Daniel Kemp's Album Reviews
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The Game
 
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Albums
 
The Documentary (2005)
 
 
6.5/10
 
Producer: Dr. Dre, Just Blaze, Kanye West & more
  1. Intro
  2. Westside Story
  3. Dreams
  4. Hate It or Love It
  5. Higher
  6. How We Do
  7. Don’t Need Your Love
  8. Church for Thugs
  9. Put You on the Game
  10. Start From Scratch
  11. The Documentary
  12. Runnin’
  13. No More Fun and Games
  14. We Ain’t
  15. Where I’m From
  16. Special
  17. Don’t Worry
  18. Like Father Like Son
The Documentary is the debut album by The Game, released in the January of 2005.  I remember the year this record came out, it seemed that The Game and 50 Cent dominated the airwaves with their current albums, The Documentary and The Massacre respectively.  Sometimes it is good to let a few years pass by before evaluating albums which have gained so many fans.
 

A good place to start is by stating that both of the aforementioned rappers appear on the second single taken from the album, How We Do.  The track - along with air-play only single Westside Story - was actually released in 2004 to preview The Game’s imminent arrival on the rap scene.  I personally feel that as time has gone by since rap’s heyday in the early 90s, artists are placing more and more emphasis on creating one single vocal or musical hook, rather than intelligent wordplay, or perhaps they are even neglecting the proper use of lyrics.  How We Do is a good example of what I’m trying to explain, as the beat is tightly produced and very slick, indeed it gets right under your skin and has you dreaming about your fairytale life in New York, cruising around in a Low-rider.  The lyrics, however, are less than fruitful.  Both ‘Fiddy’ and The Game sound truly lost while exchanging their ego-inflating words, which as time is allowed to pass, turns into the territory of gangsta-rap cliché, “You don’t want none, nigga better run, when beef is on, I’ll pop that trunk!” I don’t know about you, but the only person getting a cap in the rear will be The Game if he carries on, courtesy of me.
 

I am a much greater fan of Love it or Hate It, which marries reasonable lyrics to a wonderfully designed rhythm. In actual fact, the lyrics are not anything special, but it is the sharp use of wordplay and pacing of the verses, which brings much more to the table than simply relying on a well-produced beat.  50 Cent features again (I promise you this isn’t a 50 record) and sounds far more enthused about his presence than he did on How We Do.
 

The fifth and final single to be released from The Documentary was Put You On the Game.  I am really enjoying the backing vocals during the chorus, it makes me want to ‘crunk it’ in the hood, whatever that means.  I do have a problem with the song though; in fact it is a problem which is apparent throughout the majority of The Documentary.  The Game has an over-reliance on name-checking other artists and using their names to join verses, something which is actually detracting due to its abundance.  The first few times it is quirky, but by the end of the record you want to slam your fist into his face.
 

Start from Scratch is very personal and revealing, chronicling The Game’s ordeal of a drug-deal gone wrong, where he was shot no less than 5 times and was put in a coma.  Perhaps out of sync with the ways of other rappers, The Game tells it how it is and shows a more mortal side to his superstar status, “Homie, if I could rewind the hands of time, I would have cut off the PS2 at 12.49… who knew 11 minutes later I’d get shot with my own nine?”
 
The less than successful title-track tries to implement the same human side as Start from Scratch, but fails because it is simply too violent in its instrumentation.  The previous track was far less brutal in its storytelling, whereas here The Game resorts to a careless and confused rhythm, which makes me wonder if Dr. Dre should have finished mentoring him just yet?  But I don’t want to end on a negative note, so let us talk about ultimate album highlight and album closer, Like Father Like Son.  It records the day The Game’s son was born and it is an extremely touching affair.  Again, I find this particularly startling, when considering that rappers aren’t usually partial to revealing anything more than their “incomparable greatness”.  The beat is stable, with violins enhancing the sturdy guitar sample, and all in all it is a wonderful way to end the album.
 

The Game is at his best when relaying touching and personal stories, but unfortunately for him to do this he has to put his stereotypical gangsta-rap to rest, which is something he simply isn’t able to do at the moment.  The good news is that a third of the album contains just such songs, which not only sound fresh and exciting, but also sound radical when taking into account the current state of commercial rap.
 

So yes, The Documentary is a well-built debut, but not without excess flab - something which The Game can hopefully shed in the future.
 
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