straddles the line in a way that excites me way more than most of the painfully safe stuff to come out of the Native Tongue clique in recent years. I'm sure some of this will be off-putting for purists of political correctness, but Dilla somehow seems to have remained near the pulse even past the grave, as seen in the rough edge he added to his neo-soul sound on this release. I would give the short EP itself a 7/10, but with the addition of the instrumental bonus disc it's easy to give it a higher score. 8/10

That's what I keep saying to myself when I listen to a producer so talented as Dilla, and turn on BET and see how hip hop has taken a plummet down the drain. Here we have another Dilla project that was produced by the late great five years ago, and now revised and polished so we can enjoy "that real shhh" that he keeps on bringing. In this record we see more polished lyrics (which was a big suprise) by Dilla and though he still might rap about being icey like on the head knocking "The $", he still manages not to go over board and get too braggy. There were some more highlights in the album like "Make'em NV" which features a hardcore sample from M.O.P. he gives you lessons on living with high priced fame, but at the same time not putting your guard's down on the street. "Let's take it Back", "Reckless Driveing", the Outkastish sounding "Nothing Like This", and lyrically polished "Take Notice" feat. underated lyristist Guilty Simpson display that hardcore Detroit sound that is destined to keep your head bouncing to the beat. "Crushin" was, however, kinda goofy with Dilla trying to make a song for the strip clubs. Though "Wild" start off pretty creative, you get lost in its countless amount of drums used and kinda ruins the natural feel of the song.

This is a must cop for hip hop and Dilla fans. The album was however a tad bit too short. "Shouts" could have been made into a real song instead of a outro sounding shout out. This album sadly left me wanting to here more from Dilla. All in all, this will be a nice addition to anybodies musical library and is worth checking out. You can also vibe to the bonus instrumentals of all the songs which is a huge plus for those who just want to contemplate and nod your heads to something in your spear time.

4 1/2 stars. Dilla with another timeless masterpiece.

I got the album about 3 months ago. Honestly my first impression was not good but the album steadily grew on me. Dilla continuosly changes his style as a producer and keeps me guessing. His latest style is much different from his Slum Village days but I still like the vintage era sounds creates. Ruff Draft is a good album nontheless.

I found this great companion piece!
J. Dilla (Limited Edition) 18" X 24" Inch Poster

This album, while wrapping up in little more than an half-hour is a sonic explosion from left field, that only adds to the genuis that was the late great J-Dilla. The samples that Dilla mixes in with his beats is surprising as he is able to craft amazing songs out of unsyncopated rythms. The $, Make Em' NV, Crushin', and Take Notice with Guilty Simpson are classics. It helps to listen to the instrumental disc first and then pop in the real deal, to really appreciate Ruff Draft. This is music 4 mummies!

The definiton of Greatness: Anything made by J Dilla, Ruff Draft is in a universe by it self, absolute genius, By far one of the greatness peices of work to be released by the late great. Godbless Jay Dee, Good job. Look out for Jay love Japan!