14-6-09 Can't believe I haven't written a review for the whole of 2009, watch this space...
14-6-09 Can't believe I haven't written a review for the whole of 2009, watch this space...
Member since:02.06.2007
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BACKGROUND "Raised in the city of angels, where safe and danger switch lanes."
You don't have to be gangster to know the backstory behind 28 year-old rapper, The Game, releasing his third album since breaking on to the scene in 2005. Just as Dr Dre introduced Eminem to the rap business, and the two of them brought up 50 Cent as their prodigy -- they planned to expand their avenues with The Game as the newest of their investments.
'The Documentary' was the debut release on the Aftermath/G-Unit label (founded by Dr Dre and 50 Cent respectively) and promptly found its way to the top of the US Billboard propelled by the success of 'How We Do'. The album also featured 'Hate It or Love It', which remains to this date The Game's most successful US single release.
Despite his previous closeness shown in videos with mentor 50 Cent and other members of G-Unit, the relationship quickly broke down in a time where it doesn't take much for rappers to fall out. And get shot. The Game broke loose, showing signals of his headstrong nature growing up as a member of the Bloods that are worldly famous for their feud on the streets with Crips.
Almost two years on, in late 2006, The Game would release his second studio album under new label Geffen, having distanced himself from all he had worked with previously. And despite reports, Dr Dre did not produce any tracks for the album -- although there had been rumours of problems between Dre and 50 Cent due to Dre's refusal to break away from Game.
'Doctor's Advocate' only managed to shift 1.5 million worldwide compared to 'The Documentary' shifting over 5 million copies. Although the album still managed to reach #1 on the US Billboard, a lack of exposure meant the album would not enter the top 20 in the UK market. However, the album did feature The Game's most successful UK single to date -- 'Wouldn't Get Far' featuring Kanye West peaked at #3 on the UK charts. This album included appearances from more commercial artists in the form of The Game's new friends, i.e. Will.I.Am.
Straight out of Compton, the California rap star is back with what it is expected to be his third and final studio album (although reports suggest he may already be working on a fourth album titled 'DOC - Diaries of Compton'). L.A.X. is the Life And Times of The Game and two years on from his last album it looks as though it could be his biggest effort to date.
PUBLICITY "So there ain't no proof that I ever walked through 8 Mile, and since their ain't no Proof I'll never walk through 8 Mile."
Born, Jayceon Terrell Taylor,
there has been no attempted publicity stunts to report as yet in order to build up the anticipation for the new album. Whilst lesser characters maybe tempted to create 'beef' between rival artists in order to get people talking, it appears The Game has opted for an attitude of letting the music do the talking.
From a design perspective, there is a very familar trend with the artwork for the albums. Just as special editions of all The Game's two previous albums featured his first son, Harlem, on the front cover -- the default cover for L.A.X. features Harlem (now 5 years-old) and his second son, King Justice (who recently celebrated his first birthday). Whilst the other album covers have featured the trademark chrome alloy wheels with The Game taking a relaxed pose, the latest album replaces the tyres with an even more relaxing leather couch.
L.A.X.'s release was delayed from its original June release to August '08 with no real reason given, however it has been reported that a total of 220 tracks were recorded for the album with only 19 making the final cut. This has resulted in a lot of tracks leaking on to the internet actually not being from the final cut, although many have left a lasting impression on fans and wetted their appetite for what does make the final cut. 'Camera Phone featuring Ne-Yo' is a personal favourite of mine.
One thing you have been able to bank on with The Game after his previous projects is that he shall record a track that will feature the title of the album, and what I am happy about with 'LAX Files' is that it comes literally, right at the beginning of the album and really informs you of his intentions on the album. 'LAX' is an emotional track, but with an interesting effect added to the vocals on the chorus this becomes a track for any occassion and if the rest of the album is anything like its namesake track we should be left impressed.
03, State of Emergency ft. Ice Cube (3.39), 3*
04, Bulletproof Diaries ft. Raekwon (4.52), 2*
05, My Life ft. Lil Wayne (5.21), 5*
Ice Cube is just one of many artists to feature on the album, something that The Game has previously been faulted for, and unless you are a real rap fan there are very few guest appearances on this album that will actually catch your interest. 'State of Emergency' is a track that you could hear banging out of someones car, but it would only come on as part of a playlist and not as someones choice. Raekwon is a former member of Wu-Tang Clan and relatively unknown, and 'Bulletproof Diaries' continues down a slippery slope.
That is when everything changes, and 'My Life' shows what LAX truly is all about, as it features man of the moment in the shape of Lil Wayne (who currently holds the record for this years best selling album). 'My Life' has fast became my song of the summer, although it is almost over, and earnt legendary status in my mind for its powerful lyrics and any song that reminds me of Tupac Shakur's 'Ghetto Gospel' deserves an incredible amount of praise. Whilst I am not trying to say that The Game is 2Pac, what I am trying to say is that powerful lyrics about; Kurt Cobain, John Lennon and Eminem are bound to make a memorable track.
Lil Wayne's vocals for the chorus do a lot for the song as well, this is in a similar vein to the chorus on 'LAX Files' and adds an addictiveness to the track. Of course with comments about burning pictures of Eminem and the deceased D12 member, Proof, the track has managed to cause controversy that The Game has been quick to come out and rectify. You can hate Lil Wayne's 'Lollipop' but still love him on 'My Life', and as the third track to be released from the album I am hoping this shall be his most successful single to date.
