I have to give credit where credit is due. Game had an uphill battle from day one. I'm sure any star will testify that the problem with starting at the top is that almost everybody is waiting for you to fall instantly to the bottom. With Dre underscoring his credibility, Game's inherent buzz quickly became a "hype" and raised the pressing question of NOT wether he could meet our expectations but rather if he could EXCEED them. Let's face it. That's what the critics, and perhaps some buyers, are all waiting for: To have their expectations blown out of the water.

Well...here's one vote that he did it. And this is coming from one wary and reluctant buyer. To be quite honest, my radar was honing more on Dre and his label than the Game himself. As the mastermind behind everything that leaves the Aftermath, I was scared that maybe Aftermath was on it's way to becoming an After Thought (like DeathRow). I think many will agree that rap has become painfully redundant, uncreative and unoriginal. Outside of the actual CD was an overwhelming amount of evidence that Game was doomed to the same tired pseudo-thug content of so many other rappers - many of whom represent Dre's label.

Of course, Game does in fact deliver the same old West Coast Game of low-riders, chronics, loose women, sneakers, guns yada, yada, yada. It wouldn't be Game without it. But where I have to give him mad credit is that the tone of his lyrics seems to give the Gangster Lifestyle a 3-Dimensional view and he masterfully gives us a glimpse of all angles. Some of the songs on here have a regretful tone that is probably more accurate of real gangsters than the pro-violent atitude exemplified by our vinyl thugs of past. No doubt, this more complex position is borrowed more so from Ice Cube and 2Pac (who borrowed from Cube and Ren) than any of the other legends that Game acknowledges as his primary source of inspiration. And while Gangster Rap initially was morally cluastrophobic and grimmy like the NWA Straight Outta Compton Album, Game manages to maintain this feeling (as promised) as well as give us more uplifting and maybe even hopeful tracks. One track involves Game's voice cracking as if he's fighting back painful thoughts and regrets - a very clever delivery since the song itself is about all the things he would change, if he could change them.

And then there's the beats. The beats are just incredible on this Album and stop just short of overshadowing Game's delivery. The Documentary is the best title for this album because so many of the tracks on this Album are cinematic in tone. "Dream", produced by Kayne West, is nothing short of a masterpiece. And "Church for Thugs", produced by Just Blaze is possibly the strongest production on this whole album.

And I can't end this without giving a nod to the man who blueprinted this album. I must say that I was a little sad that Dre covers less than half of the musical output of this album. I was a little more sad when I had to admit to myself that many of the Guest Producer beats top some of Dre's beats. But if anything it only further underscores Dre's immaculant ear for amazing material and his maturity for allowing that material to come before his own (no doubt he produced several tracks that he himself edited out from the final album). And as Executive Producer of this Album, Dre has orchestrated a CD that is even better than 50's "Get Rich..." and far better than Eminem's Encore - both great albums in their own right. And where Drei is a true genius is that he seems to have added sounds for every listener from every corner of America, just to make sure that this West Coast Ressurection isn't exclusive to just the West Coast. And finally, "Higher" and "Start from Scratch" are among the most memorable tracks on this CD. "Higher" is just downright infectious and so full of adreniline that it almost promotes violence without any lyrics laced on top of it.

Without a doubt, Aftermath is still on track and if they continue to put out this level of rap, they might possibly dominate the airwaves of 2005. If nothing else, it could breathe some much needed life into rap.

Consider this one a classic.

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

the game's delivery is half-decent and dre's beats are hot, but overall, the game doesnt come close to his hype. the cat is little more than a studio gangster: he's never killed anyone (note: not that this is a bad thing!), but still fronts with a tear-drop tattoo to try and rack up the street cred. i mean, come on, he was on the tv show "change of heart" a few years ago (seriously)!!! how hard can he be? plus, all he talks about is how he got shot. do you know what he was shot over? TWO POUNDS OF WEED! HAHA!!! who the heck shoots someone over weed???? IT IS ALL AN ACT!

overall, you can tell he lacks skills simply because he is the biggest name-dropper i have ever heard. every other word on this cd is either "dre" or "50". simply pathetic.

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.

