The Game - L.A.X. Review

Posted by Patrick Robinson on 08.28.2008

L.A.X. - an album dripping with emotion and West Coast goodness. If this is to be Game's final album...it's a damn good one to bow out on.

After releasing The Documentary in 2005 through the G-Unit label, many began to see a breakout star within the group. Indeed, many proclaimed Game to be the “Rebirth” of the West Coast. With a gravelly voice that was still able to show emotion, and a somewhat old-school West Coast mentality, it was no wonder that his debut album went Double Platinum.

His second album however, Doctor’s Advocate released towards the end of 2006, showed a very different Game than that of the previous year. Ousted from G-Unit, and seemingly alienated from his mentor and friend, Dr. Dre, the album proved that Game could hold his own on an album without the help of 50 Cent or Dre’s production, however it was clear that those factors had certainly helped on his debut album.

So where does that leave us now? It’s 2008 and Game has reportedly reconciled his differences with Dre, spent some time in jail (albeit an extremely short time) and has announced that this is possibly his last album. There were rumors of another album after this, titled Diary Of Compton that would have solely featured West Coast Producers and rappers however, in a recent interview, Game suggested that L.A.X. will indeed be his last album. With that in mind, is L.A.X. a swan song for Game or is he going to leaving a bad taste in his wake?



Tracks

1. Intro Ft. DMX
2. LAX Files
3. State Of Emergency Ft. Ice Cube
4. Bulletproof Diaries Ft. Raekwon
5. My Life Ft. Lil Wayne
6. Money
7. Cali Sunshine Ft. Bilal
8. Ya Heard Ft. Ludacris
9. Hard Liquor (Interlude)
10. House Of Pain
11. Gentleman’s Affair Ft. Ne-Yo
12. Let Us Live Ft. Chrisette Michele
13. Touchdown Ft. Raheem DeVaughn
14. Angel Ft. Common
15. Never Can Say Goodbye Ft. LaToiya Williams
16. Dope Boys Ft. Travis Barker
17. Game’s Pain Ft. Keyshia Cole
18. Letter To The King Ft. Nas
19. Outro Ft. DMX

Let’s get this out of the way early, there are a couple of weaker tracks on the album. You may disagree, but I’ve always believed that Game has the ability to do gangsta rap quite well, aided in no small part by his vocal abilities. The poor tracks on L.A.X. therefore, are the ones where he delves into a more R&B mode, namely on “Gentleman’s Affair” and “Touchdown”. Whilst Ne-Yo’s been on a roll as of late with guest appearances, he can’t save this song from a bland beat and clichéd lyrics from Game. Likewise, “Touchdown” is saved from total mediocrity thanks to Raheem DeVaughn’s vocals, and whilst the beat is a step above, lyrically the song doesn’t fit within the main flow of the album. After you’ve been bombarded with some of the best West Coast rap for the most part of the album, you don’t want to hear Game talking about undressing himself or his woman.

In terms of production, “Money” and “Cali Sunshine” fall into the ‘not that bad, but could have been much better’ category.

Also, if someone can explain DMX’s appearances on the Intro and Outro tracks, I’d appreciate it. They really don’t seem necessary, and sound more like a Cut / Paste job from a DMX leftover album than adding to mood of L.A.X..

Now that that’s out of the way, I can safely say that this is a damn good album.

From the get go, we’re presented with “LAX Files”, a track produced by JR Rotem that uses a light piano loop as Game raps about what it means to live in Los Angeles. One thing to note is that he uses double rhyming a little throughout this album, but it really is toned down compared to his previous album, and the guest appearances between that album and L.A.X.. It pops up a little on this track, but it suits his flow so it’s not a distraction.

You next have a trio of tracks that could easily be called the best on the album depending on your preference. “State Of Emergency” is another ode to California, produced once again by JR Rotem (he’s had two good tracks thus far, why couldn’t “Gentleman’s Affair” be this good?) with Ice Cube on the hook. It would have been nice to see Cube drop a proper verse, but he does add some nice ‘authenticity’ to the track and it’s a damn catchy hook to boot.

Speaking of catchy hooks, Lil Wayne is also regulated to hook duty on “My Life”. Backed by a somber beat from Cool & Dre, Game raps about the problems in his life, issues in the world today and even seeing himself in hell:

”Walk through the gates of hell, see my Impala parked in front
With the high beams on, me and the devil sharing chronic blunts
Listening to The Chronic album, playing backwards
Shooting at pictures of Don Imus for target practice”

“Bulletproof Diaries” may take a couple of listens to grow on you in terms of the beat, but it’s suitably menacing as Raekwon and Game rip the track with some energetic gangsta / Mafioso rap. Raekwon and Game utilize an ‘in – out’ flow style that Jadakiss and Styles P. often use both in the hook and the verses, in particular, Raekwon’s main verse will have you wanting Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 even more by the end.

The guest verses are also quite a highlight on L.A.X.. The aforementioned Ice Cube, Raekwon and Lil Wayne verses work along with an aggressive verse from Ludacris on “Ya Heard”. Common drops by on “Angel” with a very Common-ish verse (and when has that ever been a bad thing?), Nas also pops up on “Letter To The King”, a dedication to Martin Luther King Jr. and Travis Barker adds some heavy percussion on “Dope Boys”.

Lyrically, Game’s stepped his game up (pun partially intended) with could possibly be his last offering significantly. As I mentioned earlier, the double rhyming is all but gone and the name-dropping has become more effective in terms of placement. Rather than just throw a bunch of names out, Game utilizes the names properly, particularly to emphasize his West Coast heritage. There’s also been improvements to his flow too, there’s also an almost dead-on impression of Nas on “Let Us Live”, probably not intended, but I had to double check myself when I first heard the track.

Possibly the best track on the album though, and one Game will most likely be remembered for by those that listen to L.A.X., is “Never Can Say Goodbye”. LaToiya Williams provides some hook work as Game retells the last hours of 2Pac, Biggie and Eazy-E’s lives. Particularly eerie is hearing Game utilizing a flow similar to one that each of the three used during their lifetime. Even MORE eerie is the fact that he changes his vocal inflections to emulate some common phrases you’d hear from the three.

The 411: If this is indeed to be Game’s swan song in hip-hop, it’s a damn fine one. Game finally appears comfortable with his role as a West Coast rapper. Backed by powerful production and lyrics dripping with emotion and West Coast flavor, it’s undeniably one of the most enjoyable albums I’ve heard this year. If you’re a West Coast fan, you’d be insane not to pick this one up and even if you’re not predominantly a fan of the West, you still ought to give this a listen. It may have taken three albums to do it, but Game finally carved an identity for himself.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]