The Game – “Every Movie Needs a Trailer” review

Compton, California emcee, songwriter, actor & professional attention whore The Game linking up with Mike & Keys for his 16th mixtape. Originally taken under the wing of JT the Bigga Figga. His 2002 debut mixtape You Know What It Is would catch the attention of Dr. Dre & 50 Cent. Both of whom signed Game to a joint venture to their individually respective labels Aftermath Entertainment & G-Unit Records, distributed by Interscope Records. With their help, his debut album The Documentary the following year would go on to become a West Coast essential. However, a falling out between Game & 50 just months after the album’s release would result in Game moving over to Geffen Records to complete his 5-album contract. His next 4 albums Dr.’s Advocate, LAX, The RE.D. (RE-Dedication) Album & Je5us PiecE all showed that Game didn’t need Dre or 50 to make quality music. Once fulfilling his major label obligations, he went the independent route by founding his own label Numinati Records & showcasing the artists with a compilation entitled Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf in 2014. Game then put out an overloaded yet decent sequel to his debut with The Documentary 2+2.5 the next year as well as his previous album 1992 the year after & Born 2 Rap on his 40th birthday. Hit-Boy helped him come out of “retirement” again with the more consistent Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind, although it was DONDA levels of bloated. In preparation of The Documentary III after siding with Drake in his beef with Kendrick Lamar, I was hoping Every Movie Needs a Trailer wouldn’t carry over any of that corny “Freeway’s Revenge” energy.

After the chopped & screwed “Silver Lining” intro, the first song “Caviar x Cartier” begins with a jazz rap opener talking about how you can turn around & lose it all today whereas “Can I” passionately gives us a look at the way he writes his rhymes over a soulful instrumental. “Chrome Hearts” works in some sampling to talk about him rather being feared than loved leading into “Amerikkka’s Nightmare” addressing people praying on his downfall.

“🤡🤡” takes 2 & a half minutes to poke fun at all the cornballs who ain’t poppin’ like they thought they’d be just before the sample drill/chipmunk soul fusion “Good Enough” speaks of the thin line between fatherhood & his neighborhood. “Quarter Zips x Matcha” kinda has some jazzier undertones to the beat cautioning that this real life with him instead of some corny Druski shit while “Rotation” co-produced by Jason Martin formerly known as Problem ends the 1st half with a club-oriented pop rap joint.

To begin the 2nd act, “The Coast Guard” talks about breaking down anybody who speaks ill of the Bloods calling back to Game’s origins with the infamous street gang while “Head of State” soulfully lets the world know what he’d do if he was president. “The Assassination of Candace Owens” heads towards chipmunk soul turf instrumentally talking about how people would rather be lied to & live in a fantasy world while “Left Out” experiments with an industrial hip hop sound basically giving a middle finger to everything.

“Blood Tears” featuring Mozzy jazzily talks about keeping their experienced pain to themselves while “So Contagious” offers food for thought to digest. “Just Like Me” soulfully shouts out those who made it out the trenches similarly to him prior to O.T. Genasis ruining “Scheme” despite “New York, New York” by Kurupt being flipped. “Livin’” finishes up sampling “Ain’t It Fun”by Paramore for an outro dedicated to the west coast.

Putting aside his bullshit defense of R. Kelly & Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy at a private birthday celebration last weekend especially with The Reckoning documentary coming out on Netflix merely a few days ago, I have to admit that Every Movie Needs a Trailer was more of a stronger listen than Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind was a few summers previously. Obviously there’s a lot less filler on here compared The Game’s last full-length, but he only brings a couple guests on board to flow over Mike & Keys’ production mostly well.

Score: 4.5/5

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Big Hit & The Game – “Paisley Dreams” review

This is a brand new collaborative mixtape between Big Hit & The Game. One of whom hails from Los Angeles, California coming fresh off his debut album The Truth’s in My Eyes a few weeks ago after being in the making for a decade & the other is an established Compton, California veteran at this point mentored by both Dr. Dre & 50 Cent who put out Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind a year & a half ago, which was the most I’ve enjoyed a project from him in quite some time. Both projects where executive produced by Big Hit’s son Hit-Boy, who eventually produced Paisley Dreams to start 2024.

“Backfade” is an ominous boom bap opener talking about having each other’s backs using the old school west coast terminology whereas the title track takes a more soulful approach admitting to being fathers first & real ones secondly. “P Fiction” featuring Hit-Boy finds the trio shifting into trap territory declaring themselves to be menaces leading into “Bang” talking about banging for the cause over a Mobb instrumental.

Meanwhile, “Cutthroat” starts off the 2nd leg ballin’ on top of a g-funk beat & TeeFLii’s hook being inspired by the late Zapp frontman Roger Troutman just before “The Game Won’t Stop” returns to a more soulful sound talking about shaking the cops. “Crisis” featuring Half-a-Mil has a gospel flip to it discussing the struggle while “Happy Ru Year” is a hyphy-tinged New Year’s anthem. “Body for Body” rounds out the tape by smelling homicide over a trap instrumental.

