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OPINION The West’s Piru Headed Step Child: Ranking The Games Albums

grYmes said:
7. The R.E.D. Album (2011)

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This is during the start of the era where the “The” in the name “The Game” was dropped because he was being sued for copyright infringement by “The Game” Triple H. Just some silly trivia. Anyways after three successful albums Game was ready to call it quits & spend more time with his family. Interscope however wanted to get another album outta Game. After the abject failure that was his acting career which included the blasphemous Belly 2, Game came to the conclusion his best bet for making bread was going back to the studio. After nearly three years of recording we finally got The R.E.D. Album. R.E.D. being short for his RE-Dedication to his craft. Game is spittin on this album. Firmly in the driver seat after in some ways felt like a step back on LAX. Game’s ear for production is also once again on point. Flipping the background song from where Ricky meets his demise in Boyz in the Hood for the song “Ricky” was marvelous. We also get the return of Dr. Dre on a Game album both spitting and on production. The subject matter that comes with album number four doesn’t stay far from the past joints which… I mean if you’re not a diehard Game fan this was probably the album where you stopped checking for him. His slew of friends from every coast and affiliation from Snoop to Rick Ross come in and deliver their respective 16’s. The Game album formula for the next few joints is firmly established here. It’s a good comeback album that’s flaws are not a glaring as I would of thought.
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This album was underrated imo. And the 1st time I heard of Kendrick Lamar
 
6. Jesus Piece (2012)

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Games final album on Interscope is his first concept album. After scrapping the original controversial cover dude to a depiction of a gang affiliated black Jesus (it would become the deluxe edition cover later). Game chose to dedicate the album & cover to his older brother, Jevon. Nice. Regardless, Game with the motivation of a single concept/goal behind him is him as his best. Dealing with the duality of being a man of faith & a gangsta is something I wouldn’t have guessed at the time would be a feat Game could tackle with ease. Yet somehow he nearly pulls it off flawlessly. Once again the production for the majority of this joint is top shelf. I wanna find the person who doesn’t get hype listening to “Ali Bomaye”. Other joints like “All That(Lady)” & the title track are full of great features & Game flowing. Probably the only thing keeping this album from going higher it’s the sheer quality of the next five joints. There’s a handful of skipable tracks but overall, another good album. It’s the first Game album to not debut number 1 or 2 on Billboard, clocking in at 6. Game is having a hell of a career so far.
 
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grYmes said:
6. Jesus Piece (2012)

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Games final album on Interscope is his first concept album. After scrapping the original controversial cover dude to a depiction of a gang affiliated black Jesus (it would become the deluxe edition cover later). Game chose to dedicate the album & cover to his older brother, Jevon. Nice. Regardless, Game with the motivation of a single concept/goal behind him is him as his best. Dealing with the duality of being a man of faith & a gangsta is something I wouldn’t have guessed at the time would be a feat Game could tackle with ease. Yet somehow he nearly pulls it off flawlessly. Once again the production for the majority of this joint is top shelf. I wanna find the person who doesn’t get hype listening to “Ali Bomaye”. Other joints like “All That(Lady)” & the title track are full of great features & Game flowing. Probably the only thing keeping this album from going higher it’s the sheer quality of the next five joints. There’s a handful of skipable tracks but overall, another good album. It’s the first Game album to not debut number 1 or 2 on Billboard, clocking in at 6. Game is having a hell of a career so far.
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This album I felt was on of his mid projects imo. Ali Bomaye was the standout. I liked Church smh. The Cole track was dope too
 
GOAT said:
1. Doctors Advocate
2. Documentary

Gave up listening to Game after Jesus Piece
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grYmes said:
7. The R.E.D. Album (2011)

