Ann 2
Alain
JennYThe Game - LAX Album Review
September 8th 2008 02:09
Release date: August 22, 2008
Genre: Gangsta rap, West Coast hip hop, hardcore hip hop
Length:76:21
Label: Geffen, Interscope.
LAX is The Game's third official album. It also might be his last since he often talked about retiring in order to promote his Black Wall Street label.
The album starts with a intro.The fellow MC DMX praying for Game so that the rapper can have a long and good life.
LAX Files gets the music in gear with a small piano melody as the beat. The song is slow but also gangster, and has a choir singing in various parts of the track. LAX Files then fades into State of Emergency (featuring Ice Cube) which is more of a fighting song. Cube was on the chorus which had a good hook. Sadly, he didn't do any verses. It's too bad because he never really featured on a Game record. Still, Game kept the song going in a tight manner. Both tracks were produced by J.R. Rotem.
Bulletproof Diaries features Raekwon and has a styling gangster type beat. It's mean and dark but clean at the same time. As a new feature on a Game record, Raekwon was good, his presence added a bit of difference to the song. Lyrically-wise, it had the usual gangster stuff, but Game and Raekwon came hard at it, making it sound real instead of the fake commercial crap.
My Life features Lil' Wayne, and I'm damn glad that Game didn't put Wayne on a verse. Everybody thinks that if you have Lil' Wayne on a verse, you're gonna sell a lot of records but on this instance, Game said that he could do it himself. So Wayne was on the chorus, using the auto-tune. However this was also the chorus of another song by Birdman. Once again, Cool and Dre brought another classic single for Game in the vein of Hate It Or Love It. The beat is good, sad but sweet; you definitely see Cool and Dre's skills on this album. Game came hard on the lyrics. Unfortunately, he had to change them because of some fake beef problem with Eminem. Game had used Em's name in a verse, the action caused some unwarranted controversy, so he changed it for the video. I personally think that the old lyrics were better. In the video, Game pays homage to Sean Bell as he raps in front of his coffin. You also see the story of one of Game's friends getting shot. In short, you see the life in the ghetto.
My Life Music Video
Money is another Cool and Dre beat. This is the under the sun kind of beat from Miami, Florida. Even though this song is called Money, you can see the difference between this track and 50 Cent's I Get Money. Both talk about money, however, Game talks about money in the world while 50 talks about money in his pockets. In this song you constantly hear the words “money” or “for the money,” and Game uses those words in the chorus to make a sentence. Here's what it looks like:
“Dead presidents, big paper... (For the money)
Benjamins, skyscrapers, my niggas get... (Money)
My bitches get... (Money)
Like the strippers get...
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
From the block to the club I make it rain... (Money)
In California niggas die... (For the money)
From the South to New York them bullets fly for the... (Money)
Don't stop gettin'... (Money)
It don't matter where you're from, if you hustle mothafucka' keep getting that... (Money)”
This song is great for getting your hopes up or just making you feel happy.
Cali Sunshine is another under the sun song. The Game speaks about the weather at the start of the beat. Nottz sampled the words “califonia sunshine” for the chorus. The lyrics were trademark Game. There was nothing special in the verses but the chorus makes you want to sing with the beat which goes well with the sample.
Ya Heard features Ludacris, another new collaboration for The Game. I know some Game fans who really hate it, but I found it really good. Granted, it wasn't as good as some other songs on this album but it wasn't Game's worst song either. I guess it depends on your taste. Both Game and Luda ate the mic on their verses. Nottz used a sample once again, this time choosing the “Jam On It” beat. Again, Game uses repeated words to make a sentence. In this instance, the words are, “And I be driving all crazy 'cause my diamond chain is (bright).” The collaboration was good because the two rappers have a vastly different style, so it was a nice listen.
Hard Liquor is an interlude where you hear Game coming to the club in his Range. Then, a lot of stuff happens. I can't tell you what. Go buy the album to hear it. But I think this was a waste of space. I heard Game recorded at least 200 songs for this album, he could've switched this for a real song.
After an interlude, you need to start strong again and Game does exactly that on House Of Pain. This is a pure gagnster/southside type of beat produced by DJ Toomp. This song is like Ya Heard except that it's better. This song is fire for me. The chorus is a perfect hook. Personally, I prefer the clean version because of the way they censored the bad words (“shit” becomes “ish,” and the removal of other words goes well with the flow). You can listen to this song all day long. I listened to it while going to work and again while coming back. Game is the only one who can murder this, nobody could else could feature on this track.
