The Game - Doctor's Advocate

After the release of his debut album The Documentary, the humble and non-confrontational gentleman Jayceon Taylor, who us hip-hop fans refer to as The Game for some ridiculous reason, seemed to be on top of the world. After being put into a coma by way of bullet wounds back in 2000, in five years he had become one of the top selling rappers in the world, who had formed partnerships with the biggest clique in hip-hop G-Unit, the man often known as the genre's top producer Dr. Dre, and some of the other biggest names in the game at the time such as Eminem, Nate Dogg and Timbaland, to name a few. His music was being bumped in the clubs throughout America as well, and if you were to go 50 miles in a car without hearing "Hate It Or Love It", "Westside Story" or "How We Do", then you'd probably turned your radio off - or at least switched it over to the classical channel. At least, that seems to have been the case, as The Documentary sold well over a million copies in the US alone, and is generally regarded to have been the catalyst in reviving the hip-hop of the West Coast at a time where Eminem, 50 Cent and T.I. were running the airwaves. The Game went from a promising mixtape rapper to the face of the West within months, and it looked like he was about to take over the whole genre in the same way 50, Eminem and Jay-Z seemed to have in the past years before this. 

Unfortunately for The Game, he was The Game, and as such decided that in order to keep himself happy he must diss as many people as possible in various ways, retract said disses at the command of his boss, and then diss the same people again to repeat the cycle, almost like some kind of egotistical amnesia had befallen him during the recording of his major label debut. Quite a few people fell under his wrath, and eventually his boss 50 Cent decided that enough was enough, and fired him from G-Unit when the thought of Jay-Z coming after him and his camp became too much to bare any longer. Rather than command him to the office first thing Monday morning, however, 50 decided to break the news to Hot97 before Game himself, leading to a shoot-out that started one of the most prominent beefs in 2000s hip-hop, and one that it's easy to forget happened at all given the pair had such a good working relationship at first. This isn't really the place to cover the beef though, but it's worth mentioning that it did mean the end of Game's relationship with Dr. Dre (at least for the time being), which was most likely the inspiration behind this title, and was certainly the inspiration behind the song named after said title on here, which remains one of Game's more heartfelt performances to this day. And it's also worth mentioning that the beef led to Game being dropped from Aftermath altogether - he was moved over to Geffen records for his sophomore effort, something he probably wasn't too angry about considering the size of THAT label. 

The Game's second studio album was a much anticipated release even after the beef had settled down a bit, and even though there was no Dre and no 50 support this time around, Game still managed to generate buzz for this project through the singles, and also through the feature and producer list, which was, for lack of a better phrase, bloody stacked. Sharing the mic with Chuck (one of Game's favourite pseudonyms, in case you needed telling) were the likes of Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Xzibit, Nas, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound, and pulled in for singing duties were Nate Dogg, will.i.am, Jamie Foxx and Marsha Ambrosius, but not Mary J. Blige, despite what the hype sticker may lead you to believe. Then behind the boards we had Just Blaze, Swizz Beatz, Scott Storch, Nottz, Hi-Tek, Mr. Porter and the aforementioned Kanye, a list which, despite its lack of Dre, arguably bettered that of The Documentary, depending on your taste in hip-hop. For me, I prefer this one - it presents some of the more laid-back beat-makers at the time (Swizzy notwithstanding), and manages to be highly intriguing without seeming overly expensive like The Documentary. Oh, and this album cover looks slightly better too, even though it's still, without question, a shirtless man sitting on wheels. At least the black background beats the bright white, eh?

I first listened to this album some years ago, but it's definitely one that I never really let slip by me completely, and I can still remember the whole thing well now (I last listened to it about two months ago I think). Admittedly, there's going to be an element of nostalgia here, but still there are elements of everything in every review anyway. And I don't think my thoughts were much different on first listen anyway - even back then I thought this album was-

Oop. Better not spoil the finish!