Wild to think that Game pulled up on Big Hit & Hit-Boy to only do 1 track with each other only to end up with a 9-song tape to release out of nowhere on New Year’s Day. If you’re a west coast head, you gotta check out Paisley Dreams at some point. Hit-Boy’s production mixes boom bap, trap, g-funk, Mobb music & hyphy altogether as his dad teams up with the Compton vet on the mic to rep their sets.

Score: 4/5

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The Game – “Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind” review

The Game is a 42 year old MC from Compton, California who was initially taken under the wing of JT the Bigga Figga. His 2002 debut mixtape You Know What It Is would catch the attention of Dr. Dre & 50 Cent. Both of whom signed Game to a joint venture to their individually respective labels Aftermath Entertainment & G-Unit Records distributed by Interscope Records. With their help, his debut album The Documentary the following year would go on to become a West Coast essential. However, a falling out between Game & 50 just months after the album’s release would result in Game moving over to Geffen Records to complete his 5-album contract. His next 4 albums Dr.’s Advocate, LAX, The RE.D. (RE-Dedication) Album & Je5us PiecE all showed that Game didn’t need Dre or 50 to make quality music. Once fulfilling his major label obligations, he went the independent route by founding his own label Numinati Records & showcasing the artists with a compilation entitled Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf in 2014. Game then put out an overloaded yet decent sequel to his debut with The Documentary 2+2.5 the next year as well as 1992 the year after & his previous effort Born 2 Rap on his 40th birthday. But with the help of Hit-Boy, Game’s returning from “retirement” yet again in the form is his 10th album.

“1 Time” kicks off the album with a plucky guitar & Game talking about being a nightmare walking whereas “Eazy” with Kanye West samples the late Eazy-E thanks to Hit-Boy himself alongside Mike Dean & even DJ Premier confessing that their lives were never a breeze. Fivio Foreign tags along for the drill-infused “Burnin’ Checks” talking about being real ones, but then “Voodoo” incorporates a swooning trap instrumental detailing being a menace.

Meanwhile on “Home Invasion”, we have Game chaotically telling the story of his life just before YoungBoy Never Broke Again comes into the picture for the DJ Paul-produced “Opp” expressing their dislike for the feds. “Outside” with YG has a more ghostly aesthetic from S1 calling out those who claim Compton that didn’t grow up there just before “La La Land” goes into jazzier turf showing his love for Los Angeles.

“Change the Game” goes full-blown g-funk talking about never switching up while the piano-driven “How Far I’ve Came” says it all. “Heart vs. Mind” has a drearier tone to it thanks to DJ Mustard with the lyrics talking about his heart & mind being at war with one another while “No Smoke at the Polo Lounge” returns to soulful territory looking for smoke.

Following that, “No Man Falls” with Pusha T & 2 Chainz has a more drumless vibe talking about how they all crutches while the London on da Track laced “Chrome Slugs-n-Harmony” with G Herbo & Lil Wayne is a fantastic ode to the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony from the sample to London on da Track tapping into the the g-funk sounds that made E. 1999 Eternal the beloved masterpiece it is. “Start from Scratch II” is a sequel to one of my favorite cuts off The Documentary also being an emotional tribute to Prodigy while “What We Not Gon’ Do” dives into a more futuristic vibe talking about not going to war or calling the cops.

Ye & Dreezy accompany Game for the Middle Eastern-inspired “Fortunate” produced by Timbaland bragging that they’re doing it big whole “Rubi’s Rose” starts off with Twista rapping about fucking over an acoustic guitar prior to the beat switching up to a slower groove & Game elaborating on. After the “Drake with the Braids” interlude, “Nikki Beach” with French Montana comes through with a phoned in advertisement for DJ Khaled’s upcoming 13th album God Did dropping in a couple of weeks while the Meek Mill/Moneybagg Yo-assisted “Talk to Me Nice” playfully confesses being too big-headed for other’s advice.

Continuing from there, the Mike Zombie/Swizz Beatz-laced “Money Cash Clothes” with A$AP Rocky embraces the boom bap sound to flex how fly both of them are while “Killas” comes through with a tribute to The Diplomats’ de facto leader himself Cam’ron & I’m happy to hear him give love to the Brooklyn drill sound considering the purists’ distaste for it. Then there’s “The Black Slim Shady”, which is a 10-minute diss track towards Eminem with some well sequenced beat switches throughout & mimicking his flows. I’d much rather listen to this than “Rap Devil”, but the best Em diss has always been “Searching 4 Bobby Fisher” by Evidence in my opinion.

