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| Somehow you came back from this... |
If you're a The Exstatic regular, then you already know that I didn't REALLY get into rap until my freshman year in college...the summer of 2005. Around that time, The Game had broken off from G-Unit, despite his debut album The Documentary easily going platinum. One of the first rap tracks that I listened to from beginning to end and played on repeat was "300 Bars and Runnin"...the beef had gotten to the point where neither side wanted to reconcile. I stopped fucking with 50 a little after Get Rich or Die Tryin' came out, and Game was just REALLY persistent. I heard "300 Bars," "Mr. Potato Head," "G-Unit Crip," just track after track going at 50 Cent and G-Unit and was like "you know what, I like this dude." He really put together a ton of music going at the big dog at the time, and never got put down.
Now around this same time, Cam'ron had started going at Jay-Z heavy; "Swagger Jacker" and "You Gotta Love It" hit the blogosphere and were seeing play in the dorm I was living in. Cam'ron railed against Jay for jacking lines from other rappers, a lot of which casual rap fans weren't actually aware of (keep it 100, how many casual rap fans know any Slick Rick songs?), and I know a couple of people who permanently stopped fucking with Jay-Z over that track. Why did I bring up Cam'ron in this? Well, aside from the fact that Dipset was dope as fuck, the idea that a rapper can't appropriate another rapper's lines is a pretty well-entrenched idea in rap. But what about jacking a rapper's flow? Jacking a rapper's intonation? Hell, what about jacking a rapper's voice? If you listened to The R.E.D. Album, then you heard Game do a lot of that...depending on how you felt about that, you may have thought the album was OK or complete trash. I listened to it and felt it was OK...like a 2.5-3/5. Not really because of him jacking rappers steez, but because he had a stretch with R&B dudes that I don't fuck with. Overall, the album wasn't bad, but it's not something that I listen to daily. That being said, Game is one of the first artists I listened to, so I pay attention to his releases...so when Jesus Piece dropped, I got it and dedicated a work day to listening to it...
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| Considering their relationship...I'm cool with this. |
Thought before I get into this: I saw a lot of people bitching about The Game jacking Kendrick's idea of a record cover...1. That couldn't have been the first photograph used as an album cover. 2. Kendrick exists as a rapper in large part because of The Game, which Kendrick references himself on "Black Boy Fly." Chill.
1. Scared Now (Ft. Meek Mill) - I guess this Black Metaphor guy is one of the "it" producers now, since I'm seeing his production on multiple albums/mixtapes. For the most part, his sound isn't diverse, but he's got some joints...this is one of them, IMO. Not a ton of energy on this, and considering the first tracklisting I had had "Blood of Christ" as the 1st track, this was a bit of a disappointment. Taking the track as it is though...shit is dope. A little annoying hearing the "G-Unit!" ad-lib on a Game album, but meh. I still fuck with Meek Mill, even though his flow doesn't really fit with the track. Not the best intro, but not terrible - 3.5/5
2. Ali Bomaye (Ft. 2 Chainz and Rick Ross) - YAAAAAAA...2 CHAAAAAINZ. This shit bangs. Another Black Metaphor track, and this actually sounds a little different from the ones I had heard from dude before...and yo I fuck with 2 Chainz a toooooon, dropping shit like "Gentleman attire in threads that won't expire" lmfaoo I love this guy. This really sounds like a Ross track, but somehow Game steals the show (probably because he jacks Meek Mill and Jay-Z's flows and raps more than 2 Chainz or Ross) and makes this his track. I like this one a lot. The French Montana "Montana" sample is great. The outro skit is also fucking hilarious hahahahaha - 4.5/5
3. Jesus Piece (Ft. Kanye West and Common) - Sounds more like a sample of a Kanye verse than an actual Kanye hook or feature, but whatever. One thing about Game...his production is routinely top-notch, and he continues that trait on this album. This beat is complete flames...we also get a dope verse from Common. I would have liked this a lot more if we actually got a verse from Kanye. Also, Game raps a lot about Tupac...which I guess makes sense since he's from the West Coast. I'll leave that alone. Dope track. - 4/5
4. Pray (Ft. J. Cole and JMSN) - This actually sounds like something off of Big Sean's Detroit mixtape...I can't put my finger on it, but yea. I think this would be a classic track if Drake got his hands on it...in Game's hands we get something else. Does anyone else think that the "pray" ad-lib sounds A LOT like the "Dre" ad-lib Game dropped on "One Blood?" Anyway, this is a very dope track, I like it a lot...but damn, Game COMPLETELY jacked Jay Electronica's flow from Exhibit A on this track...then later he jacks J. Cole's flow. J. Cole really needs to get some new subject matter...a friend of mine said waaaaay back when Sideline Story dropped that he learned from J. Cole that women are problems and that student loans suck...you listen to this track and again we've got an issue with a woman. IGNORING THAT THOUGH, like I said, this is a pretty dope track. The vibe is real Take Care, but the last problem with that album was the soundscape. I fucks with this - 4.5/5
