***The Game L.A.X. Pitchfork review***

[Elano]

The Game:
L.A.X. (Los Angeles Times)
[Geffen; 2008]
Rating: 6.4

Reality used to be a friend of Game; these days, he's better off with its close cousin, perception. Statistically, his short but eventful career is in a freefall-- his sophomore album, Doctor's Advocate, sold several million fewer copies than its predecessor, The Document, his first feature film (Waist Deep) couldn't even be enjoyed ironically, and I've never seen his Converse Hurricane shoe in stores, let alone in public. And I live in L.A. Yet, the perception is that he's riding a head of artistic steam into L.A.X. due to, as Pitchfork contributor Jayson Greene put it, shedding the impression that he's one of the least interesting rappers to ever go platinum. Where he was once reverent of anyone in hip-hop that had been in the same room as a record deal, the Game soon alienated nearly everyone responsible for The Document's success-- as far as role-playing goes, unstable psycho was infinitely more entertaining than name-dropping money pit.

The problem is, self-immolation is an artistic ideal that doesn't leave much of an exit strategy, and once the dud singles and release dates started piling up for L.A.X., Game was left to do his A.J. Soprano routine in magazines, unable to handle his daddy issues and at times threatening to kill other people or himself. The perception of Doctor's Advocate as career suicide made it a voyeuristic pleasure for the message-board rubberneckers Game actively courts. That inferiority complex and desperate need for approval keeps L.A.X. surprisingly entertaining even though there are far more weak tracks on it than good ones.

Still, it's difficult to keep seeing him as a loose cannon ("Hated on so much/ Passion of Christ need a sequel," he raps) when most of his adversaries respond to his beefs by completely ignoring him, and when nearly every viable hip-hop artist (plus Travis Barker) makes a guest spot here. Obviously, a lot of those spots are late-90s-style padding: If DMX's performance on the intro and outro are any indication, his gospel-rap ambitions should result in the comedy record of the year, and while Tha Carter III has sold 25,000 copies in the time it takes to read this paragraph, the beyond-hideous hook of "woe is Game" weepie "My Life" suggests Lil Wayne's too in hock to buy an autotuner that can work at full capacity.

Befitting someone who, to be honest, is still learning on the job, Game continues to improve although there are certain handicaps that he'll never overcome-- he compares himself to Chris Paul ("I never dribble out of bounds"), but he's more like Shaq trying to run a fastbreak. There's something almost endearing about the confidence he has in his lumbering flow (watch him try a double-time spit on "L.A.X. Files" or lope triplets on "Cali Sunshine") and limited ability to create on the fly, but really, you just brace yourself and hope no one gets seriously injured. His similes can still be painfully awkward ("flow like oregano"?), his boasts more idiot than savant ("Word to Martha Stewart/ If I can park a Buick/ I can flip a Brinks truck/ I've got the heart to do it"), and he relies on variants of "fuck" to fill up syllables to the point where charging money for a clean version is a "fuck you" in itself. At least he only threatens to break into Dr. Dre's house once.

For better or worse, his increasing confidence has allowed him to aim for concepts beyond the usual talk of how dangerous California is, trading darts with Raekwon and making a bilious rainmaker with Cool & Dre that rejiggers "She Works Hard for the Money" into Game's very own "Push It to the Limit". But then you get idea tracks like "Never Say Goodbye", which is rapped from the perspective of 2Pac, Biggie and Eazy-E right before their deaths; the "One More Chance" karaoke in the middle portion is probably the most embarrassing thing Game will ever do in his career, which is saying something. But at least that seems like a noble failure-- no matter how much better Game gets on the mic, he'll never record a decent love song or stop trying. His bullish voice, however, sounds more convincing talking about Ice Cube's Lethal Injection than anything with the faintest hint of eroticism-- not even David Tyree would vouch for "beautiful as an Eli Manning pass" as a viable pickup line.

After Ludacris effortlessly sasses up "Ya Heard" like Game never could, he laments the attention given to Kanye and Weezy before asking, "Y'all act like y'all don't hear me spit/ Like selling 7 million records ain't shit". It's an absurd boast but it's a canny move to align himself as a peer of those two as opposed to an adversary-- the hundreds of barbs Game threw at 50 Cent had a fraction of the impact Wayne and Kanye exerted by speaking the only language Curtis understands: record sales. But the Game may have at least unloosened the screws for G-Unit's epic collapse. Relatively, he'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 competence sound like victory is proof that he's a master thespian of hip-hop theater. Waist Deep notwithstanding.

