Sage Francis - Personal Journals CD
Includes 20 page booklet with Sage's "diary entries" explaining each song.
Sage Francis's debut studio album (released in 2002.)
Countless emcees and media types like to throw around buzzwords like "game changer," but rarely is that term as applicable as it is with an album like these. With his first official release, Sage took the opportunity to set aside the more boastful side of rap while catering more toward his poetic leanings all while turning the vocal booth into a confessional.
This LP shifted the underground and helped usher in a new understanding of how hip-hop records could be made. Over 10 years later it not only stood the test of time, but parts of it seem to become stronger. We can confidently look back on it and say, "Hey... most of the music world wasn't ready for this when it first dropped, and they probably still aren't comfortable acknowledging it, but this is a bonafide classic."
TRACKLISTING
01 Crack Pipes
02 Different
03 Personal Journalist
04 Inherited Scars
05 Climb Trees
06 Broken Wings
07 The Strange Famous Mullet Remover
08 Smoke and Mirrors
09 Message Sent
10 Eviction Notice
11 Pitchers of Silence
12 Specialist
13 Hopeless
14 Kill ya' Momz
15 Black Sweatshirt
16 Cup of Tea
17 My Name is Strange
18 Runaways
REVIEWS
8.7 rating on Pitchfork Media
"Clearly, nothing embarrasses this guy."
"Bluntly put, the album is a masterpiece" - Dusted Magazine
"Instead of leaving you devastated, Personal Journals is strangely comforting. Sage Francis is our exorcist. Lyrically, nothing short of brilliant." - Stylus Magazine
"Personal Journals, is regarded as a benchmark in the growing indie rap field and effectively relates Sage's misgivings about himself and the world around him over non-traditional beats." - Synthesis
"There is something that makes this record sound simple and perfect at the same time. Personal Journals might be the best rap-record in my book for 2002." - Monochrom
"In the end, the album's journey has been circular, but we have learned why it must be. Ferociously demanding much of his listeners, Sage Francis rewards us with the revelations of despair, and they are impossible to ignore. Above all else, Personal Journals is foreground music, rightfully asserting its own necessity." -Brown Daily Herald