While analyzing The Game, I have inspirational artists and music moguls in mind. Just like any other Business. One must research the market before taking flight with a new campaign. In this case, I propose a question about The Game. Not the game we play, but the Hip Hop artist is known as The Game. What Makes The Game more successful than most artists in Hip-Hop?
Like always, every Tuesday I check for all the new releases in film and music. This month was a special one as I came across a new album release from The Game, OKE.
Now before we get knee-deep in the water, THIS IS NOT AN ALBUM REVIEW OR A PRAISE SESSION. Whether you are a fan of his music or not, whether you agree with his character or not, you can’t deny the fact that he has sustained a successful career in a here today gone tomorrow industry.
As I pressed play on the stereo to give the latest release OKE from The Game, I had no expectation. Not all that engaged in the album, my focus was on an intense game of online Madden football via my Xbox. My team was the Jacksonville Jaguars, and if you know anything about football – then you know they flat out suck and I needed heavy concentration. As I finished victoriously, I was nearing the end of the album. I thought to myself “HOW IS THE GAME STILL RELEVANT?” Well, I did my research and here a few facts you may not know about The Game.
This is a mixtape leading to his 6th studio album, the previous 5 are all at the very least certified platinum. That means a million copies for you rookies out there. His debut album sold over five million albums according to Soundscan.
He stars in his own reality show on VH1 “Marring The Game” with his real-life fiancé and children.
Here’s the best part his net worth is over 25 million.
So how did this happen?
All I can think about is he was destined to fail. He came up under the Aftermath family. Just to think that there were several artists under the Aftermath family tree that are now M.I.A. Hitman, Spider, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yao, Ms. Kane, Young Buck, Six Two, Truth Hurts just to name a few; but there is not enough milk carton space to spread the awareness needed to find the artist most of which were hand pick by Dre.
Once again, what made The Game so special?
Were talking about an artist that DRE didn’t have time to focus on, so he sent him to Fifty Cent. Fifty Cent kicked him off of G-unit, and then publicly embarrassed him by stating that he ghostwrote The Game’s first album. To make matters worse, Dr Dre shunned him due to conflict of interest. The Game spent more than two years releasing a series of G-U-NOT mixtapes on the Internet, where every song was aimed at assassinating 50 Cent and other members of the G-Unit. During that period he also allegedly fired gunshots at 50 Cent in front of an L.A. radio station.
Jimmy Lovine (Interscope Boss) didn’t have to release his second album. 50’s word did hold weight. What if The Game’s success was just riding on 50’s coattail? The first two singles released off of Game’s first album did feature 50 Cent on the hook. No one else gets second chances in this business. Jimmy could have said Fifty Cent is a cash cow and were riding with him. Instead, Interscope released five more albums.
The Game’s second album The Doctor’s Advocate was basically a 16-track letter to Dr. Dre. He spent half of the album imitating Dre and claiming to be the heir to his throne. In the title track, The Dr. Advocate, he basically broke down begged Dr. Dre for forgiveness. The track is so emotional he sounds like he was literally in tears as he performed the song.
What do I get from all this you ask?
He could have done what most artists do and joined them in the land field of forgotten rappers. Instead, I see a man with drive and hard work ethic that made very smart business moves.
Where there are ten million fans, you can believe there are twenty million haters and naysayers. By launching an all-out war against 50, through releasing several free mixtapes, and following all that up by selling 5 million records. The Game gathered all of the Fifty Cent haters and made them a part of his core fan base.
Ten years later, he is able to drop an album with very little promotional help from his label and still do numbers. Why? Because his core fan base is there.
I’m not telling you to become a fan. I’m not encouraging you to buy his new album. I’m simply stating that his hip-hop career definitely notes on and analyze.
Now for the mixtape review. He goes back to his Cali roots and features all of the young up and coming Cali rappers, over very west coast underground beats.
The Game’s OKE scores a solid 6 from me.
Rating System
10 – Instant Classic – must have
09 – Great Album just short of classic
08 – Good Album recommend checking out
07 – above average more upside then down
06 – worth the listen, has a few moments
05 – Average, for core fan base will enjoy
04 – you are not missing much if you skip this one
03 – bad album let down
02 – Trash don’t waste your time
01 – everyone involved in this album needs to reevaluate their life
