West Coast Connection Forum
DUBCC - Tha Connection => West Coast Classics => Topic started by: Matrix Heart on January 21, 2005, 07:57:00 AM
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Game - The Documentary
Release Date: January 18th, 2005
For what could be the most star-laden (production-wise) rap album in hip hop history (the list of producers includes: Kanye West, Hi-Tek, Just Blaze, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Cool & Dre, Timbaland, Havoc, Buckwild and others), the production on The Documentary is solid and not stellar as you might expect. However, that isn't really where this album fails. The Game claims he started rapping by listening to other rappers rap and that's exactly what this album sounds like. The documentary sounds like a collection of other rappers flows, metaphors and concepts. Here is an example of some of the stuff he borrowed, (if you don't know which songs he jacked or who he jacked them from, that's your problem):
"them niggaz breathing the same air as me acting like they don't bleed", "Is Compton in the house? Without a doubt I'm the rapper with clout other niggas rap about", "they say sleep is the cousin of death", "money been rapped since 88", "we the 05 bonnie and clyde", "I gotta Restore the feeling/ And crawl from under the roc after the dogg pound crushed the buildings", "If I die my niggaz/ I did a song wit Mary J. Blige my niggaz"
What's worse is, The Game's title track "The Documentary" has a hook where he weaves the titles of classic albums in it, not unlike when Jay-Z on the black album did the same thing with his own album titles:
Jay-Z Said: "Thank God for granting me this moment of clarity / This moment of honesty The world'll feel my truths / Through my Hard Knock Life time My Gift and The Curse / I gave you volume after volume of my work / So you can feel my truths I built the Dynasty by being one of the realest niggas out / Way beyond a Reasonable Doubt (Yall can't fill my shoes) / From my Blueprint beginnings / To that Black Album endin Listen close you hear what i'm about nigga feel my truths"
Game said: "Im Ready To Die / Without a Reasonable doubt / Smoke Chronic and hit it Doggy Style before I go out / Until they sign my Death Certificate / All Eyez On Me Im still at it, Illmatic And that's THE DOCUMENTARY"
Not to mention that the Dr. Dre produced track is weak and the song features a skit where he is explaining to Ed Lover of 105.1 FM that he wasn't trying to diss Jay-Z on "Westside Story" he was actually dissing Ja Rule. On this song, he ponders why Jay-Z didn't agree to do a song with him. Maybe he kind-of has done a song with you, because you have jacked his flow, lyrics and even a song concept on your album!!
In other ways this album could be called the making of "The Documentary". This is because he spends most of his time rapping about the album itself. Next to the heavy borrowing documented earlier, this is this albums biggest flaw. Rapping about being a rapper, or about other rappers and their albums is just not a lot of fun to listen to, even if you are an incredible lyricist, which he is not. In addition, while rapping about the album, he is literally beating you over the head with a barrage of the names of rappers, singers, athletes, record label execs, and others. I swear he must mention Dr. Dre, 50 cent, G-unit, B.I.G., Tupac, or Eazy-E or Air Nikes (does he have a Nike contract) on every song!! It's crazy!!!!
Maybe this is why The Game's debut single "How We Do" featured 50-Cent and sounded like it was originally a 50-Cent song. Game is not only outshined on the song, he basically copies the structure of 50's verses on the song. On one of the other hot songs on the album "Hate it or Love it" 50 outshines him again and makes Game seem like he was added to the track as an afterthought.
With all of that being said, he did have some of the hottest producers in the game on his album, as well as some of the hottest people in the game overseeing his album and it therefore does have its bright spots. "Runnin" ft. Tony Yayo [produce by Hi-tek] and "Higher" [Produced by Dr. Dre] are songs where the production and the chorus come together to make songs that are undeniably hot. "Like Father Like Son" is a nice [buckwild produced] track which skillfully uses Busta Rhymes on the chorus while "Don't Worry" ft. Mary J. Blige is another successfully pulled off duet. The Kanye West produced "Dreams" is also well executed while the Timberland produced "Put you on the game" has a beat that is ready for the club, in spite of a weak hook and recycled lyrics.
