The Game is one of the most ferocious beasts on a microphone in the game today. Time after time, mixtape after mixtape he has proved that if nothing else, he is a great rapper. While currently caught up in a beef of sorts with The God MC, that of course being Jay-Z, Game found time to remind us why he is the only survivor of a beef with 50, a split with Dre and Em, and constant industry drama.

R.E.D., the new street album from Game is straight up gangsta shit. No hipster raps, no singing, and definitely no tight jeans. The standout track here is “Champion”, a Just Blaze produced joint that lets Game  tell us why he will be around for a minute and why he has lasted as long as he has. Another banger is the Snoop Dogg assisted “On The Block” featuring both a verse and a hook from the West Coast Godfather. “Bang Along” is a slower song where Game tells us about growing up around his way with vivid detail, even allowing us a glimpse into his first relationship.

It seems like on this one The Game just stuck to what he does best, rapping his ass off. Track after track don’t expect big hooks and sing along R&B collabos. Instead you’ll get lines about drive by’s and hiding crack in LA Dodger hats in his signature gravel voice. But it works all the same.

Which is partly what makes this tape so dope. On the other hand it is kind of more of the same from him. My only other gripe with this is that this ‘album’ featured some old songs which we’ve all heard before.  All in all a great effort from Game, now let’s just see if he is still “Champion” after this whole mess with Hov…