Doctor's Advocate
In the past year The Game has become one of Hip-Hop’s most entertainingly troubled public figures. While many other rappers have seen their creative output suffer in the face of highly publicized personal difficulties, The Game seems to have drawn a wealth of inspiration from setbacks that might have brought less determined rappers to their knees. Since the release of the brilliantly produced, but occasionally sterile debut *The Documentary* The Game has carried on a vicious mixtape feud with his former allies in G-Unit, honed his skills as an MC, and broken with his star-making mentor Dr. Dre. The Game’s troubled relationship with Dr. Dre is *Advocate*’s thematic backbone. Throughout The Game spins a riveting narrative of hero-worship, triumph and ultimate disillusion that culminates with the title track: a drunken regret-filled missive to Dre that finds The Game wildly vacillating between affection and outrage. Along the way producers Scott Storch, Will.i.am, and Just Blaze furnish a set of serviceable beats steeped in West-Coast nostalgia. The dark piano laced compositions of N.W.A’s *Efil4Zaggin* serve as *Advocate*’s main point of reference. While The Game sounds great over these beats, the albums production definitely takes a backseat to the compelling lyrical psychodrama.
After making a great album despite himself, the former Dr. Dre protégé has hardened his quirks into a likeably bizarre personal style and replicated the playfulness of his mixtapes on this, his sophomore LP.
Between 2005's The Documentary and the new Doctor's Advocate, The Game underwent a startling transformation, from a man who shamelessly sucked up to rap's icons to a pariah who antagonized rap's biggest names. Following his falling out with 50 Cent and expulsion from Dr. Dre's Aftermath camp, Game engaged in a…
While his big rival and former employer, 50 Cent, squandered his success by spreading himself too thin with video games, films, and a whole lot of time devoted to the G-Unit empire, the Game spent his time working the streets with beef-minded, sometimes-epic freestyles landing on mixtapes.
Meet Doctor's Advocate, the sophomore release from West Coast bad-ass The Game and the weirdest rap record of the year. No, that's not hate