1. Lookin At You (feat. Mac Minister & Tracey Nelson) (prod. Ervin "EP" Pope)

The Game decides to open things up with a song that sounds exactly like something Dr. Dre would make, beginning what would eventually become a huge problem with the man's music - this guy is absolutely fucking obsessed with Dr. Dre. Obviously him and Dre did eventually become friends again around the time The R.E.D. Album came out in 2011, but it's difficult to understand why - wasn't Dre even the slightest bit annoyed at this guy's constant obsession over him? Game spends most of this song bragging about the fact that he was able to finish the album without Dr. Dre's help, neglecting to mention that... well... so did every other rapper that year! Thankfully, this song works thanks to Game's lightning flow, the excellent EP beat (which sounds Dre-ish, but whatever), and the very clever 50 Cent diss at the end which finishes the song on a great note. This song isn't perfect, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it. 

2. Da Shit (feat. Tracey Nelson & Janeen Jasmine) (prod. DJ Khalil)

Before becoming one of the most obviously mainstream producers in the genre, DJ Khalil did actually make some pretty hardcore beats, this being one of them - this beat is nice, and the different sound effects throughout it make it one of the most interesting instrumentals on the whole LP. This song is supposedly about Game being a physical embodiment of the hypothetical that is: the shit - however, he spends much of the first verse simply telling us that he's from L.A. (oh, really, Game? I didn't know that!), and the third going on about a music video model nicknamed Super Head because... well, you know. And of course we can't get through one bar before Game mentions Dre again. However, once again Jayceon distracts from his often frustrating excuses for subject matter by rapping with a great flow and strong voice, alongside a brilliant beat and catchy hook (which I used to dislike but has now grown on me). Once again it's a solid song, but even people who think this is the best album of all time aren't going to argue that it has a better opening than The Documentary. Because it just doesn't. 

3. It's Okay (One Blood) (feat. Junior Reid) (prod. Reefa, co-prod. D Roc)

The lead single for this project, and probably the one that allowed for so much hype around this album in the first place - unlike the merely solid first two songs, this stuff is absolutely top tier, and arguably better than any of the singles from The Documentary (and yes, when you make the covers that similar, it's inevitable that I'll be making lots of comparisons between the two albums - like it or not, this is an obvious follow-up). Over an intense and brutal instrumental from some chap called Reefa, The Game re-introduces himself into the rap game here following what could have been a fall from grace that surprisingly wasn't thanks to the man's relentless song output and G-U-Not campaign that was prevalent during the battle. After winning the beef (yeah, I said it), Game shouldn't have had much to prove, but yet and still he had to come back swinging with a non-diss track, and decided the best way to do that was call a truce on the beef during this very song, albeit in the most nonchalant of ways - "I ain't got no beef with 50, no beef with Dre - what's beef when you're getting head in the six-trey?". And that's just one of many incredible bars on this track. Game also adds fuel to the ever non-existent fire of his beef with Jay-Z here in a line that aged as well as the music of 2009, but when it's surrounded by some of the dopest hip-hop from the West ever, it's difficult to focus on that small nitpick. This is an incredible song. Also, Junior Reid. Just yes. 

4. Compton (feat. will.i.am) (prod. will.i.am)

What is it with will.i.am.a.radio.pandering.twat showing up on actual hip-hop albums in the mid to late 2000s? I mean, he was on Nas' Hip Hop Is Dead, Murs' Murs For President, Common's Finding Forever, Busta Rhymes' The Big Bang, this, and I'm sure a few others that I'm forgetting too. I mean, if the music is always as good as this I'm fine with it, but still, it was an odd time. And yes, this music is great, and one of the dopest beats I've ever heard from this chap - not that he tends to slouch when producing for other artists. And while Will's voice is slightly annoying during the hook, the lyrics, flow pattern and melody all make up for that. And we haven't even got to talking about Game yet, who still hasn't managed to go a whole song without mentioning Dr. Dre's name, but at least cooks up some dope bars to compliment his great voice and flow on this track - "welcome to the city of G's / where we eat fried chicken, rice and black-eyed peas!". Yeah, this one is great. 

