Enlisting the who’s who of hip-hop, such as Common, Guilty Simpson, Black Thought and more, Dilla drops the beats and the flow comes natural. As far today’s hip-hop goes, The Shining does exactly that—shine—like a bright star guiding you through the crunk-filled crap clogging the airwaves. This is as real as it gets. And as the sample on “Baby” expresses, “How do I feel about radio hip-hop? I think it’s whack. Most of the shit they play is straight garbage.” Once again, true. The album is chill, like a Saturday afternoon, coffee in hand, your girl next to you and nothing on your mind but good thoughts. And that is probably the most accurate depiction when listening to the Common and D’Angelo cut, “So Far So Good.”
