Peep the Game

So I've been seeing this cat The Game all over the place- on the cover of Vibe, on postered walls galore, even on numerous ad banners. One of my friend's let me listen to the new album because I wanted to see what all the hype was about. I figured that obviously, this guy is the product of overblown marketing and the media/promotion machinery. Unfortunately, that is the state of hip hop today; video killed the radio star. It's all about the bling bling now on mainstream hip hop outlets, even Kweli and Mos are going for commercial succes- after all, you gotta feed your family. Like Kweli said in "Ghetto Show": if lyrics sold/truth be told/I'd probably be/just as rich/and famous/as Jay Z.

The Documentary, which is the debut release on a major label for The Game, is a benefit to hip hop. You can't really box this album into one genre of rap; some of the first songs are very commercial, and have little substance riding over hot beats. But as the album goes on, you realize that The Game is more complex than that. "Don't Worry," which features Mary J. Blige, has a touch of neo soul that starts to seep out going into the chorus.

On "Dreams" Kanye West puts down an absolutely sick beat that is more soul-funk than commercial/pop, and The Game rides it with a perceived comfort that is reminiscent of Jay Z. Ironically, the flow is also reminiscent of Nas, who The Game borrows from with his line: they say sleep is the cousin of death.

The biggest drawback for me is that he shouts out Biggie and Pac in almost every song. Now I'm not sayin' people can't shout out Biggie or Pac in a song- that'd be ridiculous. But I'm sayin' having it on almost every song makes it seem like it's just the thing to do.

Still, the album is hot. Cop that.