5. Church (Ft. King Chip and Trey Songz) - I generally don't like songs like these, but yo! King Chip is kinda nice! The Juicy J ad-lib was also appreciated. I don't know how this will play out at the strip clubs and shit (I'm a civilized young brother, I don't frequent such establishments) but I fuck with this. Nice energy, good beat, just overall pretty dope. King Chip saves this from being a track I'd probably skip over to being one I'll probably play. - 3.5/5
6. All That (Lady) (Ft. Lil Wayne, Big Sean, Fabolous, and Jeremih) - Man, this track...it's good sonically, but man, I have no fucking desire to hear Lil Wayne rhymes right now. Also, why is Fabolous randomly on the end of the track? I don't really hate this track, but I don't really want to hear it again. Also, if this starts another one of those 4-track "for the ladies" sequences, I'll stop listening to this fucking album. - 2.5/5
7. Heaven's Arms - Alright, false alarm, no continuous simpage. Production maintains a strong point on this album...this is the first track without a guest spitter, so Game doesn't have a rapper to emulate or steal from. He's actually got a couple of nice bars on here...and again he's bringing up Jay-Z. The whole fascination with Jay is hilarious, especially when you consider how much time Jay has spent on Game. Anyway, I'm kinda meh on this track. Not bad, not good either, but I do like the hook. - 3/5
8. Name Me King (Ft. Pusha T) - This begins a GREAT sequence of songs after a momentary lull in the album...Pusha T is probably the best guest rapper I've heard in a while. Maybe it's because he's used to rapping with someone else, but he's just really good at being a guest rapper. Doesn't try to shit on you on your track, contributes a hook sometimes, and always delivers a good verse. Just the best of all worlds, IMO. He does an extended gay/Frank Ocean line that's pretty dope on this, and his ad-libs really are dope. The production on this is on some Just Blaze shit, which I love. Game definitely jacked Pusha's flow on this, but you know what, I like it. - 4.5/5
9. See No Evil (Ft. Kendrick Lamar and Tank) - This track really didn't need Tank, but aight. Dope to see Kendrick and Game get together on a track, it was a pretty glaring omission to me on Kendrick's album. The production on this is straight off of Kendrick's album as well (or would find itself at home on a Drake album). Actually, the track in general sounds like Kendrick ft. Game rather than the other way around...see Kendrick is like the worst guest rapper because he makes an effort to shit on you on your track. That being said, a Kendrick track is pretty much never a bad thing, and this isn't an exception. Dope track. - 4/5
10. Can't Get Right (Ft. K Roosevelt) - Man. I love this shit. The beat is on some true glorious shit and Game spits some real shit on here. Cool and Dre really floated on this album, btw...I also would have liked to hear Frank Ocean doing this hook here instead of a Frank Ocean ripoff, but I ain't mad at it. This might be the best track on the album up to this point...and LORD KNOWS Game can't get shit right when it comes to his post-G-Unit rap career. From the beef with G-Unit to the pseudo-beef with Dr. Dre, to the arrival of Kendrick Lamar to the mainstream, Game touches on a lot of the Aftermath rap history post-2005. Random thought: it's nice to see Game and Dr. Dre back on speaking terms and shit...The Documentary is one of the best albums since 2000 IMO. - 5/5
11. Hallelujah (Ft. Jamie Foxx) - And it gets better! This really puts me in the mind of "Lord Knows"...I actually thought Just Blaze might have produced it (if you remember "Why You Hate The Game" you could see why), but this is a Jake One banger! Nigga's been producing heat rock for years now. Haven't heard Jamie Foxx on a rap track in a minute, but that nigga can still sing. The overall celebratory vibe of this is a stark contrast to "Can't Get Right" but at the end of the album, it fits perfectly. The bars remind me a little of that Saigon track "Preacher" in that he's speaking on the materialistic people in the church, but I kinda feel like he's not just rapping about the church on this one. Anyway, this one is dope. - 5/5
12. Freedom (Ft. Elijah Blake) - So I guess this Elijah nigga is on the come up...he was on Ross' album too. Amadeus made a pretty dope beat for Game here...and Game is spittin. This is a nice little outro track, even though I don't really care for Kevin Hart at this point. Game's flow is pretty nice on this too...I could do without the possibility of Game joining Busta Rhymes and the others at Cash Money, but whatever. Labels are on their Miami Heat shit and trying to get as many stars together as they can. It would have been REALLY dope if he ended the album with this, but instead he put another track on here... - 4/5
13. Celebration (Ft. Chris Brown, Tyga, Lil Wayne, and Wiz Khalifa) - I already knew I wouldn't fuck with this from the guest list, but looking at it objectively, it's not absolutely terrible. Game channels some Bone Thugs N' Harmony for this track, sprinkled with a bit of Pusha T. Chris Brown remains someone I don't want to hear rap, Tyga is still..., Lil Wayne is someone I never want to hear rap ever again, and Wiz didn't really contribute too much to it, so whatever. Track is wack, but I see why it's here, all of these guys are popular, blah blah blah. - 2/5
I'm going to add the bonus tracks because I think he had a couple of GREAT bonus tracks.
