Personal Journals

Personal Journals is the first solo studio album by American rapper Sage Francis. It was released on Anticon in 2002. It peaked at number 8 on CMJ's Hip-Hop chart.^[1] As of 2005, it has sold 36,000 units.^[2]

Personal Journals
Studio album by Sage Francis
Released	April 16, 2002 (2002-04-16)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	59:01
Label	Anticon
Producer	Sixtoo, DJ Mayonnaise, Jel, Scott Matelic, Reanimator, Alias, Odd Nosdam, Controller 7, Mr. Dibbs, Joe Beats
Sage Francis chronology
Personal Journals (2002) A Healthy Distrust (2005)
Singles from Personal Journals
"Climb Trees" Released: 2002

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	[4]
Dusted Magazine	favorable[5]
Pitchfork	8.7/10[6]
RapReviews.com	9.5/10[7]
Spin	7/10[8]
Stylus Magazine	A−[9]
Vibe	[10]

Chris Dahlen of Pitchfork gave the album an 8.7 out of 10, saying, "Personal Journals is a success because it turns the self-examination into poetry and then, harder still, turns the poems into great rap."^[6] Stanton Swihart of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "The soundscapes that his team of producers came up with are every bit as unorthodox and superlative."^[3] Clay Jarvis of Stylus Magazine gave the album a grade of "A−," calling it "the finest hip hop album of this year."^[9]

Daniel Thomas-Glass of Dusted Magazine said, "The combination of Sage Francis's boldly self-searching poetry with the beats of some of underground hip hop's most talented producers is out-and-out breathtaking, from the opener 'Crack Pipes,' that brilliantly flips Sixtoo's impossible-to-rhyme-over beat from his instrumental opus The Secrets That Houses Keep, to the closing bars of 'Runaways,' the Joey Beats-produced outro that is quite haunting in its beauty."^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Crack Pipes"	Sixtoo	2:25
2.	"Different"	Sixtoo	3:20
3.	"Personal Journalist"	DJ Mayonnaise	2:53
4.	"Inherited Scars"	DJ Mayonnaise	4:35
5.	"Climb Trees"	Jel	3:57
6.	"Broken Wings"	Scott Matelic	3:59
7.	"The Strange Famous Mullet Remover"	Reanimator	2:39
8.	"Smoke and Mirrors"	Jel	3:13
9.	"Message Sent"	Alias	4:24
10.	"Eviction Notice"	Odd Nosdam	3:31
11.	"Pitchers of Silence"	Sixtoo	2:46
12.	"Specialist"	Controller 7	4:13
13.	"Hopeless"		1:12
14.	"Kill Ya' Momz"	Mr. Dibbs	1:59
15.	"Black Sweatshirt"	Sixtoo	2:08
16.	"Cup of Tea"	Sixtoo	2:14
17.	"My Name Is Strange"		3:21
18.	"Runaways"	Joe Beats	6:07

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

• Sage Francis – vocals, recording, mixing, cover art design
• Sixtoo – production (1, 2, 11, 15, 16), recording, mixing
• DJ Mayonnaise – production (3, 4)
• Jel – production (5, 8)
• Scott Matelic – production (6)
• Reanimator – production (7)
• Alias – production (9)
• Odd Nosdam – production (10), layout
• Controller 7 – production (12)
• Mr. Dibbs – production (14), recording, mixing
• Joe Beats – production (18)
• DJ Mek – turntables (3)
• DJ Signify – turntables (7, 8)
• Mike 2600 – turntables (7)
• Grey Matter – turntables (15)
• Jay Peters – guitar (17)
• Matt Zimmerman – upright bass (17)
• Tara – keyboards (17)
• Matt Coolige – flute (17)
• Scott Begin – drums (17)
• Shalem B – turntables (17)
• Chris Warren – recording, mixing
• Jonathan Wyman – mastering
• Kara Healy – photography