By shelz.

For a while, it looked like Game was doing anything and everything but releasing The R.E.D. Album.  At least a million tedious mixtape bars have passed since LAX and his focus was beginning to burn a hole into the back of Jay-Z’s head instead of a mic in a booth somewhere.

But appearances can be deceiving.  In between tossing random jabs at the god emcee and pissing of the local sheriff’s office, Game has managed to create a solid (albeit long) project.

The R.E.D. Album is a cohesive (and that’s amazing with it weighing in at 21 tracks) vision of California that embraces the chaos in both the streets and Game’s personal life. Dr. Dre serves as narrator, chronicling stepping stones in the development of our young protagonist, as Game sways wildly from arrogance to nihilism to skewed mayhem-bred mores.

The production is handled by a slew of top-notch beat makers including Cool & Dre, Mars, Pharell Williams, DJ Premier and DJ Khalil.  The men behind the boards start by meshing sinister atmospherics with churning strings and melancholy brass to create a cinematic vibe.  “The City” is a perfect example with Cool & Dre’s smart use of the intro Fire Inc’s “Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young.” The vocal loop proclaims the City of Angels angel-less over a menacing blend of piano, digital ambiance and choral background vocals while Game and Kendrick Lamar explain life in a world short on miracles. Pre-millennium Cali funk of “Drug Test” rides along with the more pop-ish songs like the Chris Brown assisted “Pot of Gold.”  Even in its sonic schizophrenia, most of it works and Game finds himself with a good foundation with which to create.

The overview of Jayceon’s life is pretty comprehensive. Gang life and loyalty is touted on “Red Nation,” another Cool & Dre creation, that serves as perfect anthem for those who found Blood family ties after the biologicals didn’t bother. An army of vocals and drunken horns back both Game and Lil Wayne’s proclamations of dedication.

The inevitable ode to crime and all of its accoutrements can be found in songs like “Ricky,” a DJ Khali dedication to Stanley Clark’s “Black on Black Crime” from Boyz In The Hood.  “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” is an amusing look at the bullshit that goes on during police interrogations.  “Heavy Artillery” is a confession of sorts from Game, Rick Ross and Beans about why they are hot, you are not and why you should always be very afraid. Beans is as menacing as ever. Game gives a rundown of the cat and mouse he performed with his mom when he was a youthful hardhead on “Momma Knows.”  The lyrics sounds eons more sincere than any of Game’s over the top braggadocio and The Neptunes-produced track is the sweetest slice of music on the album.

Ladies and the dichotomy of thought they engender are sprinkled all throughout the project.  “Good Girls Gone Bad” starts as a dedication to Natalie Holloway and other women worthy of respect but slowly meanders into a suggestion that if you want some girls panties, it’s totally okay to ply her with wine. The last pair in the collection of songs for ladies, “Hello” and “All The Way Gone” host Mario and Lloyd.  They aren’t bad songs, however their proximity to each other (back to back to back) smoothes the grit of the album a little too much.

The rest is all chest-thumping conceit.  Game is top five dead or alive.  He doesn’t make it rain, he makes it Katrina. He’s bad ass enough to snatch Satan’s fire, your dinner and Dwight Howard’s dame. And he has a whole nation bathed in crimson to back him up. In “Speakers On Blast” Game gives props to the red family then disses your lyrical appeal, haters and every chick who was a bit too easy for him.

The R.E.D. Album is good and Game makes it work his way; refusing to eliminate points of contention from albums past.  He still name drops.  He still treads water in a sea of features.  There’s an abundance of gang talk and undeserved egotism. He even allows better bars than his own to stand front and center. It doesn’t bode well for conventional Hip-Hop review, but when all the nitpicking is done, he still manages a cinematic and head-nodding ride through Los Angeles from the viewpoint of one of its most compelling native sons.

Game-Feat-Kendrick-Lamar-The-City.mp3  Out of 5

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