When The Game’s Aftermath debut The Documentary came out it was one of the most anticipated albums to come out at the time. A lot of things happened since then. The Game is still an anticipated artists but he’s had falling outs with 50 Cent/G-Unit and fights with various rappers. What I remember most from The Documentary was that the beats was dope (Dre did a few) and The Game namedropped more than any rapper has ever done before. That album, just like the sequel, had a lot of big name features. For The Documentary 2, Game is reunited with Dre, Scott Storch and Just Blaze which is a very good sign.
- Intro
- On Me feat. Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar has stepped into the rap game with a new style of hiphop. This style has influenced a lot of artists and songs. Even Dr Dre has adopted it on the Straight Outta Compton soundtrack. Here, Game takes a shot at it and he almost sounds like Kendrick when he spit. As an old school cat I was skeptical at first but I have to say that the style itself grew on me. This track has a tight beat without alot of instruments added to it, but it works and I can definitely feel it. - Step Up feat. Dej Loaf & Sha Sha
The Game’s trying to go all Nas on this track. With a New York inspired beat he talks about honor among thieves and the rap game. It’s been done before, but I’ll stop the hating there. - Don’t Trip feat. Ice Cube, Dr Dre & Will.I.Am
An other hot producer at the moment (or more like the past couple of years) is Will.I.Am. The beat’s once again a little naked, which I guess is hot right now, but it’s got more of a Will.I.Am touch. Cube and Dre are reunited once again but this time it’s no monster hit. Nice filler, but I would have loved to hear Game, Cube and Dre on a classic Dr Dre(TM) beat… - Standing On Ferrais feat. Diddy
The Game and Diddy… I guess Game do want him singing, dancing in his videos and so on… Anyway. A jazz inspired beat with Game spitting some real nice verses and Diddy making sounds in the background and talking in the outro. This is a filler with a guest star. - Dollar And A Dream feat. AB Soul
Dollar And A Dream is an other soulistic track. The Game sounds more and more like Nas voice wise, but lyrically he’s still the same Game with one exeption; he’s not dropping names every other bar. AB Soul and Game reflects over what has happened since The Documentary. It’s a pretty nice track. - Made In America feat. Mvrcus Blvck
Made In America is like a continuation of Dollar And A Dream. The track even starts off with the line “Dollar and a dream”. The Game again refers to Nas whom seems to be his new favorite rapper nowdays. The track is soulistic and nice to listen to, but I’m missing a club banger this far on the album. - Hashtag feat. Jelly Roll
As a reviewer on 30rap.com I admittedly like the 90’s style of hiphop and Jelly Roll is the 90’s west coast version of Lil’ Jon. Beat wise this track starts off kind of naked and builds, just like a Lil Jon production… - Circles feat. Q-Tip, Eric Bellinger & Sha Sha
On Circles, The Game is really displaying that he has evolved as a rapper. From namedropping one-liners and battle rap he can now do stories and conversations on tracks. The slow jam stylish beat changes after half of the track when the guest rappers go on and the track is all in all a really tight track. - Uncle Skit
- Dedicated feat. Future & Sonyae
An other slow jam shows that this album is really different from the first Documentary album. Dedicated is mellow and I can see this being played in the background at restaurants or at coffee shops in Amsterdam. I need to try that next time I’m in Amsterdam… - Bitch You Ain’t Shit
Game really sounds like Nas on this track. His voice changed up a little bit from the first Documentary. In fact, The Game’s early JT stuff sounds more like this. I guess he evolved as a rapper which is not wrong. And besides, I love Nas as a rapper. You could think that Bitch You Ain’t Shit would be a raw diss track a la N.W.A, but it’s actually a mellow diss to bitches in general. Not too bad, but not what I expected. - Summertime feat. Jelly Roll
Game is making elevator music now. Is this really Jelly Roll on the track? Dude sounds nothing like on Hashtag. - Mula feat. Kanya West
The Game and Kanye West seems to be on eachothers albums all the time. I bet Kanya would take credit for Game’s success if asked about it too. I was never a big Kanya fan but I admit he’s a dope producer. In the words of Ice Cube, he should “stock to producing” in my opinion. Either way, this is an other mellow track that is not really standing out. It’s kind of short too, since the last minutes is an outro. - The Documentary 2
The title track is the only up-tempo track on the album, with production that sounds like a mix between Kendrick Lamar and Dr. Dre. The output is really tight and I would say this is the best track of the album. This should be a single. - New York, New York
New York, New York is not a sequel to Doggpound’s track with the same name. It’s more of a reflection on police brutality and racism in society. At the end of the track, Game dedicates the song to Stephanie Moseley who was murdered in a murder-suicide case where Earl Hayes was the shooter. Game was signed to Aftermath at the same time as Earl Hayes and offer his condolences to her family and expresses that he never saw it coming. - 100 feat. Drake
100 is the first single off the album and while it is no club banger it’s a good representative track over hiphop today. The “New West” sound and Drake. It can’t be more 2015 than that. I guess Drake and Game will attract attention, but I’m not really feeling that this is a single that will take the album to the next level. - Just Another Day
On Just Another Day, The Game reflects on how he was signed to Aftermath and what’s been happening since then. He remembers specific days in his life and reminisce over Eazy E, Nate Dogg and other fallen soldiers from the history ofthe rap game. - LA feat. Snoop Dogg, Will.I.Am & Fergie
Just like the title implies, the track is a tribute to Los Angeles. The production is similar to the soft soulistic stuff that we’ve previously heard on the album but here there is a more pop-oriented hook and the drums is a little harder than before. It’s a nice little track, but I’m not impressed. As on any other platinum artists album, Snoop makes a guest appearance. The Game enters the track late and makes it a little rawer with a few bars about Compton and gangs of L.A.
When reviewing a sequel album like The Documentary 2, it’s impossible not to compare it to the original. All in all, this album is much more mellow and soulistic than the first album. While The Documentary had Dr. Dre trademarked bangers, The Documentary 2 has adopted the new style of west coast hiphop that we can hear on Kendrick Lamars albums, Dre’s Straight Outta Compton and so on. As a reviewer on 30rap.com I am more into the 90’s sound so it’s a little disappointment for me personally, but I get it. I get the greatness of the new sound and I get that hiphop is evolving, or recycling an old sound with new influences. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you should check this album out. If you do know what I’m talking about and you like it, you should check this album out. If you are looking for a Documentary, Chronic 2001 or Get Rich or Die Trying type of album, this is not the album for you.
I rate this album 3 out of 5. It’s a nice album but I doubt I’ll remember it in 10 years. Best track is the title track and other than that I can imagine playing this album in the background of a house party or something like that.