All in all, The Game's debut falls far short of the hype. It is far from classic, but the production, and some good guest performances provide this album with enough good material to make it solid. However, his erratic flow, excessive plagiarism, and non-stop name calling will be very problematic for many as well. As an artist he is still a work in progress: he is a decent lyricist, has a dope voice, and is surrounded by some of the best creative minds in hip hop. Maybe he will be able to see past the almost certain commercial success he will receive, and work to elevate himself to the level he raps about being on. Or maybe he will never bring any real skills to the Game.
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I agree with some points. I wouldn't really call it a "negative" review, but they definitely mention much more of the negatives than the positives.
I'd just like to see how they have reviewed all of the other albums to come out in the last year and see how tough they were on those, because from how this dude writes, I could see him sayin Doggystyle was a solid but only above-average album.
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i agree 200%
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yeah man this album is sketchy
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That dude was speaking the truth.
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To me it read as if an east coast journalist wrote it.
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That dude was speaking the truth.
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guess we all have an opinion. mine being that every track was fire except the jsut blaze tracks.
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The guy said Westside Story is weak. ???
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Unless you can provide a link I'll just assume someone from a forum somewhere wrote this. The way he writes the review is shoddy at best.
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i can understand some of the points but the review has alot more negative comments than positive. its first few paragraphs trash it, he makes a single paragraph about the positives then closes. i think the album is better than this review lets on anyways ...
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Unless you can provide a link I'll just assume someone from a forum somewhere wrote this. The way he writes the review is shoddy at best.
http://playahata.com
Oh no...haha ;D
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Unless you can provide a link I'll just assume someone from a forum somewhere wrote this. The way he writes the review is shoddy at best.
http://playahata.com
Oh no...haha ;D
yeah....where does this come from???
peace
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I agree with some points. I wouldn't really call it a "negative" review, but they definitely mention much more of the negatives than the positives.
I'd just like to see how they have reviewed all of the other albums to come out in the last year and see how tough they were on those, because from how this dude writes, I could see him sayin Doggystyle was a solid but only above-average album.
Exactly! This review was a little self-righteous if you ask me. I don't mind him complaining about Game's subject matter, but this guy wasn't even satisfied with the production of the album.
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What's worse is, The Game's title track "The Documentary" has a hook where he weaves the titles of classic albums in it, not unlike when Jay-Z on the black album did the same thing with his own album titles:
Jay-Z Said: "Thank God for granting me this moment of clarity / This moment of honesty The world'll feel my truths / Through my Hard Knock Life time My Gift and The Curse / I gave you volume after volume of my work / So you can feel my truths I built the Dynasty by being one of the realest niggas out / Way beyond a Reasonable Doubt (Yall can't fill my shoes) / From my Blueprint beginnings / To that Black Album endin Listen close you hear what i'm about nigga feel my truths"
Game said: "Im Ready To Die / Without a Reasonable doubt / Smoke Chronic and hit it Doggy Style before I go out / Until they sign my Death Certificate / All Eyez On Me Im still at it, Illmatic And that's THE DOCUMENTARY"
told you nima!
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I thought Jeff Bhasker produced "The Documentary"
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The Game :: The Documentary
Aftermath/G-Unit/Interscope
Authors: Steve 'Flash' Juon
The original title proposed for The Game's debut CD was "Nigga Witta Attitude Vol. 1." One can only speculate on why it was scrapped, but two strong possibilities exist: Interscope decided it would hurt crossover sales, or Dr. Dre decided it would do a disservice to N.W.A.'s legacy. Either way, they could not be more wrong. Bubbling in the underground since mid-to-late 2004, The Game's provocative hits "Westside Story" and "How We Do" featured pounding beats co-produced by Dre and lyrics laced with Game's grimy vocal tone and penchant for mixing witty snaps with violent raps. Game seemed poised to not only become the new 50 Cent, but to unceremoniously dethrone his G-Unit compadre and take over his spot. All parties involved should have stuck with the original album title. While "The Documentary" gives you the impression that The Game is narrating his life and times, "Nigga Witta Attitude Vol. 1" does the same thing while simultaneously proclaiming himself heir to a throne that Dr. Dre himself retired when he disbanded N.W.A. and formed Aftermath.
