Posted: Monday 25th August 2008

The Game (known as Jayceon Terrell Taylor to his parents) originally rose to fame as part of 50 Cent's rap outfit G-Unit. After a very public outfall with 50 Cent, The Game parted ways with G-Unit and focused full-time on his solo career. 2005 album The Documentary sold over 5.2 million copies and sophomore album Doctor's Advocate sold a respectable 1.5 million copies worldwide. Third album L.A.X is hoping to follow the success of The Game's previous albums.

The first thing you notice about L.A.X, as with most rap albums, is the reliance on guest vocalists. Over the course of the album The Game enlists 11 guest artists including Ne-Yo, Ice Cube, Ludacris, Lil' Wayne and Bilal. We always think that this detracts from the artists abilities but on L.A.X the guests complement the tracks rather than overpower them. Opening with the spoken-word track Intro, Earl Simmons thanks God for looking after The Game. It's as bad as it sounds and we'd recommend skipping this. Thankfully it's pretty short and the album kicks into gear with L.A.X Files, a piano driven mid-tempo number that shows a gentler side to The Game than we're used to seeing.

L.A.X is described as 'highly controversial' by The Game himself but we're not too sure we agree. The subject matter is no different to any other rap album. Gentleman's Affair featuring Ne-Yo is the usual boastful sex track that every rapper has, My Life explores the violence of the rap genre whilst Letter To The King featuring Nas discusses racism and the people who have changed history in their fight for equality.

The best tracks on L.A.X are those that sound a little different from the usual rap records. Cali Sunshine featuring Bilal combines middle-eastern rhythms with hip-hop beats for a fresh sound whilst Angel harks back to old-skool grooves and utilises Common's distinctive raps to set it apart from the rest of the set.

L.A.X is a bit of a frustrating record. Fans of The Game will love it regardless of what we say but our issue stems from the fact that the record isn't any different from the other rap records out there. The Game is considered to be one of the leading rappers in the industry so it's a bit disappointing that he doesn't have anything truly groundbreaking to offer. He may think he's releasing insightful and controversial music but honestly it just pales into the background of the rap genre.