The Documentary
THE DOCUMENTARY, (Aftermath/G Unit/Interscope), the debut album from The Game (a/k/a Jayceon Taylor), announces the arrival of the most significant West Coast gangsta rapper since Snoop Dogg more than a decade earlier. With guest spots from 50 CENT, NATE DOGG and several others, as well as producers from DR. DRE to KANYE WEST to JUST BLAZE and tracks such as “How We Do” feat. 50 Cent, “Like Father Like Son,” “Church For Thugs,” “Dreams,” “Where I’m From” and “Westside Story,” THE DOCUMENTARY
Rating: 
(out of 505 reviews)
List Price: $ 13.98
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Review by A. D. Schutz for The Documentary
Rating:
The Game’s debut album is worth having, if for nothing else than the murderers’ row of producers on it. If you are a fan of current mainstream producers, this album should be everything you would hope for. Excellent work by Dre, Kanye, Hi-Tek, and Timbaland make this probably one of the most costly albums ever made. That is not even taking into account guest spots by 50 cent (3), Nate Dogg (2), Eminem, Mary J. Blije, and Faith Evans. In my opinion the real star of this album is Just Blaze. His two tracks (Church For Thugs, and No More Fun and Games) are the albums high points, with Hi-Tek’s Runnin close behind. Even the Eminem-produced We Aint is aiight. Top to bottom, this album *sounds* good both in the car and in a normal stereo.
While Game has shown his talents on several mix tapes and guest spots, The Documentary is too repetitive and unambitious. It is nice to recognize those who came before you and paved the way. However, Game’s constantly repeated references to Dre (35 times), 50-Cent (17), G-Unit (10), and popular older rappers (Tupac, B.I.G., Jay-Z) are tiresome (not to mention the way he disengenuously claims a Jay-Z diss is meant for Ja Rule). At times, the Documentary seems like one long G-Unit infomercial, with rappers, sneakers and other products plugged accordingly. The downside of being able to afford top-tier guest rappers (he shares billing on 12 of the 17 tracks) is that more often then not Game is outshined by them, with the obvious exception of Tony Yayo. Game does have some clever punchlines, but he seems at times to be a caricature – you can almost picture Dre in the lab thinking, “I’ll take Banks’ wit, Buck’s gangsta attitude, combine them and presto!” I do not mean to not give him credit: Game does have an excellent flow, rides a beat well, and can be fairly clever at times. It just seems that is album is too cynically exploitive and self-conscious (for instance the SE cover that is a rip-off of Ready to Die with a NWA chain).
In the end I give the Documentary 3.5 stars: worth listening to, but not as impressive a debut as I expected based on his earlier stuff.
Review by Berk for The Documentary
Rating:
This cat has no credentials. He’s only been rapping three years. What?!?! Not making records for three years but RAPPING for three years.Does getting shot give you a chance at making records? This dude has no style and no flow. I grew up in the era of Kane, Rakim, NWA etc. These dudes new what puttin it down on the mic was about. Today’s rappers are str8 up rediculous. No thought in the rhymes, just talking about meaningless b.s.and the sad part is people are eating it up like it’s the greatest thing. Learn your history. Seriously, if your under 25, go back and check for the classics. The kind if stuff that the rappers of today are copying that the “new” fans of hip-hop have no clue about. Do you realize that no rapper from the LA area , besides Ice T, has “made it” without going through Dr. Dre in some form or fashion. The Game is a poor reflection on his judgement of talent. I could go on and on but I’ll stop. THE DOCUMENTARY IS WACK!!! Str8 up!
Review by Flick for The Documentary
Rating:
It seems like these days Dr. Dre and Eminem can pick out any wannabe rapper with a few gunshot wounds and pretend the guy is a mafia boss and A+ rapper. 14 year olds might still be buying into that story, but more hip-hop conscious buyers are starting to realize that this game is getting old. I don’t care how many holes you have in you. If you can’t rap, you can’t rap.
The Game’s flow is so weak that if it weren’t for his association with Dre and 50, it’s unlikely that anyone would have ever taken any notice of this guy. Forget comparing him to the likes of an Eminem or 50 cent. This guy isn’t even up there with a T.I., Fabolous, Ja Rule, or to let you know how really bad this is, a Benzino. His flow really is that weak and even though reviewers keep handing out the stars, they actually give very few reasons for WHY this CD earns those stars. When you go through a review and they tell you a dozen things wrong with the CD, and one thing right with it (That it’s a Dre project), then you can bet it’s a review that’s about as reliable as a review from The Source these days.
