It’s been almost two years since The Game dropped his critically acclaimed Jesus Piece project. Needless to say, fans have been eager to hear what the Compton rapper has in store for us next. Well, the time has come, and The Game has surprised (and perhaps overwhelmed) us with two brand new full length albums, released only a week apart from each other. Both albums are part of the long awaited sequel to Game’s classic debut from a decade ago, The Documentary. We’ve not only received 19 new tracks with the The Documentary 2, there are 18 more tracks with The Documentary 2.5 to go along with it.
Let’s begin with The Documentary 2, the far superior project in the two-album tandem. The album’s opening tracks can make you very happy that the Game is finally back in full force once again. As always, Game brings plenty of friends along for the ride, starting off with Kendrick Lamar with "On Me," a great start to The Documentary 2. However, Game doesn’t stop there, also including Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Diddy, will.i.am., & Ab-Soul; and that’s just the first half of this album! Tracks like "Step Up," "Don’t Trip," "Standing On Ferraris," and "Dollar and a Dream" represent the strongest point on either album.
As the album continues, the middle of The Documentary 2 begins to wear thin at certain points. Tracks "Hashtag" through "Summertime" are rendered weak album filler that would work as mere bonus tracks on any Game project. The album returns to its better points with the Kanye West-featured track "Mula," which has a great transition going into the album’s title track. There is also the Drake-featured "100," "New York, New York," and "LA," featuring Snoop Dogg, will.i.am., and Fergie. While many might scoff at will.i.am. in 2015, these features are surprisingly strong, and worth listening.
Then, there is The Documentary 2.5, the second album in this major project; but can it really be considered an album? Well, in some parts it surely can and other parts can remind a listener of typical mixtape material. For starters, why is this album titled with 2.5? The title alone can make someone feel like their listening to an incomplete project. The Documentary 2 should’ve simply been a double-disc album. Having two separate releases a week apart from one another is overwhelming enough, must each project be different?
With that said, 2.5 definitely starts off strong, with "Magnus Carlsen" and "Crenshaw/808s and Cocaine" featuring the popular newcomer, Anderson .Paak, who made a huge splash on Dr. Dre’s Compton this summer. From there, the solid tracks and the useless ones are spotty all over to say the least. Instead of listening to the entire project, casual listeners may want to cherry pick The Documentary 2.5. So here are the recommended tracks (besides those already listed above): the Nas & will.i.am. featured "The Ghetto," "Gang Related," the Scarface-featured "Last Time You Seen," "Quiks Groove," "Life," and "El Chapo" (which apparently features Skrillex).
When it comes to grading The Documentary 2 and The Documentary 2.5, it’s disappointing to see what could’ve been a much more solid project if these discs were consolidated into one. Sadly, The Game is another artist to fall victim to quantity over quality. Did we really need 37 tracks at once? If select tracks from each project were put together for a sole Documentary 2, we have an album that has the potential to be one of the best of the year, and potentially The Game’s best project since the original Documentary. With all that said, The Documentary 2 is the project out of the two that deserves more attention, although the recommended tracks from 2.5 are not ones that should be ignored.
