Oct 6, 2015 Previous Reviews: 1. Compton (9.5/10) 2. Rodeo (7/10) 3. 90059 (8/10) 4. GO:OD AM (9/10) I am not reviewing the 2.5 edition of The Documentary, let me make that clear. I am back by demand to deliver another review, this time for The Game's new album, a sequel to his classic debut "The Documentary". Game is notorious for being quite a hit and miss artist. Yes, his first 2 album's "The Documentary" and "Doctors Advocate" are 2000's classics. But various material since then ranging from "L.A.X", "The R.E.D Album" and "Jesus Piece" have been a mixed bag of successes and disappointments. I try to ignore his Blood Money label compilation "Year Of The Wolf" like the rest of us. Yes, The Game triumphantly beat the "2nd album slump", that many artist's have been prone to fall in, (rival 50 Cent is a good example). But he never managed to reach the same highs, simply put. Well just like his last 2 albums, he's calling this one "a new classic" and better then the original. But the other obvious issue he's gotta overcome is that it's a sequel in name, so there are much higher expectations (Unlike R.E.D or Jesus Piece). Many rappers have approached the sequel format like Eminem for "MMLP2", Jay Z for The Blueprint trilogy, Lil Wayne for The Carter series, and Raekwan for "Only Built For Cuban Link II". But very few of them have managed to match the overall greatness of the original. If you're looking for the classic, young, free spirit Game found on his earlier work...you're not going to get any enjoyment out of this. He still name drops 2Pac and Dr. Dre on every other song. And like his work since R.E.D, he has way to many features. Some work, like a brilliant Kendrick Lamar on album opener. "On Me", and some fail, like the horrible, cringeworthy "Hashtag", featuring a Lil Jon wannabe stuck in the Crunk era. The West Coast clearly has been thriving this year, ranging from Vince Staples, Kendrick Lamar, and even Dr. Dre. And Game clearly acknowledges it, having features from Kendrick, Dre, Ice Cube, Ab-Soul, and Snoop Dogg. He also gives some love to New York as well, but don't expect a 50 feature. Game doesn't have an excuse like Dre does for the overuse of features. He doesn't produce any of his own material. He leaves that to multiple producers like will.i.am, Jhalil Beats, Cool & Dre, Scott Scorch, Mike Will Made It, Dr. Dre, Streetrunner and the most frequent, Bongo 'The Drum Gahd'. And the main issue with all of these producers is that, sonically its a mess. It doesn't all come together like " Summertime 06'" or "To p---- A Butterfly". One second he's rapping with a mumbling autotuned Future, the next he's spitting on a DJ Premier beat (Documentary 2 was a highlight of the LP though). The cohesion is way lacking for a spiritual sequel. Yes, the album as a whole is better then any of his work since "Doctors Advocate", but the flaws of Game's work are still very present. As stated, his production is blotchy, his namedropping becomes tedious, and some of the features, like Puff Daddy at the end of "Standing On Ferrari's" and Dej Loaf mumbling some weird phrase at the end for twenty seconds are pointless. Game, you're not going to pull any new fans in by featuring a desirable aritst, and doing nothing significant with them. What I did like about this album though on a positive note is that he took his time with the project, and tried to make it as good as possible. The effort right there is applause worthy. Standout tracks would include (No Specific Order), 1. On Me (Ft. Kendrick Lamar) 2. Don't Trip (Ft. Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and will.I.am) 3. Made In America 4. Documentary 2 5. Mula (Ft. Kanye West) So overall, this album did not reach the heights of "The Documentary". In fact, I will even say it was a disappointment. Not that it was bad or trash, because it wasnt. But The Game basically made his MMLP2. I'm going to give this a strong 6.5/10. This is his best album since 2006, but thats not saying too much considering his last 3. And it doesn't even come close to achieving the heights of the predecessor. Nothing really outstanding to sway new opinions. If you love Game, you'll love this. If you like Game, give it a listen. If you dislike Game, this won't change your opinion. NEXT REVIEW: THE DEVIL'S NIGHT MIXTAPE
Oct 6, 2015 WOW. classic review. could say that to EVERY other artist. yes, EVERY. cause no matter how good an album is, if u hate the artist, u wont like it. its reading like a wannabe review
Oct 6, 2015 He's upset I spoke my mind. It's all good. You can't have a full package without some haters.
Oct 6, 2015 it being a double album (pretty much) is it even fair to rate only one album? When people rate all eyez on me or life after death do they only rate the first cd?
Oct 6, 2015 I consider it two different albums, because game is releasing them separately. If they couldn't be split apart like Life After Death and All Eyez On Me, wouldn't game have released them altogether at the same time?
