"L.A.X."(Life and Times) is the third, and supposedly final, album by the Compton rapper, The Game. I say 'supposedly' because many rappers have claimed to be retiring in the past, but it doesn't happen too many of those times, so I doubt that an artist with only three albums under his belt and a record label with no mainstream artists will just call it quits.
1. "Intro"
2. "LAX Files"
The Game kicks the album off in a big way as he challenges all the fake thugs out there who have no idea of waht it's like to be subject to a Gangsta lifestyle; where your life is constantly under threat. With a haunting piano to back it up and the utilisation of the screwed techinque, you feel intimidated by the lyrics which he comes out with, making those who it is directed to question whether they should continue to do so.
Finally, The Game gets a chance to rap alongside his life-long favourite rapper, ice Cube, and to make it extra special for him, he is given some throwback early nineties G-Funk to rap on. Although the originator of this sound, Dr. Dre doens't produce it, J.R. Rotem makes it sound just as authenic as you would like. Here you also get to hear the similarities from the two with their hardcore Gangsta Rap lyrics.
**Four Stars**
4. "Bulletproof Diaries" (feat. Raekwon)
From collaborating to a West Coast legend from N.W.A, he takes it to the East as he recruits Wu-Tang's Raekwon to help him in a track whihc has him rapping in the typical Mafioso Rap form which Brooklyn built-up through the nineties. The Southern producer (who specialises in West Coast Rap), Jelly Roll does the beat for this one, and seems to change his stlye up quite significantly with a smooth tune which has The Game and Raekwon compare their stories of living a Gangsta lifestyle in the cities which they represent.
A big Hip Hip album couldn't be relased today without one of these: a collaboration with Lil' Wayne, and this is the one of this album (as he is featured on all the other big relases of the past couple of years in Rap and R&B). As with lots of the recent appearances which he has made, Lil' Wayne strays away from his rapping an
instead sings for this one, and uses the T-Pain auto-tuner for added effect from a track which he had previosuly doen with Birdman.
This is an emotionly-charged tune by The Game which has him refer to tough subjects, such as having to cope without a father, due to his drug addiction. The Game takes influence from various sources, including topical issues, and you could probably guess the date of its recording by what is said concerning people such as Kanye Wst and Jesse Jackson, as well as the use of Lil' Wayne's phrase "We are not the same, I am a martian".
**Three Stars**
6. "Money"
Thsi is the second, and final, Cool & Dre-produced track off "L.A.X." and has them provide an exciting tune which as the title sums up, is about "Money". The Game gets depe as he refers to all that can be done with currency and how it has shaped his by the decisions which he's had to make for it. I was impressed by the cutting of a short sample of someone simply saying the title to be used in such an inventive way to make up the chorus, which doesn't seem to lose its power, desite the repitition.
With foundations which have thte producer, Nottz, utilsing The Dramatics' "California Sunshine", The Game proforms a track which has him celebrate his ends and hw climate has effected the way of life for people way out West. Although I liked the main elemnets of it, with the Neo-Soul singer Bilal singing in the chorus, it didn't have enough power to be effective to the listener.
**Two Stars**
8. "Ya Heard" (feat. Ludacris)
Reading all about what has gone into this track (before actually listening to it), I was extremely excited as one of my favourite rappers, Ludacris, makes an appearance and Nottz is a big producer, with this he offers a sample of an Old School classic joint of Newcleus' "Jam On It", and it certainly didn't disappoint as they played around with this foundation and had it altered to a degree where you can' treally notice it. However you have a subliminal hint of fun from this sample, allwoing for a light-hearted track from The Game (making a change from his usual hardcore lyrics).
**Four Stars**
9. "Hard Liqour" (Lude)
10. "House of Pain"
This is to be the fourthsingle from the album and it has The Game rapping upon a beat beat by T.I.'s right-hand man, DJ Toomp, who has produced some of his biggest hits including "What You Know", "24's" and "U Don't Know Me". However, I didn't really feel as though I was getting the same sort of sound which he presented with T.I.'s (or other southern rappers') tunes in the past as it was quite a dark opne, but regardless of this it really work well with The Game's style of rapping as it gets you in the correct mood to listen to these tough raps.
**Four Stars**
11. "Gentleman's Affair" (feat. Ne-Yo)
An unexpected collabo in the album comes when The Game is jopined by the R&B singer about to drop an album entitled "Year Of The Gentleman", Ne-Yo, and this tune seems to fit in with his angle for the year. As The Game alters his typical ways for a short while, he comes with a nice and calm love song, which would only work with the aid of such an established name for R&B in Ne-Yo.
**Three Stars**
12. "Let Us Live" (feat. Chrisette Michele)
Scott Storch offers the production for this tune and yet again we hear a surprising change in what the producer is aminly known for doing. Aside from this, I thought that Storch really knew what what required to make a hard West Coast banger, and it's engery manged to come through as The Game rapped along to it in a relvant way. I thought that the singing from Chrisette Michele was the only downfall to it as it didn;t really suit the direction of the tune.
