Review Summary: Hip-pop. Hate it or love it.
Did you buy the deluxe version of
Jesus Piece ? If so, that sucks. Not only did you waste a few extra dollars, you got a worse product. I’m not just talking about the childish album cover that has absolutely no relevance or purpose whatsoever, which is an obvious attempt at trying to gain what pathetic little publicity he could by angering Christians. I’m talking about a complete drop-off from one of mainstream rap’s most meaningful artists: The Game. Yet in reality, Game didn’t drop off, he fell
into the trap of mainstream corporate rap and drowned.
The Game has a history of dumb concept albums. His first album
The Documentary was logically and simply enough: the story of his life in Compton. His second major album
The Doctor’s Advocate , was dedicated to Dr. Dre and associated rappers that gave Game his opportunity (also his best overall album). Meanwhile, Dr. Dre increasingly made music with The Game's X-Partner and rival, 50 cent, and cut ties with The Game. The Game was clearly hurt by Dre’s actions, and was later seen crying about the state of Hip-hop on camera. After having his first born son, he made his third album
L.A.X. an album dedicated to… the airport in L.A.? Clearly this album was wildly unfocused, but The Game’s lyrical talent and ability to adapt to multiple big-name producers was still there. His album preceding
Jesus Piece ,
the R.E.D. Album, then largely succeeded in its concept of being an album ‘REDedicated to Hip-Hop’. The bottom line was The Game never made a bad album, but his albums were always unfocused, or focused around dumb themes.
The Game once separated himself from new-millennium mainstream rappers by having a non-typical subject matter, a crystal-clear voicing of his lyrics and a willingness to go away from the mainstream scene if it meant compromising himself and his music. While his lyrical technicality, craft and wit have increased, his music's message now seriously lacks any point and is like pop music. The Game doesn't
say anything on this album. It sounds like he is making music for his soon-to-be teenage kids. While Kanye West did produce parts of this album, the whole thing stinks of his poppy rap productions that sample some chanting African lady every half second. On the song “Jesus Piece” The Game does his best gay fish imitation and, not surprisingly, the song tries to be political but instead sounds superficial and stupid.
On the best track of the album, "Name Me King",The Game shows he increased his talent, but throughout the album he also demonstrates that he fell off the life path that once guided his unfocused music above overall mediocrity and into the mainstream rap Hall of Fame. Game set out to make an album with a theme so grand that he got himself in over his head and then just filled-in-the-blanks with typical corporate rap trash. Unwilling to abandon his idea, he tried to pull a John Lennon and said he was bigger than Jesus, or at least bigger than every church that has ever produced millions of devout followers that spent their entire lives researching Jesus. Apparently the feeling he gets while getting sucked off by a stripper is enough to overrule these dissenting voices in the Game’s conscience, but it’s definitely not enough to be considered anything but mediocre music from a mainstream artist that is desperate enough for buzz to betray his original followers.
