A few changes set The Game’s second solo effort, “The Doctor’s Advocate,” apart from his 2005 classic debut, “The Documentary.” First and foremost, is the absence of his role model/former executive producer Dr. Dre, who jumped ship after Game refused to take his orders and call off his beef with 50 Cent and the rest of the G-Unit. Similarly, nowhere on the disc’s 16 tracks will the listener find any contributions from former collaborators Eminem or the aforementioned G-Unit. In fact, Game has been dropped from Aftermath entirely and is now housed at Interscope-offshoot Geffen Records.
Dre or not, this album boasts top-shelf production from some of the finest beatsmiths the industry has to offer. Just Blaze contributes two tracks (the Public Enemy-nodding “Remedy” and the epic “Why You Hate the Game), Dre-protege Scott Storch chips in a pair (bouncy lead single “Let’s Ride (Strip Club)” and the 808-heavy “Too Much”) and Kanye West and Swizz Beatz each throw in a track (the video-vixen admonishing “Wouldn’t Get Far” and “Scream On ‘Em,” respectively).
The producer most would figure the least capable of cooking up classic G-Funk, Black Eyed Peas’ MC and beatsmith Will I. Am, unveils “Compton,” a rock-hard street anthem powered by the Chicago Gangsters classic breakbeat workout “Gangster Boogie.” It is a track capable of garnering serious love from Billboard and on the block, something not found in the genre since Nas’ “Made You Look” hit the airwaves in 2002.
Backed by Jonathan “J.R.” Rotem’s rich, bottom-heavy drums and ominous piano tinklings on the album’s title cut and centerpiece finds Game sending his hero a heartfelt mea culpa with an attest from Busta Rhymes.
“I never said ‘thank you’ and I took for granted/you let me in your house and made me a part of your family/now I’m eatin’ with you, Eve and Busta Rhymes/I wasn’t star-struck/ I was just glad to be signed/and even though sometimes I run loose/ you still my homeboy, Doc/I’d take a bullet for you,” Game pleads.
Though it may not have the same all-star backing as “The Documentary,” “Doctor’s Advocate” proves that Game will succeed on his own and flourish into one of hip-hop’s last great artists.
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