I'm not exactly in a geriatric home (in fact I'm only twenty-six) but I'm old enough and more importantly know enough about hip hop to recognize that there was a time when a true emcee talent could spit verses skillfully over any beat, whether that beat was simply his friend's beatboxing, a primitive, tape-recorded drumloop coming out of a ghettoblaster, or professionally-mixed beats custom made in a studio. Rakim had it, Del had it, KRS-1 had it, Kool Moe Dee had it, on and on and on.

Having said all that, G-Unit's "The Game" name-drops even more shamelessly than I just did. Unfortunately, as a rapper, he's probably as good as I am, which is the same as saying he sucks, because although I listen to hip hop, I am a wack, WACK emcee. In fact I'm so bad I save the world and my friends from telling me so by leaving my game at home in the firsts place.

"The Game" doesn't have to go to such lengths, because even though he's a wack emcee (and by wack, I mean DAMN wack), he has the saving grace of good producers and good media hype to camouflague his glaring weaknesses as a rhymer. "The Documentary" is not a bad album, in fact I think it is a rather good album, reflective of the times and trends in which it was relased. However, I don't think it's a classic album that will be looked upon as a GOOD milestone thirty years from now, in the "Fear of a Black Planet" vein. I think of "The Documentary" of 2005 -- in fact much of G-Unit's music, along with lots of today's hip hop in general -- as being in the same artistic league as Vanilla Ice's "To the Extreme" of 1991, where years later you'll hear "Ice, Ice Baby" on the radio, or "How We Do" on the radio, and think "Yeah, that was the jam, back in the day," but you'll realize that beyond the hit(s) that artist sucks. Not like other artists who also released only few hits but get respect as being groundbreaking or having genuine street cred (Paperboy, GangStar, House of Pain, Pharcyde, etc.).

There are positive and negative things about this album, in my opinion, and these opinions are listed below:

The Good:

- The Game has a listenable voice that carries well

- Dr. Dre produces much of the album and the beats are very good

- The album features some A-list rap contemporaries as guests

- The album features multiple hit singles that are catchy and

enjoyable (How We Do, Hate it or Love it, Westside Story, We

Ain't)

- The album's CD format allows users to quickly skip the stupider

songs with a push of a button

- The album's singles cater to current pop-40 tastes

The Bad

- The Game's listenable voice is unfortunately not mated with listenable lyrics. Just listen to The Game's weak rhymes on most of the songs and you'll probably be almost tempted to challenge him to a battle, which you would probably even win, except he's probably carrying more guns that you so he'd get revenge somehow

- Dr. Dre's beats are wasted by The Game's rhymes, which never vary from rhymes of infantile complexity about guns, the street, drugs, women (or "b****es" as he refers to them, which as a woman I feel especially offended by) and how he got shot.

- The album's A-list guests either suck (50 cent, despite his "charisma") or outshine The Game and expose his many limitations (just listen to Eminem, who doesn't even pour a tenth of his talent into the song "We Ain't," literally make The Game look like a moron on the mic, and Busta's nice chorus on "Like Father, Like Son," which in my opinion is the only good part of that song)

- The album's hit singles are pseudo-gangster pop-rap that, although entertaining and catchy on a "let's just have fun" level, reflect the sad decline in the quality of talent of the most popular artists compared to the 80s or the first half of the 1990s, reminding listeners worldwide to stick to the underground scene

- The album's CD format also includes a liner-booklet that contains laughable photographs of The Game trying to look like a hard a$$ gangster (yeah, whatever man) in compton, and photos of him sporting an NWA tattoo that will have people thinking, "Oh for God's sake, do you want some kneepads already?")

- People's pop 40 taste is for the most part stupid.

So, I say, don't buy this album if you can burn it, since you're not supporting real hip hop. Everyone has their guilty pleasures (I like some Jessica Simpson songs) but believe me, The Game is not hip hop, G-Unit is NOT a true gang (can you imagine the Italian mafia printing T-shirts with a corporate logo on it?), and someday people will wake up and realize how highschoolish all this hip pop is.

Don't buy this album. Don't buy this album. Don't buy this album. I said it three times because please, I don't want you to waste your money. Buy a present for your girlfriend instead, and don't be like The Game and call her a "b***h.*

<3

Jenny