06, Money (5.13), 4*
07, Cali Sunshine ft. Bilal (4.33), 4*
Sampling vocals from soul singer, Betty Wright, 'Money' continues to supply the album with tracks that include infectous hooks. Whilst I do not usually appreciate hearing rappers singing about their money, 'Money' as a track is one of the most fun tracks I have heard in a long time. And probably makes for The Game's best effort on the entire album without a featured artist, although not technically true with the added vocals. Continuing the trend of fun tracks, 'Cali Sunshine' is a song to have you bouncing in your chair, featurnig the vocals of jazz singer, Bilal. Unfortunately the track comes a bit late to become the new summer anthem, although the track has the potential to live on until Summer '09.
'Ya Heard' begins off sounding as though it could be another summer banger, but quickly drifts off into sounding almost the same all the way through. Unfortunately, after being known for adding so much as a featured artist on previous tracks, Ludacris does very little to improve this track. 'Hard Liqour' went completely over my head, and is more of a skit than anything, at this point I'm more interested in getting back to the good standard of music than listening to some jokes through music. 'House of Pain' will be the fourth single released from the album, produced by DJ Toomp -- the man behind many of T.I.'s biggest hits and worked with Kanye West on 'Graduation'. This is one of The Game's trademark hard hitting tracks, although compared to some of his previous hits you wonder why this was chosen as a single.
11, Gentleman's Affair ft. Ne-Yo (3.39), 4*
12, Let Us Live ft. Chrisette Michele (4.39), 1*
13, Touchdown ft. Raheem DeVaughn (4.00), 1*
Two faces you never would have put together back in 2005 would be The Game and Ne-Yo for their different music styles, and also because Ne-Yo didn't actually break on to the scene until 2006 (although it feels as though he has been around forever). The title of the track represents the two styles you would expect to collide, as Ne-Yo is well known for being a presentable R&B star with a large collection of love songs. 'Gentleman's Affair' is not as good as the other Ne-Yo featured track that appears on the Deluxe Edition, however it is one of the most listenable tracks on L.A.X. Chrisette is a Grammy-nominated R&B singer and continues down the trend at this point of the album with artists you wouldn't really expect to be making appearances, although Chrisette has previously worked with Jay-Z and Nas. 'Let Us Live' never really picks up, and is almost monotone all the way through. Raheem is another unknown artist, and 'Touchdown' is nothing more than gangsta love making music.
14, Angel ft. Common (4.28), 2*
15, Never Can Say Goodbye ft. Latoya Williams (4.40), 1*
16, Dope Boys ft. Travis Barker (4.01), 3*
'Angel' is the morning after the night before, opening 'Goodmorning, baby." The track is also the only one on the album produced by Kanye West. Whilst it sounds as though there is quite a lot going on in the background, it never takes off like a Kanye track should. Latoya Williams is interestingly an artist I know nothing about, but the intro to 'Never Can Say Goodbye' grabs my attention. Shame the rest doesn't. 'Dope Boys' wasn't the second single released from the album and features Blink-182 drummer, Travis Barker. 'Dope Boys' failed to make any kind of impact on the US Billboard, although it still one of the better tracks. Think along the lines of Busta Rhymes clashing with Linkin Park.
17, Game's Pain ft. Keyshia Cole (4.22), 4*
18, Letter to the King ft. Nas (5.46), 2*
19, Outro ft. DMX (1.28)
'Pain' was the first track released from the album, and shows so much promise it's a shame there have been so many other singles pushed out that did not live up to the early promise. Whilst this and 'My Life' have made for excellent singles, the other two are questionable. Keyshia is most recently memorable for her appearance on a track with P Diddy. Nas's second featured appearance on the album comes in the shape of the longest song on the album, and as I'm not even a Nas fan you can forgive me for not getting excited about that. I feel for you if you can get through this track, and I don't even really know what it's about.
"The Game's won Round 3 by making his third straight album that's better than it has any right to be-- but the fact that the Game can make perfectly uncompelling cmopetence sound like victory is proof that he's a master thespian of hip-hop theater." - Pitchfork
IN CLOSING "Let the top down, California's my birthplace, so I'ma take you there like BIG took niggas to New York."
Cool & Dre were mainly responsible for producing 'L.A.X.', not to be confused with Dr Dre who is unlikely to ever work with The Game again, however Cool & Dre should not be disregarded. These producers are the ones responsible for the shining moments on the album. I also have to mention J.R. Rotem who produces some good work on the album, the man who has worked with artists from 50 Cent to Britney Spears.
I'm unsure why everyone is so quick to jump on The Game as producing a terrible album, it's almost as though he's becoming the joke of the business. However, what he has created on LAX is quite a few gems with moments of boredom inbetween. That's still better than his last effort, and it would be a shame if a lot of this goes unheard. With his policy of apparently releasing almost every track before the albums even released, I think it's unlikely the album will go unheard.
Whilist 'Doctors Advocate' did have a lot of featured artists, it feels as though L.A.X. has returned to 'The Documentary' policy of having as many as possible. Coincidently LAX and Documentary also feature the exact same number of tracks, so maybe The Game is trying to recreate what he did so well on his debut.
Reviewers are insulting the guy, but they are still handing out good ratings come the end of the review. And although there are songs I never want to listen to again, there are a few I'm going to listen to over and over. If this is his last album, it will be interesting to see how he does as a producer, because his attempt at co-producing on 'Never Can Say Goodbye' didn't go that terribly. I just won't expect Eminem to be lining up to work with him.
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