"Envy me, I'm rap's M.V.P., and I ain't goin nowhere, so you can get to know me."
The Game is not modest. He is also not rap's most valuable player. But he may be rap's rookie of the year and he may be on his way to being the best in the business.
Before "The Documentary" was even released The Game had a pretty impressive resume. He has been a member of hip hop group G-Unit and counterparts with one of raps most feared men, 50 Cent. He is considered to be a protégé of hip hop legend, Dr. Dre and is from Compton, Calif., a breeding ground for rap pioneers. Oh, and he has been shot about five times, including once in the heart over two pounds of weed.
Putting his credentials aside, the guy loves gangster rap and pays due to those stars that shone before him. He even has the letters N.W.A. tattooed on his left breast. With Snoop Dogg busy doing commercials with the likes of Wayne Newton, Compton has been waiting for a new rap savior.
His eyes, like two crimson colored slits, peer out of a smoky haze caused by his ever-flaring nostrils. When the smoke clears a serpent like smile emerges confidently. Recollections like this one are in abundance on "The Documentary," and with Dr. Dre supplying the background and 50 Cent basically on half the album, originality and creativity can be put aside.
Sure, it has the expected album cover consisting of a shirtless 'Game' perched on top of a couple of car tires with an array of gold and silver splattered across the picture.
The Game can also proves he can get deep on "Documentary." On "Dreams," produced by the seemingly ever-present Kanye West, he envisions a meeting between the departed Jam Master Jay and Easy E. On the up tempo "Westside Story," The Game takes a moment to thank his mother for not getting the abortion she had not considered.
He rips into Mariah Carey and Tyra Banks for having large foreheads and goes in depth about 50 Cent's sexual relationship with Vivica F. Fox.
Perhaps the true genius behind the Documentary is Dr. Dre. The King Midas of Rap comes through once more, somehow molding another foulmouthed young man into every Caucasian suburbanite's hero. Known as a true perfectionist, when the Dr. actually hits the lab, chances are it will be a successful procedure.
When Dr. Dre emerges, he gives us another glimpse into the past as we remember a once great empire of rap known as Death Row Records. He once again seems to renovate a great artwork. While the new frontier consists of groups like Aftermath, G-Unit, and Shady Records, it certainly feels like rap from the golden age.
Grade B
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 17 2005.