Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Sage Francis is something of an enigma wrapped inside a mystery wrapped inside a slam poet wrapped inside a rap MC. In other words, it's difficult to say in which way, exactly, Personal Journals should be classified, but considering how qualitative are its returns, it hardly matters. Already a battle champion (he won both the 1999 Superbowl Battle and 2000 Scribble Jam competitions) and a nationally ranked slam-poetry contestant, the self-defined "self-referentialist" Francis finally dropped this debut full-length with the support of his spiritual compadres and fellow rap revolutionaries in Anticon, and like the music from that collective, Personal Journals vigorously pushes back battlements and erases musical dividing lines. At any moment, you may find yourself unexpectedly confronted by gritty street hip-hop ("Climb Trees," "Pitchers of Silence"), gonzo reportage ("Personal Journalist"), what probably comes closest to spoken-word ("Inherited Scars," the live reading "Hopeless," "Runaways"), emotionally intense autobiography ("Different"), even cockeyed rock music ("My Name Is Strange," with six-piece backing band AOI), and then a more free-form and indefinable performance art (the superb "Broken Wings," halfway between rap and a touching sort of metaphysics, or the gothic, multiple-personality "Eviction Notice"), for lack of a better term. The soundscapes that his team of producers came up with are every bit as unorthodox and superlative. That the album could appeal to rap heads and arty, alternative types alike is a testament to the high caliber of Francis' personal journalism.
© Stanton Swihart /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 12.49€/month
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Sage Francis, Composer, MainArtist - Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Album review
Sage Francis is something of an enigma wrapped inside a mystery wrapped inside a slam poet wrapped inside a rap MC. In other words, it's difficult to say in which way, exactly, Personal Journals should be classified, but considering how qualitative are its returns, it hardly matters. Already a battle champion (he won both the 1999 Superbowl Battle and 2000 Scribble Jam competitions) and a nationally ranked slam-poetry contestant, the self-defined "self-referentialist" Francis finally dropped this debut full-length with the support of his spiritual compadres and fellow rap revolutionaries in Anticon, and like the music from that collective, Personal Journals vigorously pushes back battlements and erases musical dividing lines. At any moment, you may find yourself unexpectedly confronted by gritty street hip-hop ("Climb Trees," "Pitchers of Silence"), gonzo reportage ("Personal Journalist"), what probably comes closest to spoken-word ("Inherited Scars," the live reading "Hopeless," "Runaways"), emotionally intense autobiography ("Different"), even cockeyed rock music ("My Name Is Strange," with six-piece backing band AOI), and then a more free-form and indefinable performance art (the superb "Broken Wings," halfway between rap and a touching sort of metaphysics, or the gothic, multiple-personality "Eviction Notice"), for lack of a better term. The soundscapes that his team of producers came up with are every bit as unorthodox and superlative. That the album could appeal to rap heads and arty, alternative types alike is a testament to the high caliber of Francis' personal journalism.
© Stanton Swihart /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 18 track(s)
- Total length: 00:57:46
- Main artists: Sage Francis
- Composer: Sage Francis
- Label: Strange Famous Records
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
2006 Strange Famous Inc 2006 Sage Francis Publishing (ASCAP)
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.