Gentleman's Affair features Ne-Yo and is a lady's kind of song bordering on R&B. The beat sounded a little like One Night on The Doctor's Advocate album. Ne-Yo gets the chorus and the second verse. Game uses his lower voice on this one which sounds similar to his voice on the song Doctor's Advocate from his previous album. I originally thought that this song would be bad because of Ne-Yo but he fit in perfectly.
Let Us Live (featuring Chrisette Michele) is the serious kind of song. Chrisette's voice – on the chorus - was nothing special. But you have to listen to this song closely because even though the beat is crazy, the lyrics are where it's at.
Touchdown (featuring Raheem DeVaughn) is another song for the ladies in the clubs. However. This one was worse than Gentleman's Affair. I didn't like the way Game wrote this one. It sounded like he didn't put much effort into it. It's just a club song, nothing more.
Angel (featuring Common) is THE song people. The beat was sampled by Kanye West, one of the best around, and since Kanye and Common are on the same label, why not give him a call? Common delicately kills the first verse, and the word “angel” is repeated throughout the song. Here's what the chorus looks like:
“I wanna turn up the sound, and spread my wings because I'm riding with my (Angel)
Going through the city of the Chi, make me feel like I'm in the city of (Angels)
Oooh, I wanna fly, fly away with my (Angel)
She takes me high, she will always be my (Angel)”
Game also ripped the beat. Common and Game's voice are so different but go so well together, I don't know why they didn't collaborate before. This album was good for The Game because it allowed him to broaden his horizon with new artists. Anyways, this is the slow riding gangster song, old-school style.
Never Can Say Goodbye features LaToya Williams on the chorus. This is one of the most thought-prooking song on the album as Game steps into Tupac, Biggie, Eazy-E's shoes as they are spending their last minutes on Earth – great concept. What is impressive is that Game used Biggie's style of rapping; you would think it's Biggie's son rapping or something. The piano was strong on this beat which is good, and strong.
The second single of the album, Dope Boys, features Blink-182/Plus 44 drummer Travis Barker. This is a hard, club banging, low-riding song with a good hook on the chorus. The lyrics sound gangster but it's not as if he's trying to sound gangster, it just comes out that way. Travis is just banging the drums until they break. If you want to lose your hearing, put this song on maximum volume.
Dope Boys Music Video
The first single is Game's Pain (featuring Keyshia Cole), another sunny day kind of beat. In this song, Game pays homage to old-school rappers whether they're dead or alive and/or retired. Keyshia uses her voice beautifully, the best female collaboration of this album. The beat has a hard-knocking kick and claps. If you listen to this song multiple times, you're going to lose your voice just by singing it.
Game's Pain Music Video
Letter To The King features Nas, and is dedicated to Martin Luther King. The beat, produced by Hi-Tek is small but great. Game and Nas should collaborate on all of their albums because together they connect the East to the West. Their flows are so different, yet so similar; this song should be a classic. Still, I prefer their last collaboration on Game's previous record which was the song Why You hate The Game. But in this song, you can see how Game steps up his lyrics to join Nas in this great homage. The first time I listened to this song, it wasn't really interesting, but you have to listen to the lyrics, listen to what they're saying, what they mean, and you'll wonder how they can be that good.
The last track doesn't have a name. It's an outro with DMX praying again for Game but more intensely. It was a good idea. Still, three full songs would be better than an intro, interlude, and outro.
This album was good, ten times better than Tha Carter III both lyrically-wise and musically-wise. The guest artists are perfect, and you can listen to the whole album without feeling the need to press 'Next.' Any Game fan will probably listen to it non-stop. If you're not a Game fan, you can still listen to all of it in one go. This record has everything, from the gangster outta Compton to the grown man Game has become. The lyrics have evolved with practice. It's rare to hear an album this good these days. The only one that goes with it is Nas' Untitled, even former West Coast legend Ice Cube's record doesn't match with LAX. Anyone can like it, not only West coasters but every side and nationality. The deluxe edition has four more good song, including a Spanish song called Spanglish where Game raps in both Spanish and English. If it were for me, I would definitely suggest this album as a must-buy. Don't listen to what you hear on the radio, or what your friends tell you. Go listen to LAX yourself to know if you like it or not.
I give this album a 9/10 simply because Touchdown wasn't as good as the rest of the labum which was pretty impressive for Game. Some people say The Documentary is better, but I think this one is much more better even without Dr. Dre. I don't know why everyone seems to think that Game needs Dre or why they think that he can't do a great and powerful album by himself. So, 9/10, you can't change my mind on that one.
| 72 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Thanks for stopping by...visit my other posts and don't forget to subscribe to the email feature. A notification will be sent to you when something new has been added.
