The Game & Lil Wayne

在商业上初获成功的个人处子作《The Documentary》发行还不满两年的时候，美国西海岸新一代说唱狂人The Game带来了他的第二张全新个人专辑《Doctor's Advocate》。在发行第一周内，《The Documentary》的单周销量达到35万8千张，轻松获得本周Billboard 200专辑榜的冠军。虽然这个销量成绩在如今日益萧条的唱片市场中已经可以算得上是非常突出了，但与The Game去年初发行的《The Documentary》相比还真是相差不少。2005年1月，《The Documentary》在上市首周的销量曾达到58万7千张。
去年，《The Documentary》出色的商业成绩使得The Game成了当年美国说唱届表现最为突出的一位新生代的歌手。除了反复拿着自己当年混黑帮，挨枪子的经历显摆之外，The Game的成名还得感谢美国Hip-Hop届一位举足轻重的人物----Dr.Dre，正是Dr.Dre发现了人生经历与50 Cent颇为相似的The Game，并将他带进了美国Hip-Hop圈。今年年初，由于决定了要和以50 Cent为首G-Unit彻底决裂，The Game离开了将他捧红的Aftermath/G-Unit，转投到了Geffen Records的门下，打算走自己的路。虽然与50 Cent的矛盾早已经不可调和，但The Game表示他并没有忘记“恩师”Dr.Dre。早在几个月前，The Game在谈到这张新专辑的时候就说过，这是一张献给Dr.Dre的唱片。
尽管The Game的这张专辑也不再有Dr.Dre的协助，但是在这张专辑中与他合作的制作阵容与嘉宾阵容都依然堪称是星光闪耀。坎耶·维斯特（Kanye West），黑眼豆豆（Black Eyed Peas）组合的Will.I.Am，斯科特·斯托奇（Scott Storch）这三位制作高手都在这张专辑的制作人名单当中，而The Game自己也兼职执行制作。客串演唱的嘉宾也包括有Snoop Dogg，马丽·J·布里奇（Mary J.Blige），纳斯（Nas），Busta Rhymes，Xzibit和劳伦·希尔（Lauren Hill）等美国当今说唱，R&B乐界的多位一线大腕。此外，制作人Kanye West和Will.I.Am也都在本张专辑中助阵演唱。
细心的歌迷不难发现，这张《Doctor's Advocate》的封面与上张《The Documentary》是非常相似的，除了底色之外，两张封面最大的不同之处也只有轮胎的个数了。从这张《Doctor's Advocate》的内容上看，可以说也是与《The Documentary》变化不大。虽然在上张专辑中已经大力标榜了他的“传奇人生”，但本性和50 Cent一样嚣张的The Game这一次仍在乐此不疲的讲着他那个白粉与枪眼交织的故事。首支单曲《it's okay (one blood)》是The Game对自己童年的怀念，歌曲中的采样用的是他儿时非常喜欢的一首雷鬼歌曲，Junior Reid的《One Blood》的片断。而由Scott Storch制作的《too much》可以算作是这张专辑中稍有新意的单曲之一，类似Disco的节奏是这张专辑少有的亮点之一。
如果刚刚出道的The Game老拿以前在道儿上混的经历说事是为了配合《The Documentary》的宣传而做秀的话，那么如今这个已经得到了歌迷和评论界承认的The Game就变得变本加厉，更加口无遮拦了。就在这张专辑正式发行前不久，他在接受媒体采访时还在一直攻击着50 Cent，并没有见他对所谓的“恩师”Dr.Dre有多么的怀念。
在将近10年前，The Notorious B.I.G.与Tupac之间的矛盾引发了一场美国东西海岸说唱界的大战，那次血淋淋的悲剧事件让所有人至今仍记忆犹新。而在如今这个商业化日益突出的时代，就连说唱界的所谓“矛盾”与“争斗”也都已经沦为了各自专辑的卖点，不能不说这是这个时代的一种悲哀。
by Johnny Loftus
Compton's own the Game (born Jayceon Taylor) issued his debut LP, The Documentary, in 2004 through Aftermath/G Unit/Universal. With everyone from Dr. Dre and 50 Cent to Nate Dogg, Kanye West, and Just Blaze contributing to the album, The Documentary made it clear from the outset that geographic squabbles weren't a part of the Game's agenda. Rapping hadn't been at first, either. Having gotten involved in the drug trade after a rough childhood, it took being shot during a home invasion to cause an epiphany in the Game. Inspired by N.W.A, The Chronic, Doggystyle, and classic albums from 2Pac, the Notorious B.I.G., and Jay-Z, the Game began rapping in 2001 and never looked back. His barbed and bold freestyles caught the ear of Dre, who signed him to Aftermath in 2003 and executive produced his debut. It was delayed a few times, but The Documentary finally dropped in January 2005. Soon the Game and 50 Cent were at war over the former's reluctance to beef with any and every enemy of G-Unit. An amazing amount of freestyles and mixtapes were spawned from both sides, and every time a truce seemed possible, things fell apart at the last minute. Dr. Dre was stuck in the middle, and while he never publicly denounced the Game, he passed on working with the rapper for his next effort. Despite Dre's absence, the Game's sophomore release kept its original title of Doctor's Advocate when it was released in late 2006.