This review is intended for Disc 1 of The Game’s sixth studio album, The Documentary 2. Disc 2 review to come.

In between The Documentary and its sequel, which dropped a decade later on Oct. 9, 2015, the positive reviews have been few and far between for The Game. It appeared as if the remainder of his discography, in similar manners to Nas and rival 50 Cent, would always be compared to his debut LP. In late 2014, The Game dropped Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf, an album that provided mediocrity, as well as stereotypes that have begun to ring true for the MC: too many name-drops, and sounding too much like the rappers he featured on his tracks.

However, The Game sounds very focused for a majority of this album. From the get go, he comes ready to take care of business, outlasting fellow Compton MC Kendrick Lamar on the first track, “On Me”. Both rappers sound very comfortable over a very simplistic instrumental, with its sample of Erykah Badu’s “On and On” and lack of typical hip-hop production. From there we experience a smooth transition into “Step Up”, in which The Game channels his inner Notorious B.I.G. He deepens his voice and even uses much of the same rhyme-scheme as the late Biggie Smalls. Sha Sha, who also appears on “Circles”, provides a soulful hook. Although Dej Loaf repeating “You know I know where you live at, boy” seems rather useless, we are off to a strong start.

“Don’t Trip” features a beat so West Coast it could only be spat upon by Ice Cube and Dr. Dre. Surprisingly, the instrumental is produced by Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am. In fact, one could say that hip-hop hasn’t heard anything this reminiscent of the region since Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d. City in 2012, and before that, it’s difficult to find other sounds. The Biggie influence is again prevalent in “Standing on Ferraris”, which samples “Kick in the Door” from his 1997 double-disc album Life After Death, released after the rapper’s death. To note, Bad Boy figurehead P. Diddy is “featured”, which really means rambling about anything over the beat. Diddy rants have to be taken with a grain of salt; they’re bad because they’re supposed to be bad. You either love a good Diddy rant or you hate it for ruining good songs.

The crown jewel of the album is “Dollar and a Dream”, which sounds like an addition to the “Dollar and a Dream” series by J. Cole. Ironically, Cole was supposed to spit a verse for the track, but The Game chose Top Dawg Ent. rapper Ab-Soul in order to stay with the West Coast vibes. Ab-Soul and The Game sing on one of the most soulful hooks of the year over Cool & Dre’s booming instrumental. Soulo sounds motivated and hungry, and sounds nice over this production.

From there, the quality starts to take a dip. “Made in America” is nice lyrically, but is a huge turn down in terms of energy. With this Bongo instrumental brings a calming vibe, so does The Game and Marcus Black. The Cali rapper admits his faults regarding his long withstanding beef against former labelmate 50 Cent. It’s not a bad track, but it does effect the mood. We get a jumble of emotions, with poor man’s Lil’ Jon, Jelly Roll, screaming over “Hashtag” and the react/contort of Sha Sha and The Game on “Circles”. Also on this track is Q-Tip, who feels very out of place. That feature, like the following “Uncle” skit, is quite unnecessary. Future ends his streak of successful guest appearances with a lovey-dovey hook on “Dedicated”. The Game flows nice, but the subject matter is much to be desired. The next song, which will be referred to as “Trick You Ain’t Ish” is outright terrible. The subject matter, practically demeaning women, is awful. I cringe throughout the whole track.

Things pick back up with “Summertime”, a surprisingly chilled out beat from Mike WiLL Made It. Again, Jelly Roll provides some sort of musical concoction with the bridge that is much more appealing than his appearance on “Hashtag”. Rather than screaming, Jelly Roll is very soulful and adds to the flavor. This is marks the beginning of a strong finish. “Mula” in which Mr. Young’s influence Kanye West moans horribly on an unautotuned hook, is a strong technical point for The Game. He flows very nicely over this odd instrumental.

I love DJ Premier production, and the title track adds to his catalog of great beats. “The Documentary 2” is The Game at his most vicious, aggressive. He sounds so nice over the dark pianos and very open snares. The energy is apparent. “New York, New York” is a heartfelt moment for the rapper, again bringing up racism and religion. The track is dedicated to the late Stephanie Mosley, who was murdered by husband and former Aftermath rapper Earl Hayes. “100” the album’s only single, has some of the nicest production on the album. The Drake feature is lackluster, but The Game flows well.

I have gripes about the two closing tracks, “Just Another Day” and “L.A.”. “Just Another Day” is NOT the same track The Game rapped over on Dr. Dre’s Compton album. Everyone buzzed that “The Game had returned”, and when I saw “Just Another Day” on the tracklisting for The Documentary 2, I was ultimately disappointed. While The Documentary 2‘s version of the song is more introspective, the instrumental is somewhat boring throughout the verses. The hook is very nice, although I am unsure of who sings it. “L.A.” adds Snoop Dogg into the large bowl of contributions, as well as will.i.am and Fergie providing very pop flavored vocals on the hook. What bothers me is that the track feels like a Black Eyed Peas song that features The Doggfather rather than a Game song. God, the hook lyrically is terrible. I’m going to get a cavity with all this bubblegum.

In total, the album itself is nice, and The Game sounds much more focused than in the past. It’s a nice homage to the original Documentary, but doesn’t surpass it by any means. I am excited to hear The Documentary 2.5 and other ventures by the Compton representative.