Grant JonesThere can’t be a person in employment who sighs more than The Game’s publicist. In 2024 alone, the Compton rapper has had an eventful few months, both personally and professionally. The obvious one that many rap fans will be familiar with is his diss towards Rick Ross which he released right at the peak of the Kendrick vs. Drake battle. Not only was this immediately ignored and dismissed as Game trying to get some attention, but it made many think he had aligned himself with Drake, the inevitable loser. This wasn’t helped when he was posting on social media, playing Drake songs in the background. It reminded me of his attack on Eminem, which Em’ didn’t bother responding to. Ross, similarly, didn’t bother responding. Game then further goaded Ross by setting up a lapdance with his ex-partner on a trashy podcast. This need for attention was further illustrated a few months ago when he joined Joe Budden’s podcast and threw shots at J Cole, and pleaded for someone to get in a battle with him so fans “can see what a proper diss record looks like“. For some of us, he’s become a pathetic example of the modern rapper, desperate for attention. The fact he’s a 44 year old platinum-selling artist, only heightens these emotions of “dude, what the f***”. He was asked in 2022 by HipHopDX about who he preferred (Drake or Kendrick) and responded: “I would just like to be a fan of the moment and sit back and watch two of the greatest artists of all time have a go”. He did the exact opposite. This is why his diss tracks are ignored – his words have started to mean nothing.
It didn’t have to be this way. “The Documentary 2” and “1992” were both well-received and the former in particular is a great rap album that deserved better. Since then though, he’s gone off of the boil which I went into detail two years ago with the “Drillmatic” review. There was an EP released on New Year’s Day this year called “Paisley Dreams” that was recorded in one evening (never the flex artists think it is). More recently, he released “Time”, an even more bizarre release, because it arrived with no promotion and no critical coverage. Many of the songs don’t even feature Game, and aesthetically it bears no relation to his Compton style of brash, big-budget instrumentation.
Instead, we are welcomed by Woodboy Gee, a generic rapper that brings nothing new or interesting to the table. I can’t find anything about him outside of links to social media profiles and streaming platforms. No Wikipedia, no website. By the time we get to hear Game on “Plug”, it’s unclear if it’s him. It might be the mix, but he sounds quieter, tired and just, not the same Game.
“Rent Due” is more lively with CHILLR holding the fort, but it’s crying out for a Game verse. Most of this album is, to be honest, and if you bought the CD, you’ll likely feel majorly disappointed because this isn’t a Game album at all.
The tracklisting is misleading. Game is only on “Plug”, “I Feel Like A Dope Boy” and “Control”; this may as well be a Woodboy Gee record. The only Game solo track we get here is “Control”, which also feels poorly mixed. It’s the lone success though, but even at his most heartfelt you can’t help but be dubious:
“Cheatin’ on my bitch and I can’t lie, I feel like shit
‘Cause I’d rather die than see her ride another dick
Twenty missed calls, I gotta go, let’s make it quick
Told her I was in the studio with God’s son and Hit
Pussy was so fire, shit, I almost let it slip
Wishin’ I just came through the door, got some head and dipped
Lot of shit be on my conscience like Jermaine Cole
I feel like him and Kendrick Duckworth got the same soul, same goals
Wish my life was more like them niggas, relaxed and cool
And they still with the women that they dated back in school
I can’t be tied down, so I smash and move
But every good pussy comes with a bag of shoes
One day I’m gon’ settle down and just pick the one
But today, I fled the scene of a hit-and-run
I could blame my daddy for my player way
But he dead, so it’s this until I fade away”
It’s an interesting verse, and captures an underlying sadness that Game should tap into more if he wants his music to be taken seriously, in a way his off-mic persona hasn’t been. Jealousy and envy are perfectly normal emotions and hearing him name Cole and Kendrick here in such an honest manner, hidden away as the final track on a Woodboy Gee project, is truly baffling. These rare moments are what fans cling to, in the hope of a genuine, guard-down project from one of rap’s biggest names of the last two decades. Instead, we’re treated to clownish behavior and poorly judged musical output.
I feel like I’ve gone on a personal attack on The Game throughout this write-up, but I’m only pointing out why it’s so difficult to engage with his raps when they are so regularly drowned out by shenanigans. It also doesn’t help that he’s only on 3 tracks. Game can rap with the best of them, we know this, and bad albums like this only highlight why the mixtape infrastructure benefited some artists more than others. This should have been a mixtape PRESENTED by Game. Game’s catalogue is starting to get weaker with each release, and listening to his music, let alone writing about it, is becoming harder to justify. Rather than trying to stick his nose into other rappers’ business, he needs to get his house in order before his musical legacy unravels further, and those of us who have been fans since the start eventually have enough and stop checking for him entirely. It’s clear many have already.