- Ian Cohen, August 22, 2008

[la.shine]

I cannot stand Reviewers...Why Peopel Do that man?Gay Shit to the fullest.

[RingMan]

6.4 of 10?

[Cali_Raized]

wow Game obviously fucked his girl.....

[es-jay]

the album isn't gettin the best of reviews amongst non-game stans.


seems like people are getting tired of his predictable 'lyrics'

[Steve Harvey's Hair]

I dont trust any fool named Ian Cohend

[Booz]

Pitchfork reviews on rap albums are always fucked up.

[--Vance--]

Sorry, but I stopped reading after the first few sentences.

[Furor Teutonicus]

I haven'tt read the review. But 6.4 seems fair to me

[Matty]

lol @ the hate on the this review. its pretty intelligent/accurate. maybe a little harsh but 6-7/10 is the right score for this album.

[H.O.V.A.]

"his sophomore album, Doctor's Advocate, sold several million fewer copies than its predecessor, The Document(...)"

lol @ this review,they don´t even know the name of game´s 1st album.
journalism at it´s worst, damn do your homework!

[bustachill9]

im one of the biggest game fans ever, since i heard him bout 5 6 years ago i knew he was going to be great...his first 2 cds were and still are one of my favorites, simply put , they were hungry and sick as hell....this new cd cant be the real thing, its like when i first heard encore i thought it was a joke, just like this cd. no way game could be happy with lax. this isnt goin to make me not enjoy his music but i will not be listenin to this cd much. come on game put out real music like your last 2 cds and every fuckin mixtape you are on, not this garbage. i stopped listenin to eminem after encore, hopefully this wont happen with game, and he'll realize he needs to put in the work.

[BlueSwan]

This review is wack. He focuses to much on Game the character, and forgets about the music. There's little doubt that Game is an overachiever. There are plenty of rappers infinitely more skilled than him. But the fact is that Game keeps on putting out records that are better than almost anyone else's. To me, The Documentary was the second best hip-hop record of 2005, behind "Late Registration". "The Doctors Advocate" was THE best album of 2006, regardless of genre and "LAX" is the best hip-hop album so far of 2008. I'll admit to being a fan of Game, but I'm not a stan. There are several rappers that I like better than Game, but I think Game beats them all when it comes to delivering a quality product on wax.

[--Vance--]

XXL Article online

The Game > Everybody But Kanye West

I think people get too caught into Game’s impulsive moves to appreciate his bottom line.

The man makes great music. Let’s not forget. Game has been committing career suicide since he first stepped onto the scene three years ago. He allegedly used to strip, allegedly used to wear a tongue ring, got dumped like a sucker on Change Of Heart, got kicked out of G-Unit, annoyingly claimed countless truces only to go back on his word every time, etc, etc. Sure, he’s a knucklehead. Sure, he couldn’t stop name-dropping if his life depended on it, but the music is flames.

At this point, Chuck has clearly grown into his own artist and it’s more than enough to make him Top 5 in hip-hop right now. Pick anybody in hip-hop, list their last three solo projects and tell me who else has consistently been putting out four-star albums? Kanye West, check! I haven’t heard The Recession entirely, but something tells me Jeezy deserves his kudos as well. Nas? As a longtime God’s Son supporter, I really wanted to dig Untitled, but I haven’t listened to it much since I purchased it. I also had mixed feelings about Street’s Disciple. Weezy’s Carter series is good, but it just doesn’t measure up to Game’s three joints. Jay-Z? Dude hasn’t been the same since The Black Album, so let’s no waste time discussing Kingdome Come and American Gangster. Do we really have to mention Snoop? Common? His last two CDs were classics, so there’s a lot riding on Invincible Summer.

The funny thing is, Fif can boast about writing six records on Game’s debut all he wants. Game has now become a better artist than Fif. The Massacre wasn’t as bad as folks made it out to be, but Curtis was nearly unbearable. Who else? T.I., Ludacris, Fabolous, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, none of these artists’ last three releases measures up to Game’s. Give the man some credit. He’s Top 5 right now. Matter of fact, Kanye is no.1 and he’s no.2. If this Recession album is dope, then you gotta put Jeezy up there too. Be on the lookout for Billy X. Sunday’s Game review coming sooner than you think.


http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=23981

[West Coast Veteran]

LOL @ The Document. Fucking idiot!