I’m just gonna say it: Game has never been, and likely never will be, a good rapper. He was a product that, at least while at Aftermath, was marketed really, really damn well. Thank 50 for that, ever the businessman. Because of the flawless production present on The Documentary, people seemed to just assume he was the new MC. Yet, his clumsy flow has just never been able to stand on its own. See his career post-Aftermath for proof. Now, word is he’s coming home to Aftermath. If this leaked track is any testament, don’t look forward to much of a return.
I’ve always been a Dre fan. I don’t give a damn if he doesn’t write his own lyrics, The Chronic and 2001 are absolute masterpieces of production, and his work for (and discoveries of) other artists has largely been infallible. The man has a real claim at being “The” rap godfather. However – especially considering the advanced aging of the game – the guy’s getting old. His beats are starting to sound like slightly tired attempts at sounding how he’s sounded before.
“Phantom” is a perfect example: the low glide of the beat could’ve appeared as a B-side on any Dre production from years past. It certainly shouldn’t be album material in 2010. To be fair, the beat’s not all that bad, it’s just not all that good. Dre obviously still has good songs in him – see his work on Raekwon’s last effort. He may have just looked over Game’s rap sheet for this song and thought, “fuck it.” Can’t blame him: the track is absurd. It belongs on a Weird Al album, as an original song.
The track features Robin Thicke, who busts out a boring chorus. But more importantly, what does Game do? He ends every. single. line. with “Phantom.” It’s all about how cool he is driving… in his Phantom. How he gets women… in his Phantom. How he takes calls from Dre… in his phantom. I honestly don’t think I can impress upon you in any greater way as to how bad this track is. Is Game just too busy to write real lyrics? He likely somehow thought using the same rhyme for an entire song was a display of skill, unique. I suppose I can be famous now, I’m gonna go write a whole album’s worth of these, it’ll probably take five minutes.