An album title with "Attitude" like that suits The Game perfectly, because attitude is something that Jayceon Taylor has in spades. While he came up through the ranks of West coast/Bay area rap scene (chronicled on albums like "Untold Story") it wasn't until he linked up with the G-Unit family that he exploded in a big way. Through both the natural aging process and undoubtedly large quantities of marijuana smoke, Game's voice developed that naturally rough yet smooth tone. He dubs his flow "lyrically Kool G. Rap on these Dre records" on the song "Westside Story," which is both true and false. While he doesn't have the crisp lisp of G. Rap or (at least early in his career) the penchant for flipping quick verbals, he does pack at least as much ammo in his rhymes both figuratively and literally. It's been said that it's very hard to reach the upper ranks of the entertainment world (sports, movies, music) without being at least a little bit arrogant about your ability's, and Game's self-confidence seems poised for success on "Higher":
"Put 25's on a Hummer - why not?
I'ma be here for the next ten summers
Drop me in the 4th quarter I'm fuckin up they money
I don't need SoundScan, I'm doin my own numbers
When that Impala bounce you can see the chrome under
I got 'em in every color, yeah I'm a known stunna
When I hit a switch I get higher than long jumpers
Lowridin with a hood rat or a grown woman
I'll do anything - but I won't fuck Mariah
Even if she had Ashanti butt-naked in bed
Cause she got a fo'head just like Tyra
I can say what the fuck I want - you thought Dre retired?
Left me a six-fo' and his Dayton wires?
These niggaz is a waste of rhymin"
Conceit about one's abilities is wasted on those with no talent - it's like trying to coat crap with chocolate and call it a sundae. Pour the rich dark syrup of beats by Scott Storch, Mike Elizondo, Kanye West and Just Blaze over The Game's rhymes though and it's far from crap; it's 70 minutes and 18 tracks of delicious flavors you never get tired of or fill up on. The Game is so cocky with his that he can even rap over a smoothed out Havoc track with Faith Evans on the hook and make it hardcore as fuck, as "Don't Need Your Love" proves. What's surprising is that even in the midst of his swaggering bravado, he still manages to drop a few jewels:
"I've been rapping for a year and a half, my life is real
Put the gun in his mouth, he gon' bite the steel
Come to Compton, I got stripes for real
Before Dre, before the ice, before the deal - I was almost killed
Like 'Pac before the Death Row deal
I got shot over two pounds of weed, still ain't found them niggaz
But karma come quicker for a nigga on the other side of the gun
That's somethin I gotta teach my son"
There's a lot to like on "The Documentary." Timbaland brings out the bounce in a thug on "Put You on the Game," Hi-Tek's "Runnin'" continues to expand the repoitoire of a producer once solely associated with Talib Kweli, "No More Fun and Games" is a throwback to the early 90's production and in it's choice of N.W.A. samples, and you can't hate on hearing Eminem on "We Ain't" or Busta Rhymes on "Like Father, Like Son." You can also find Nate Dogg on two tracks, and Mary J. Blige adding her Hip-Hop Soul flow to "Don't Worry." The bottom line on The Game is that while a lot of rappers fail to live up to the hype on their national debut for a major record label, The Game's "The Documentary" meets AND exceeds expectations. Pushing back the release date turns out to be a wise decision for all involved, as it comes out in a week where it's uncontested and likely to chart very well. Even if The Game doesn't end up #1 with a bullet, it's fair to say he'll be #1 in the hearts of rap fans worldwide. As he says himself in "Westside Story" about today's rap scene, "The West coast never fell off." Game's here to put it back on top.
Music Vibes: 8.5 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 8.5 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 8.5 of 10
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some points are valid but overall he gave the album tooooooooooooooooo much hate....this is actually a solid 4 mic album imo
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Unless you can provide a link I'll just assume someone from a forum somewhere wrote this. The way he writes the review is shoddy at best.
http://playahata.com
Oh no...haha ;D
yeah....where does this come from???
peace
http://playahata.com
lol