View attachment 1334956

This is during the start of the era where the “The” in the name “The Game” was dropped because he was being sued for copyright infringement by “The Game” Triple H. Just some silly trivia. Anyways after three successful albums Game was ready to call it quits & spend more time with his family. Interscope however wanted to get another album outta Game. After the abject failure that was his acting career which included the blasphemous Belly 2, Game came to the conclusion his best bet for making bread was going back to the studio. After nearly three years of recording we finally got The R.E.D. Album. R.E.D. being short for his RE-Dedication to his craft. Game is spittin on this album. Firmly in the driver seat after in some ways felt like a step back on LAX. Game’s ear for production is also once again on point. Flipping the background song from where Ricky meets his demise in Boyz in the Hood for the song “Ricky” was marvelous. We also get the return of Dr. Dre on a Game album both spitting and on production. The subject matter that comes with album number four doesn’t stray far from the past joints which… I mean if you’re not a diehard Game fan this was probably the album where you stopped checking for him. His slew of friends from every coast and affiliation from Snoop to Rick Ross come in and deliver their respective 16’s. The Game album formula for the next few joints is firmly established here. It’s a good comeback album that’s flaws are not a glaring as I would of thought.
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Documentary, Doctor's Advocate, RED, & Documentary 2/2.5 are probably Game's best albums imo... L.A.X. should have been better than what it actually was and RED >>> Jesus Piece. Jesus Piece to me is when I stopped checking on Game's projects on the regular b/c this is where his albums became hit or miss.
 
grYmes said:
10. Drillmatic- Heart vs. Mind (2022)

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I’m of the belief that Game has never had a straight bad album. Even tho this is at the bottom of the list don’t take it that way. Every album he’s had has given me more than a few tracks to fuck with. The major issue I got with this however, is that it’s just way too damn long. At 31 tracks clocking in at 159 minutes… sheesh. What’s even more baffling is that technically this isn’t even a double album. Which makes me wonder if that’s what he initially wanted but somehow there was some confusion. Cuz it definitely feels like this was supposed to be a double album. Besides that, there’s some tracks that go hard on this. We all know Games gimmick by now. The one thing I’ll say about his rap persona is that this album at times feels like a parody of himself. It’s understandable considering how long he’s been on the scene but at times I feel like I’ve heard some of these songs before. The “Black Slim Shady” track is some shit I would have been down with on a mixtape but not an official album. A lot of these tracks felt skippable. Take the best 10-12 tracks of this album & he’s got something solid.
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This album when looking back at it was just ridiculous and heavily sampled joints. To have a 31 track album in 2022 is ridiculous and to make it worse this joint was not balanced out well like an AEOM or Life after Death double album. I listened to this once or twice when it dropped never checked for it again. Documentary 2 & 2.5 was better than this joint and it dropped in 2015.
 
5. 1992 (2016)

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Remember what I said about a focused Game building off a narrative creates good music? Here’s another clear example. Off the heals of the successful Documentary 2/2.5, Game almost immediately began crafting this joint. Even enlisting the help of Nas by getting his critiques and trading tracks back & forth in almost a shadow executive producer role. 1992 takes you on a ride back to the early 90’s where LA was very much like a action movie. Game infuses old school beats with gritty lyricism & storytelling. With no other rap features for the first time ever on a Game project & only 13 tracks clocking in at under an hour… this the most minimalist album he’s dropped. He comes with the heat on nearly every track. Even the more weaker tracks like “What Your Life Life” & “Baby You” are solid. A lack of real standout radio bangers that you would normally expect from a Game album keeps it from ranking any higher. Understandable given the throwback feel of the production. “92 Bars” might be the closest we get which of course comes with some shots at Meek Mill for good measure. I hope Game drops another album like this in the near future tho cuz he killed it.
 
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4. Born 2 Rap (2019)

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In early 2019, Game like many a veteran rapper before & since announced that he was retiring. Born 2 Rap was supposed to be his final studio album. I dunno if anyone truly believed him but if Game really did call it a career after this he definitely would’ve left on a high note. Born 2 Rap was the capper of Game’s sensational four album run from 2015-2019. This dude legit made you feel like he was born to roc a mic. His flow is perfection at this point as he keeps you engaged in what he has to say almost from start to finish. Game does a good job of keeping with the overall narrative that he’s comfortable with his place in hip hop & ready to walk away. The features on this album are interesting ones especially Ed Sherran bookending the start & end of it. Yet it somehow works. “Welcome Home” featuring Nipsey Hustle in one of his last songs before his death is arguably the best track of the album. Production is once again on point tho this is one of the few Game albums where I feel lyrically he might of surpassed the beat selection. I dunno if Game looks back on this album fondly given the Pricilla Rainey lawsuit (google it, it’s… interesting), but overall this is to date the last really good album he’s put together. His late 2010’s output is cemented with this.
 
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