Does Game have any interesting stories to tell? Of course he does. Unfortunately they’ve all been told before three to four dozen times, and they were told better the first time around. And realizing that his flow was weak, they made sure to throw in all kinds of guest appearances to pad this release. The end result is that Game gets outflowed on almost every song, the themes by the end becomes almost headache-inducing, and we learn a very important lesson:
It’s very easy to trick teenagers out of their money, cause this album isn’t even worth the matches it would take to set it on fire. I rolled over it with my car 10 times and the thing still wouldn’t shut up.
Review by The Ratman for The Documentary
Rating:
OK, let’s get this straight. If you rated this CD 1 star, you don’t own it. You just hate aftermath, hate rap, and have no lives. If you don’t have the CD, why bother reviewing it? Don’t you have something better to waste your time on? Anyways, as we all know, the Game’s Documentary was the most anticipated hip-hop debut album since Snoop Doggy Dogg. Raised in Compton, the birthplace of gangsta rap, The Game lives up the hype. After subpar 2004 releases for Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit including the good but not great Encore and Beg For Mercy, Aftermath starts 2005 out with a bang with hardcore, west-coast rap sure to revive the gangta era’s glory days. The Documentary flawlessly seams slick production and powerful lyrics, and in turn ascends to the throne along with the Slim Shady LP as the most controversial, and greatest debut albums Aftermath and hip-hop have ever put out. And if you think this album is great, you haven’t seen nothing yet. With a bright future, the Game has just begun.
1. Intro: Great way to build up momentum to Westside Story
2. Westside Story: A dramatic beat combines with Game’s story about his rise to the top. 50 Cent delivers a good chorus, and Game really shines in his verses. Hard to believe this guy just learned to rap. A classic, trademark Aftermath album opener. (5/5)
3. Dreams: Kanye West is one of rap’s great producers, without a doubt. However, this is not his best work and some random background noises get annoying. Game also does not say enough to save the track as the lyrics are also subpar. This is easily the worst song on the album, even though it is listenable. (3/5)
4. Hate it or Love it: One of the best tracks on the album; an instant classic. Game and 50 Cent both deliver killer hooks. Awesome beat,catchy chorus, and even better lyrics. (5/5)
5. Higher: The best track on the album. Another classic to document the rise of the west. Great beat, great lyrics. Good track to represent the second wind of gangsta rap. (5/5)
6. How We Do: The Game’s first single, a classic with the likes of
Indaclub. Easily the catchiest track on the album. (5/5)
7. Don’t Need Your Love: Slows down the fast-paced starting tempo of the album but the results are the same. The lyrics are sharp and the beat decent. (4/5)
8. Church for Thugs: The beat is just sick, the flow incredible, and the words even iller. (5/5)
9. Put You on the Game: A catchy headbanger produced by Timbaland. Not the best track on the album, but a good track nonetheless. (4.5/5)
10. Start From Scratch: Beat has a certain feeling to it with a good chorus from Marsha of Floetry. Once again, Game delivers powerful lyrics to accompany a great beat. (5/5)
11. The Documentary: The pleasure just keeps coming with another one of the best tracks on its namesake album. Drops several disses between a sick, piercing beat with beyond sick lyrics. (5/5)
12. Runnin: Laid back Beat is average, with Yayo droppin in to help Game out. Game delivers good lyrics and provides for another good song. Nothing spectacular however, and one of the weaker tracks on the album. (3.5/5)
13. No More Fun and Games: Features NWA samples and upbeat production. Flow is good and the track is catchy. (4/5)
14. We Ain’t: Dark track featuring the rap mastermind Eminem. Incredibly catchy and fun to listen to. Lyrics aren’t Eminem’s or Game’s best, but it’s still a sick track. (5/5)
15. Where I’m From: Nate Dogg is truly one of hip-hops best vocalists and shines on this track. Another classic. (5/5)
16. Special: One of the weaker tracks. Listenable, but nothing Special (3/5)
17. Don’t Worry: Good beat and good performance by Mary J. Blige. May be too slow for fans of hardcore, but otherwise, an excellent track (4/5)
18: Like Father Like Son: Game raps about his son with Busta Rhymes dropping in to deliver an enjoyable listening experience. Touching song. Classic with the likes of Mockingbird, though not quite as good. (5/5)
Lyrics: 5/5
Production: 5/5
Top 5: Higher, Westside Story, Hate it or Love It, The Documentary, Tie: How We Do/We Ain’t
Mediocre: Dreams, Special
Review by J. Highsmith for The Documentary
Rating:
I was first introduced to The Game on Lloyd Banks’ “Hunger For More” CD on the track “When The Chips Are Down”. The song was pretty good but seeing that this was the newest member of G Unit, I wanted to hear him on a few more tracks before I tried to form an opinion on his skills. However, when I heard The Game on Jim Jones’ “Certified Gangsta (Remix)”, then I knew that The Game had skills. On the track, The Game puts Jim Jones and Cam’ron to shame on their own track as he clearly steals the show. The Game would also be featured on Young Buck’s “Straight Outta Cashville” CD on the track “Stomp” that also featured Ludacris. The track originally featured TI and Ludacris but TI decided that he didn’t want to be featured on the track after the tongue lashing that he got from Ludacris. My roomate then purchased a mixtape entitled “DJ Neptune Presents The Game Westside Story”. This mixed CD has alot of nice tracks and freestyles on it. The best being “Westside Story”, “Get Your Money Right” featuring Jay Z and Dr. Dre”, “Still Cruisin” w/Eazy E, and the whole track from the Boost Mobile commercial, “The Whole City Behind Us” featuring Kanye West and Ludacris. After listening to this mixed CD and other downloads from The Game, I was anxiously awaiting “The Documentary”.