5. Remedy (prod. Just Blaze)

One of the shorter songs on this LP, "Remedy" is basically a follow-up to the previous album's "No More Fun and Games", as Game takes on a Just Blaze beat with an old-school feel for under three minutes, with a sample break popping in between each verse. This track is actually better than it's supposed predecessor, though, as I think Game clearly flows better on here, and has better lyrics, and also the samples aren't annoying as shit. This is actually one of the best songs on this album too, with the fact that Game mentions Dre in the first verse again notwithstanding. 

6. Let's Ride (prod. Scott Storch)

The much maligned second single for this album, which everyone hates due to the fact that The Game (probably) nabbed something from Scott Storch's "Dre leftovers" folder of beats for this track, and decided to imitate the good doctor's rapping style over it as well. I mean, there isn't much difference between this song and the opener by these regards, but whatever - despite the obvious biting, I still enjoy this one. Game sounds more menacing than ever on this instrumental, despite some rather corny bars and background singing being thrown in the verses for some reason, and he also does a great job with the hook, one of my favourites on the whole album. And in what sort of world does "it sounds like a Dre beat" not equate to a compliment? This song is an absolute banger, no question about it. 

7. Too Much (feat. Nate Dogg) (prod. Scott Storch)

Well, we were bound to run into a clunker at some point - The Game isn't really a good enough rapper to carry a song who's instrumental and chorus are less than great, and here that becomes evident. Nate Dogg is a fantastic singer, but his lyrics during the chorus on here are plain godawful, and Game's portion of this hook isn't much better - in fact, it's worse. Also, Scott Storch's bright, bouncy beat sounds generic as hell, and since nothing The Game says sticks (which isn't really a surprise), I can't recommend this one in any way. And is there going to be any song on here that doesn't name drop Dr. Dre? This song sucks, plain and simple. 

8. Wouldn't Get Far (feat. Kanye West) (prod. Kanye West)

After letting Kanye West produce the minor hit "Dreams" from his debut, Game returned the favour by dropping a verse and half a hook for Kanye's own 2005 album Late Registration, on the song "Crack Music". The fact that Kanye removed Game's entire verse on that song notwithstanding, it was clear that the pair had formed a pretty stellar working relationship, one that extends to the present day when both are regarded as arrogant and mentally unstable by the media, despite their musical abilities. That working relationship was none more evident than on "Wouldn't Get Far", a song where both artists have a similar yet equally great presence. This track, the third single from the album, is a fun song criticising women for having sex with lots of rappers for financial gain, since that's clearly not an ethical nor sustainable way to make a living. The topic may sound slightly cruel as I've written it out here, but both artists handle it well, with some nice verses name-dropping other stars to fit Game's style, complimented by a classic chipmunk soul Kanye beat. And, if the song itself didn't make it clear enough, Game spends the last minute of the song explaining its meaning to you in spoken word as the beat fades out, so that was nice of him. 

Note that this is the first song on the album not to mention Dr. Dre. In case you couldn't tell, that's not a good thing. 

9. Scream On Em (feat. Swizz Beatz) (prod. Swizz Beatz)

The second song in a row to feature the artist behind the boards, although in this case Swizzy's contribution is limited to the usual chorus ad-libs and an obnoxious yet unusually unphazed sounding scream which seems to make up most of the actual hook - yeah, this chorus is terrible. However, while no-one would really have been expecting it in 2006 (after his prime popularity but before his mid 2010's resurge in quality), Swizzy's intense instrumental on this one actually works really well, and while Game's musings on killing you, knowing your girlfriend a little too well and name-dropping every piece of media in existence are all nothing new, he does throw in some nice moments, like the nod to Jay-Z's "Streets Is Watching" and the last eight bars where he rhymes "bulding" a bunch of times to surprisingly great effect. This song is pretty solid, but would have been a lot better without Swizz Beatz' attempt at a chorus. 