**Four Stars**
13. "Touchdown" (feat. Raheem DeVaughn)
You get a smooth track from The Game, making clear similairities with the earlier Ne-Yo collaboration,, "Gentleman's Affair", however this one was a bit different from this one as it seemed as though the guest here, Raheem DeVaughn took control over the track, and Game' hardly got any in, asa result it was more of a cool-down tune, to gve you chance to chill before he comes with harder stuff later on.
**Three Stars**
14. "Angel" (feat. Common)
I was pleased to hear Common make an apprearance on the album, but when you consider what this means for the artist, he is rapping alongside a figure who completel;y contrasts from himself musically (within the Hip Hop genre), but still manages to connect on a deeper level with their love for 'The Game'. With this thing which draws them together, they come with an incredibly strong Hip Hop track, switching from the direction of the rest of the album. Kanye offers the production with a clear sample of an '80s RB groove form Gil Scott Heron to give this one a retro feel.
**Four Stars**
15. "Never Can Say Goodbye" (feat. Latoiya Williams)
When I read that this one included samples of both Biggie's "Big Pppa" and the Isley Brothers' "Between The Sheets", I was excited as I expected to hear a nice and smooth track from Game, however, these were only little things which allowed Game to show his influences over the rests as he follow a similar delivery which Notorious B.I.G. did in "Big Poppa". Thsi track has lyrics whcih completely contrast from the beat, and as he himself had a part in producing it, it makes it a lot more personal to him, and when you get into the lyrics, you will understand why.
**Four Stars**
16. "Dope Boys" (feat. Travis Barker)
This is the second track off the album and it is a banger of a tune as it has The Game with a surprising collaboration with blink-182's former drummer, Travis Barker, performing together on some hard 1500 or Nothin' production. The drumming of Barker offers something unexpected from them, however the rock percussion seems to fit in with the raps which The Game performs. I felt as if The Game was taking influence from his idols as he grew, N.W.A, as this sounds like a modern version of "Dopeman".
**Five Stars**
17. "Game's Pain" (feat. Keisha Cole)
This is great track as it acs as the West Coast equivalent to Common's "I Used To Love H.E.R. (Hip Hop In It's Essence and Real), that way a classic as even in 1993, when it was released it showed that Common had realised changes in the industry to make it more mainstream, and Gangsta Rap, which originated out on the West, was seen as part of the negative downfall of Hip Hop. At the time Ice Cube rebelled against this by standing up for the West, and as The Game claims that Cube was his favourite rapper, he has taken it upon him to continue what he started, because Common served Cube the first time around.
I found this very intersting as it sems to go through a similar pattern to Common as he chronologically goes through the journey of this current form, but siginificantly he only focuses on rap (as this is one of four elements to Hip Hop, I felt it was quite ignorant to do so), but then again things are different out in the West, so he talks on wanting to be like his favourites at the time, such as NWA, Biggie, and surprisingly the Fresh Prince (as you wouldn't expect a gangsta rapper to be interested in some Philly Hip Popper like Will Smith.
**Five Stars**
18. "Letter To the King" (feat. Nas)
It's good to see more of The Game and Nas together collaborating because I loved the track off "Hip Hop Is Dead" called "Hustlers" as well as the more recent "Make the World Go Round", from Nas' "Untitled" release, and it's good to see if the quality continues in further progression of the pair on this Hi-Tek tune. It's an inspiring one from the pair with (as always) thought-provoking messages in the lyrics.
**Four Stars**
19. "Outro"
The 'Intro' and 'Outro' to this album has DMX offering his famous Prayers, which have featured on his own records. They must have a deeper meaning than what I can see in them (without spirtual belief), but they must have a high significance for The Game, to have them introduce and end his 'final' release.
I'm sure that The Game is extremly proud of this relase and should it be his final record, it is a good way to end it all. It seems as though with all of the variation through the album, he has managed to express everything which he needed to get out, and as there are so many tracks, he has been able to go about doing this in such a deep way.
If you are unaware, nearly thirty other tracks were recorded for this album, so you know that only the best have manged to come through to the final release of it. However I think that the choices were given in order to display the variation which he needed to give in order to make this album special.
I liked that The Game's maturity has come through in this album as oppsed to past ones, by this I mean that he has gone from an array of simple, obvious Gangsta Rap tracks, to fianlly settleing and being able to perfom his music, but in a way which allows him to address deeper issues as he goes into Consious raps as well as ones which challenge 'The Game' as a whole.
I think that's it's important to note that I never really liked The Game, but since I've seen significant changes in him (such as seeing him cry over Hip Hop), you know that he is passionate for what he does, and isn't just in it for the money as a lot of other rappers out there. It wouldn't have surprised me if he gave the album away for free.
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