14. I Remember (Ft. Future and Young Jeezy) - Yo. I have never given a solitary fuck about Future. I don't listen to his shit at all. The one track of his I heard, I only heard the remix of, and even that was only because Puff fucking floated on it. HOWEVER. This track is fucking fire because of Future! I will never go out of my way to listen to this dude, but the whole "I remember" is fucking hilarious hahahahahahaha. I will always think of this when I hear/read Future, but this one is dope. I'll just chalk this up as a guilty pleasure. I know I shouldn't like it, but I still do...can't really explain it. - 4/5
15. Blood Diamonds - Yo really...I know this is a terrible situation that has existed for years...I also know that Kanye already dropped a track on this back in what, 2005? I'm definitely done with niggas rapping about this, especially someone like Game. If this was Yasiin or something I might be alright, but ugh. The song isn't even bad, to be honest, but it's just...can I take Game rapping about blood diamonds seriously? Hell the fuck nah. - 3/5
16. Dead People - Oh shit, some Dr. Dre production! This is basically "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" again, but that wasn't a bad track, so I'm not mad at this. Not really much to say about this one, Game's storytelling about a murder he committed or some shit. Good track though - 3.5/5
17. Holy Water - SAP really gave Game some good beats on this album...I actually thought this was a Kanye beat when I first heard it. The original track order I had had this as track 2, and I thought that was a dope position for it...as a bonus track, it's fine, just not anything special in the location. If this had had a Kanye verse, this would have been fucking great...with just Game, it's just good. It's dope that Game actually did a couple of 2 verse tracks on here, considering his tendency to make 8min+ long tracks. This one is dope. - 4/5
18. Blood of Christ - Yo. So when I first heard this album, this was the first track. Can you really say that this shouldn't have been the first album on the track?!?! This is fucking fire...I think this is the best track on the album. Just so much flame on this one - "I beat the G-Unit outta 40 Glocc, sue me for 40 grand, that same 40 will get you shot; iPhone in my hand doin the 40 whop, that nigga looked up and thought he saw 40 Pacs!" lmfao I was crying man..."Shyne Po ain't rich, Shyne po...all the way in Belize with Kendrick's dick in his throat" ..."blood on that yarmulke, now you really Piru" Man, just so much hilarity within 2 verses. The beat is just completely banging...goddamn, I don't think I have anything else produced by Dawaun, but I want to look now. Just a very solid effort, I really wish he had used this as his album intro. - 5/5
A few pretty good bonus tracks that I can't count in what I think of the album, smh....
Overall, this is a pretty solid album. It sounds a lot like every other mainstream album out, which is disappointing...especially when you consider Game's albums used to really sound like West Coast shit. I had one friend suggest to me that this was a classic...nah. I had another suggest to me that this was a contemporary classic...I'm not even sure I know what that means, but if it means one of the best albums of its period...sure, this might be a top 5 album for 2012. There's not a lot of direction on the album, but there ARE a lot of good tracks. A TON of features, but it's Game, so what do you expect. He probably channeled a good 8 rappers on this album, but again, you just have to understand what Game is as a rapper and accept that. There's no point in getting mad at him for being what he is at this point. Game is very talented...I have listened to every MF DOOM album multiple times, but it would be impossible for me to write a song in his voice. Game manages to do that with a number of artists, and for the most part he sounds fine doing it. There are some missteps on this album, but overall, I like it. I'll probably be bumping this more when I'm off my Three 6 Mafia/Project Pat kick. I'm giving the album itself a 4/5. Including the bonus tracks, this is a 4.5/5...this really might be Game's best album. I'll be copping the deluxe version just to get that "Blood of Christ" track smh
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