10. One Night (feat. Andrea Martin) (prod. Nottz)

One of the more underrated producers in the game (get it?) Nottz provides a fantastically creepy instrumental on this one for The Game to air out some of his frustrations, beginning what is clearly supposed to be the "serious" portion of the album. The song is mainly about Game being pissed off with his old friends who seem to think he owes them something now that he's famous, and I definitely see where he's coming from there - he built his career by himself, so why should anyone else get a piece of the reward? There are two lines that really stick out to me on this one - firstly "remember the bullet holes in my son's car seat / my baby mama found four shells / I ain't get one "keep your head up", all I got was "keep it real"". This line really speaks to me, as it shows Game at a vulnerable position he feels he shouldn't be at as a man. It's a strong bar, and while the other one I wish to mention isn't as powerful, I still thought I would point it out for its rawness - "I'm supposed to enjoy this shit but it's quite clear / the last twelve months been a fuckin' nightmare". That's just great stuff, man. I should also mention Andrea Martin's stellar and catchy hook, which I only just now realised was sung by a woman - I had always thought it was a falsetto male singer for some reason. This song is easily one of the dopest here. 

11. Doctor's Advocate (feat. Busta Rhymes & Shorty) (prod. Jonathan "J.R." Rotem)

After dropping the man's name on all but two songs so far (that's "Wouldn't Get Far" and "Scream On Em", in case you're interested), Game finally decides to come out and admit his love for Andre Young - the guy completely forgoes his tough guy persona, and spends his two verses on this song admitting that despite his stubborn personality, he can admit that he wants to make up with Dre and work with him again. I've never heard a song like this before, where an artist explicitly apologises to an enemy in the industry on record, but then again there's a lot of hip-hop I'm yet to explore, so we'll see about that. The two verses are also spit whilst drunk to evoke memories of Game and Dre's earlier collaboration "Start From Scratch", and I also think that this is a pretty cool idea, with Game's delivery of bars such as "when Doc say it's a rap, it's a rap / it's still Aftermath, and ain't nothing after that" and "I told you, you was like a father to me - I meant that" being accentuated by his intoxicated nature. As for the other elements of this song - they're pretty bloody great. Busta Rhymes spits fire on here, as is to be expected in the era of the stellar The Big Bang, and the chorus and beat are some of the strongest on the album. It's probably no surprise that this is a top three song here - when he really focusses, The Game can make some of the best music out there. With quite a bit of help from others, of course, but still. Some of the best music out there...

12. Ol' English (feat. Dion) (prod. Hi-Tek)

After failing to create something entertaining for our host to work with on the last album, Hi-Tek tries his hand on a Game album again, and comes up with something a little better, even if this instrumental is a bit drab and electronic compared with some of Tek's other work. For some reason I never really used to like this one much - sure, it's got it's positives, such as Game's more personal and reflective content, but I dislike this hook a lot, and the instrumental does not keep any kind of good energy going throughout the track. I mean, I want to make it clear that this is one of Game's best performances, but for some reason the rest of this track doesn't hit for me. It's still good, don't shoot me!

13. California Vacation (feat. Snoop Dogg & Xzibit) (prod. Jonathan "J.R." Rotem)

A guest list sure to convince listeners in 2000 that they were in for a certified West Coast classic, and sure to convince listeners in 2006 that they were in for a song featuring two fairly washed up artists rap about things they clearly didn't do in their old age anymore. Seriously, Xzibit's Full Circle is a good album, but he really needed to switch things up with the content by then. Still, this collaboration here is undeniably a success - J.R. Rotem's beat, while dated, is the perfect thing for the clubs, and all three artists kill it, with X dominating the track in my (very biased) opinion. The chorus is catchy, all three MC's do great, and I'm a fan of the beat too. What more could I ask for?

14. Bang (feat. The Dogg Pound) (prod. Jellyroll)

Jelly Roll, the mastermind behind some of the weirder West Coast club beats of the mid 2000s, who now moonlights as a fat white hillbilly rapper (just kidding - but you have to admit them having the same name is a bit weird). This track definitely isn't a highlight on the album for me, but that said it certainly isn't bad. The instrumental that very clearly bites some of Dr. Dre's production techniques is pretty cool in my opinion, and if there comes a day where I'm averse to a back-and-forth style song then please don't recucitate - I just find this song to be pretty unmemorable. I mean, he has threatened to murder me about 30,000 times on this album already, so that might factor into it. 