“The Documentary” definitely doesn’t disappoint. On “Westside Story”, The Game tries his best to give the west coast a 2004 national anthem, as he gives props to the west coast groups and artists that came out before him and how he’s going to keep the west on the map for awhile. Dr. Dre clearly proves why he is still one fo the best producers today with this track. “Dreams” is produced by Kanye West and The Game does a good job mixing in the clever wordplay with Kanye’s sample on the track. “Hate It Or Love It” is produced by Fat Joe’s boys, Cool & Dre and features 50 Cent. This is my favorite track on the CD so far as The Game and 50 Cent use the old school sounding track and reminisce to how things were going on back in the day before they started making records and had any celebrity status. “Higher” is another Dr. Dre produced track that has The Game talking and bragging about certain topics. Although, at one time he said that he wouldn’t touch Ashanti if she was butt naked and in his bed. I am not sure about you, but I find that very hard to believe. “How We Do” is the first single from “The Documentary” and this track has The Game and 50 Cent making a faster version of “In Da Club”. “How We Do” will definitely have you on the dance floor even if you have 2 left feet like I do. Havoc from Mobb Deep produces “Don’t Need Your Love” which features Faith Evans. This is actually one of the most serious tracks on the CD along with the Busta Rhymes featured “Like Father, Like Son”. Between all the bragging and the word play it’s nice just to hear a song where an artist is just reflecting and past times and speaking from life experience that don’t involve what they did with females and how they were on the block all night. Timbaland shows up to produce “Put You On The Game” which has the potential to be a single later on down the road. Timbaland always knows how to produce the club banger and he does so again on this track with The Game. “Start From Scratch” features Marsha (the singer) from Floetry. The Game reflects on events that happened in his life and he is saying if he could change the way that the events happened, then he would do things differently in certain situations. “Runnin’” features G Unit’s Tony Yayo and his Hi Tek on the track. The Game uses his clever wordplay and Tony Yayo puts his desert eagles on to make one of the better tracks on “The Documentary”. “No More Fun And Games” is produced by Just Blaze. If this track was longer than 2 and a half minutes then this track would be my favorite track. The Game rides the sample by creating 3 nice verses. This shows that although he overuses the wordplay that The Game definitely has versatility. “We Ain’t” features and is produced by Eminem. As expected, when you are featured on a track with Marshall Mathers, he is going to out do you on your own track and The Game even playfully admits that on the song’s last verse. I am mad at “Where I’m From” because the original track had a verse from Dr. Dre. However, The Game and Nate Dogg still rip the track produced by Focus. “Don’t Worry” might as well be a Mary J. Blige track that features The game because for the 1st minute and 15 seconds of the song the only thing that you hear are Mary’s vocals. However, the Dr. Dre track makes you forget that as The Game still has nice verses on the song.
Overall, “The Documentary” gets 2005 off to a nice start as far as new releases are concerned. You will get tired of The Game droppin’ verses using Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Mase, Eazy E, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, Snoop and other artists’ names in the middle of verses but his skills will override all the negative opinions of the CD. As he says on the title track, this is his “Straight Outta Compton”. After you listening to “The Documentary” then you will understand why. If The Game can stay out of trouble and concentrate on rapping and working to get even better, The Game will be around for a long time.
James’ Top 5
1) Hate It Or Love It w/50 Cent
2) No More Fun And Games
3) Dreams
4) Runnin’ w/Tony Yayo
5) Where I’m From w/Nate Dogg