11.12.2006

The Game - Doctor's Advocate

The Doctor is Out

He’s not your typical West Coaster. His music made it out of the hood. And onto the radio…and the television. And (gasp)…to the East Coast. There was something about the young man from Compton that appealed to the entire hip hop community. No marks, no busters, no jheri curl juice. He wasn’t just your ordinary Los Angeles lyricist.

In January 2005, The Game dropped a near classic with his first release, The Documentary, under Dr. Dre and Aftermath. Laced with an all star cast of producers and a 50 affiliation, failure was not an option. The West Coast Hope had a bright future ahead of him…or so we thought. Since that release, he’s fallen out with 50 and Dr. Dre left no fingerprints on his new album (yeah I dusted). Without the Doctor, what does the Advocate have to say?

Doctor’s Advocate like The Documentary employs the talents of critically and commercially acclaimed producers. It’s comprised of a dream list that any rapper would love to have half of his album. It’s Okay, however, is not one of those names but brings the hammer all the same. Scott Storch and The Game collaborate on Let’s Ride to create…a G-Unit track? Doctor’s Advocate is definitely the best track on the album and possibly the best track I’ve heard from The Game…ever. Busta Rhymes lends a voice and Jonathan Rotem completes it. The Game then goes back to his roots with the clever Ol’ English.

So what The Game lost 50 and Dre? No one cared, but everyone wondered. Can he stand on his own two? Can he make music without two obvious contributors to his success? I wanted to listen to Doctor’s Advocate and I wanted it to be better than The Documentary however difficult a task that may seem. It wasn’t. And it wasn’t even close.

The name dropping was gimmicky the first time. It was his thing, his shtick, if you will. Now it’s just in the way. Now it’s Dre every other bar and it’s ancient. We know you have the utmost respect for the man who jumpstarted your career, but this is YOUR album. Perhaps The Game is making up for him not being on the record at all. I guess we know what he is without a Dr. Dre track.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 matches

Hot Trax: It’s Okay, One Night, Doctor’s Advocate, Why You Hate the Game

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