The Game

If you're in the Army, hustle for the Mafia, or rap in G-Unit (which is like some strange collision of the two), you always follow orders and never bite the hand that feeds you. If you even remotely follow hip hop, you probably know that the Game has violated both of those directives recently, refusing to play the role of 50 Cent's G-Unit bitch-boy and publicly lashing out at his bullet-riddled former boss. But before his bloody G-Unit meltdown, the Game was involved in a similarly messy breakup with local hip hop mogul JT the Bigga Figga. Preceding their fallout, JT recruited the Game for his own Get Low Records, and West Coast Resurrection chronicles the Game's time in the bay. Unfortunately, the Game has a tendency to recycle gangsta clichés, which fill both this disc as well as his G-Unit debut, The Documentary, the main difference being that his flow is even more stilted here -- JT the Bigga Figga, Sean T, and the album's other guests generally outshine him. While the CD is decent, thanks in no small part to JT's excellent production, the Game fails to prove why he's worth either the hype or the hassle.