Connector Staff
If you are looking for a hard rap record to complement the sonic smoothness that is “What a Time to Be Alive,” The Game has got you covered twice over with the double album release in the past few weeks of “The Documentary 2” and “The Documentary 2.5.”
These two albums are heavily loaded with features, spanning current globetrotters like Drake, Future, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar, as well as world-renowned rap and Compton forefathers like Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, New York icon Nas, and many more. The Game sticks to his Southern Californian roots in these two albums, with the production centered on a lot of groovy bass, almost ’90s style drums, as well as incorporating a lot of modern-day sounds, which is most noticeable in Future’s Autotuned warbling in “Dedicated” on “The Documentary 2.”
It seems as though The Game’s thoughts going in were centered on creating a cohesion of his raw, Blood-infused gangster rap, with influences from whoever is the feature on a certain track. In general, combining raw with refined and hoping the product is palatable, not over stimulating, or underwhelming. For example, on “Mula,” in which Kanye is featured, the lyrics are braggadocios, the beat is powerful and prevalent, and West’s verse is delivered in a signature sing-rap style that his fans will immediately either like or dislike.
The entirety of both albums are either hits or misses, and the latter record “2.5” definitely seems the stronger of the two, but “2” contains some true street anthems, like “Step Up,” “On Me (feat. Kendrick Lamar),” and the aforementioned “Mula (feat. Kanye West).”
On “The Documentary 2.5,” nearly every song is remarkable in one way or another, and most features seem to actually serve a purpose and a contrast to The Game. “The Ghetto (feat. Nas and will.i.am)” is one song in particular the greatly benefits from the two features, and “Quik’s Grove (The One) (feat. DJ Quik, Sevyn Streeter, and Micah)” is the standout track from the two album release as a whole, featuring a nostalgic boom-bap beat, soaring vocals, and The Game’s textbook raspy delivery, flowing smoothly, turning a song with a classic-feel beat into a classic song.
Overall, the two albums, at times feel up and down and disjointed. There are many songs that you will want to hear on repeat for eternity, including “Quik’s Grove,” “The Ghetto,” “My Flag / Da Homies,” “Moment of Violence,” “Step Up,” and more, but there are also some songs that feel almost empty, or even not as well thought out as the more well-executed songs.
Any rap fan in general, has to check out these two albums, and there should be something for everybody with an array of approaches and variation in song structure, tone, and features. However, in my opinion, if every song was more along the lines of ’90s, gangster-style, Compton-influenced rawness and not so much focused on pulling in a wide range of influence from other modern rap, this could have been a release for all time. It is still great in many areas, but as a whole it is not bogged down, but sometimes overshadowed by unnecessary features, additions and style choices. Both albums are still very worth listening to and buying as the overall experience is worth indulging in, but there will definitely be some songs that feel out of place, or even unnecessary or boring.