15. Around the World (feat. Jamie Foxx) (prod. Mr. Porter, add-prod. Mike Chav)

Ugh. This song is quite easily one of the worst The Game has released, or at least it would be had he not continued doing these terrible R&B tracks all throughout his storied career. That's one of the reasons why The R.E.D. Album is so frustrating to me - he has a bunch of great music on there, but for some reason about 3/4 of the way in we're subjected to a run of horrible R&B style collaborations. This song here isn't offensively bad, but it's the blandness of it that makes it so whack to me. I mean, the chorus effectively brags about being a sugar daddy, and I think that's all you need to know about this one. 

16. Why You Hate the Game (feat. Nas, Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry, Andrea Martin & The 1500 Choir) (prod. Just Blaze)

The Game, being an arrogant prick *ahem* man who's very confident in his own abilities, decides his album is great enough to end with this eight minute epic that features a choir, the greatest rapper of all time (in my humble opinion, naturally) and announcements from producer Just Blaze, that seems to paint this cut as some sort of occasion to mark, rather than the final song on an album that, while very good, isn't that groundbreaking at all. I mean, surely even The Game himself knew that. This song itself is pretty excellent, though - Marsha Ambrosius provides a catchy and very poignant hook to break up the verses, and said verses themselves work excellently. Nas opens things up in his Hip Hop Is Dead era, and while that album (which I'm already nearly at in the Nasir catalogue) isn't really one of his best, this verse is still great, as he reflects on his influence on the rap game over his career, and the potent quality of his wardrobe, the latter point always making me laugh. Game himself makes two attempts to one-up Nas, but he can't do it - so what, the guy was young! And addicted to namedropping too, apparently. Still, I like his efforts on here, and while the song goes on for way too long after the verses themselves are used up, I still find a lot of enjoyment throughout this one. It's a very good way to end the album. 

The following song was a bonus track featured on some UK versions of this album. 

17. I'm Chillin (feat. will.i.am & Fergie) (prod. will.i.am)

Over a beat that sounds far more conventional for Will than what he cooked up on "Compton", Game gets his chill on, rapping about partying and lounging in the club. The results are alright, and Game's pre-chorus is pretty hilarious, but still it makes sense that this weird experiment was relegated to bonus track status. One will.i.am chorus is quite enough for me, thanks very much. 

All in all, while Doctor's Advocate follows a very similar formula to The Documentary, it still manages to be successful in creating a great listening experience - one that I believe to actually better that of Game's aforementioned debut. The main reason why I think this album succeeds more than The Documentary is the fact that The Game's rapping on here is way, way better than that on his debut. On here his voice is better, his lyrics actually have some substance to them and even the odd great punchline, and he does lessen the name-dropping on here, if to a smaller degree. Another reason why this album feels more enjoyable is its less commercial feel. While The Documentary had quite a few songs made just for the clubs, and multiple uninspiring love songs towards the end, Doctor's Advocate feels more like an album to be listened to as an album, with the one love song ("All Around the World") and the few club songs ("Let's Ride", "Too Much") not really standing out as much as they did on The Documentary. Well, that's my take on the topic, anyway. And finally, this album is more consistent - while The Documentary sequenced all of the very best songs at the start (letting a few of the other standouts seep further into the tracklist), this one spreads its highlights evenly throughout - and yes, this album has some very high highlights, just like Game's debut and most of his albums afterwards if we're being honest. Overall, Doctor's Advocate definitely stands as one of the best albums in The Game's catalogue to me, with great rapping and production throughout, and not too many weak points disrupting the flow of the record. This is a really good album, and The Game's career would only continue on a similar trajectory as we go through it. And before you get your hopes up, yes that does include the Dr. Dre namedrops. Sorry.

Best Tracks: Lookin At You, It's Okay (One Blood), Compton, Wouldn't Get Far, One Night, Doctor's Advocate, California Vacation, Why You Hate the Game

Worst Tracks: Too Much, Around the World

Catch up on other The Game related content over here!