Ruff Draft

Good album! Brings you back to the 70's. It is what I was expected. Love all the songs in this album.

While I totally agree with D. Thomas' review, I think a 3 star rating is totally accurate when graded in comparison to other J. Dilla releases, but when compared to what we're being bombarded with on the radio and TV, I'd say that this is easily 5 star material. So I'm handing out a 4 because of that. The beats are vintage Dilla, but you can tell that they were created at a point where his sound was transitioning from his earlier stuff to what we know him to be today. Nonetheless, this is easily one of the best releases of the young year and highly recommended to those out there that are allergic to the mainstream/pop material floating about the airwaves.As far as flaws, I found a couple tracks weren't as strong as I've come to expect from Mr. Yancey. "Nothing Like This" (also on the Chrome Children LP) and "Crushin' (Yeeeeaah!)" both fell under skip material for this particular listener. Though the beats aren't bad, they seem to come off better as instrumentals because the vocals didn't reach me (you may find them quite nice, and they probably are, but I've never really been a big fan of his when it comes to rhyming). The instrumental disc is awesome though. I really dig all of the beats.Ruff Draft is a nice little chunk of hip hop music straight from the mind of the late, great J. Dilla. That alone was reason enough to get this album. The man's name is practically synonymous with quality. I recommend adding this to your music library.Standout Tracks [Disc 1]: Make'em NV, The $, Take Notice, Reckless Driving (My Favorite), Shouts (Alternate Version), and Let's Take It BackStandout Tracks [Disc 2]: Make'em NV, Nothing Like This, Crushin', Shouts (Alternate), Reckless Driving, and The $R.I.P. James Yancey aka Jay Dee aka J. Dilla

I fell in love with the group 'smokie', when i was in high school. That was when i heard the music the very first time. Sincerely, myself and a few contemporaries of mine went crazy about the group and their music that we even sing it in the class room. I loved every tract in the entire album. In order to get myself a copy of the cassette tape, i had to volunteer for a summer job, that was in far away Nigeria in 1982. Since i came to the USA, i have visited so many record stores desperately in search of my most cherished 'smokie' greatest hits CD. I am very grateful to Amazon.com for making my dream of owning a copy of the CD a reality.God bless you.