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The GameThe Documentary Interscope/UMG Jimmy Iovine must be pretty happy with himself, sitting at the top of the world's most lucrative pyramid scheme. After signing Dr. Dre he watched him discover Eminem, who in turn made a superstar of 50 Cent, and The Game is the latest to be added to that list. As a result, the album features a who's who of hip-hop and just about everyone brought their A-game starting with Dre and Scott Storch, who team up to produce the gully Westside Story, a perfect opening to the album when paired with Game's lyrical gangbanging. Like 50 Cent, Game is at his strongest when he caters to a club audience by providing big beats, catchy hooks and snappy punchlines, and all three are in evidence on Church For Thugs, a typically over the top horn extravaganza from Just Blaze. There are a number of corny "ladies jams" towards the end of the album but he makes up for it with less manufactured tracks such as Like Father, Like Son, about the birth of his first child and Start From Scratch, which he uses to address some areas of his life that he would like to change if he could start again. The second of these, in particular, sees him exploring ground that marks him as more than just a 50 Cent clone but the title track is more typical, his cockiness the standout feature as he raps, "I'm ready to die without a reasonable doubt / smoke chronic and hit it doggystyle before i go out / until i sign my death certificate, all eyez on me / I'm still at it, Illmatic and that's The Documentary." While he certainly has a long way to go before he becomes one of the greats, there are a number of good signs; a little bit moodier than 50, he also holds the listener's attention longer by at least attempting to create some sort of narrative structure, and it's clear that there are a number of reasons that he's been added to such an impressive roster.  |
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