Speaking of Big Sean, he shows up for the organ/boom bap hybrid “Stupid” boasting how hard both of them go on the mic while the bluesy “.38 Special” talking about every day being Cripmas. “Twisted” takes it back to the trap confessing that the liquor he sippin on got his guy fucked up while “World Tours” with the late Nipsey Hu$$le is a spacey ode to their self-made hustle.

The luxurious “Save the Best for Last” with Rick Ross cooked up by G. Ry & OG Parker expresses their gratitude to still be walking on this planet Earth today while the penultimate track “A Father’s Prayer” blends a gospel sample with some dusty drums for an open letter to his daughter. “Universal Love” sends off the album with a warm pea that love is everything.

Dude can be an attention whore, but goddamn it I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind makes up for how mid Born 2 Rap was on the final Thanksgiving before COVID-19 changed the world forever. There is some filler, but Game sounds like he has a fire under his ass lyrically & Hit-Boy’s ear for production is just what was needed.

Score: 4/5

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The Game – “Born 2 Rap” review

This is the 9th album from Compton rapper The Game. Initially taken under the wing of JT the Bigga Figga, his 2002 debut mixtape You Know What It Is would catch the attention of Dr. Dre & 50 Cent. Both of whom signed Game to a joint venture to their individually respective labels Aftermath Entertainment & G-Unit Records, distributed by Interscope Records. With their help, his debut album The Documentary the following year would go on to become a West Coast essential. However, a falling out between Game & 50 just months after the album’s release would result in Game moving over to Geffen Records to complete his 5-album contract. His next 4 albums Dr.’s Advocate, LAX, The RE.D. (RE-Dedication) Album & Je5us PiecE all showed that Game didn’t need Dre or 50 to make quality music. Once fulfilling his major label obligations, he went the independent route by founding his own label Numinati Records & showcasing the artists with a compilation entitled Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf in 2014. Game then put out an overloaded yet decent sequel to his debut with The Documentary 2+2.5 the next year as well as his previous album 1992 the year after. Fast forward to his 40th birthday, Game’s celebrating with his 2nd retirement album Born 2 Rap.

After the “City of Sin” intro from Ed Sheeran, we get into the first song “No Smoke”. Where Game challenges his competition over an atmospheric instrumental. The track “$500 Candles” gets braggadocious over a smooth instrumental & not only is the messaging on “The Light” is a nice callback to Je5us PiecE, but the harmonious boom bap beat on here is gorgeous. The track “Carmen Electra” with Mozzy & Osbe Chill sees the 3 talking about mobbin’ over a sample of D’Angelo’s “Devil’s Pie” while the song “Dead Homies” is a trite metaphor for a woman over a skeletal instrumental. The track “Gold Daytonas” with Dom Kennedy sees the 2 flexing over the same sample Junior M.A.F.IA. used for “Get Money” while the song “West Side” talks about life in Compton over a ghostly instrumental. The track “40oz Love” gets on the positivity tip lyrically over a soulful beat while the song “Gucci Flip Flops” talks about death over a slick instrumental from Swizz Beatz.

The title track talks about being the greatest over an instrumental that’s sweet to the ears while the song “Welcome Home” with the late Nipsey Hu$$le sees the 2 talking about staying woke over smooth instrumental. After the “Help Me” interlude, the fittingly titled “I Didn’t Wanna Write This Song” pays tribute to Nip as Focus… supplies a depressive instrumental. “The Code” with 21 Savage then sees the 2 talking living & dying by the rules of the streets over an instrumental that doesn’t really suit the tone while the song “Stay Down” with Bryson Tiller is of course a buttery love anthem. The track “Hug the Block” shows off over a somber beat while the song “Ask for Me” tells the story of & later forgetting her name over a grand instrumental. The track “Stainless” pays tribute to many West Coast artists over a smooth piano instrumental while the song “Gangsters Make the Girls Go Wild” is of course a tepid attempt at a radio hit.

“Blood Thicker Than Water” is self-explanatory backed by a churchy-trap beat from StreetRunner while the song “Rewind II” is a decent sequel to the Nas joint “Rewind” off his 2001 album Stillmatic. The track “1 Life” with J. Stone sees the 2 getting motivational over a bleak instrumental while the song “Cross on Jesus Back” with D Smoke is pretty much a response to Kanye West’s Sunday Service performances that he’s been doing all year. The album then finishes with “Roadside”, where Game reflects on his past life over an acoustic instrumental.

If this really is the last time we’ll ever hear Game in a full-length capacity, then I’d say it’s a mixed bag & I didn’t really enjoy it as much as 1992 a few years earlier. The passion is definitely there, but some of the production is hit or miss with me personally & I feel like it really didn’t need to be 91 minutes long. Really if you took roughly half of the material here & left the rest on the cutting room floor, I would’ve liked it a more than I actually did for sure.

Score: 2.5/5