ARTIST: The Game
ALBUM: Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf
LABEL: Blood Money Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: October 14, 2014
Blood Moon Rising
Written by Jeremy Weeden
The Game returns with his latest offering, Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf. The Game has been one of the most underappreciated artists in the hip-hop industry for years. Despite consistently delivering good albums The Game is constantly overlooked. With Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf, The Game looks to continue his run and show that with attention or none, he is still one of the best rappers out.
The album begins with the hard-hitting “Bigger than Me” in which The Game eviscerates the current generation of rappers. While not calling names, he makes his feelings very clear on the state of rap with the lyrics, “I don’t wanna hear it, weak ass lyrics/Crying on the hook, thinking we gone feel it/Ol lost ass niggas, voice crack when you talk ass niggas/Rolling blunts for the boss ass niggas/I came in with Ye, Jeezy and boss ass niggas/Your freshman cover a whole bunch of soft ass niggas/Tampon lyricists evacuate the premises/Mute BET Cyphers cause I don’t wanna hear that shit/May you rest in piss, you fuck niggas /Hey Frank Ocean go ahead and fuck these fuck niggas/Yea they fuck niggas/Ain’t no 3 stacks in your class/Take your Top 10 spot and shove it up your ass, bitch boy.”
“Really” features 2 Chainz, TI, and Yo Gotti. This is another excellent track with hot verses from the featured rappers and The Game shows love for his fellow Compton rappers with the lines, “Don’t fuck with Compton/Don’t fuck with Kendrick, don’t fuck with Problem/Don’t fuck with YG, I’m Mr. Miyagi Daniel San I handle them.”
The next song,“Fuck Yo Feelings,” features Lil Wayne and Chris Brown. Surprisingly, Brown and The Game rap while Lil Wayne sings the hook.
“On One” features Ty Dolla $ and is produced by Isabella Summers of Florence and the Machine. The beat is reminiscent of a DJ Mustard track and could possibly be a future single.
“Married to the Game” features French Montana, Dub, & Sam Hook and is produced by Boi-1da. French Montana delivers an entertaining verse with the lyrics, “Got them Birds, Larry in this motherfucker/OG eyes, Terry in this motherfucker/And you know we legendary in this motherfucker/Doors suicide, Hail Mary in this motherfucker/Montana ask a motherfucker/Show you why I live you need a dictionary out this motherfucker/Yeah, niggas hating out this motherfucker/Got the glove on, Gary in this motherfucker/Delonte West… motherfucker.”
“The Purge” finds The Game speaking on the ills in the world and how he would like to purge the world of evil people. Another more serious track is “Bloody Moon” on which The Game raps about witnessing his father molesting his half-sister.
Another standout song on Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf is the Young Jeezy and Kevin Gates-assisted “Black on Black.” Young Jeezy continues to be one of the most consistent features and drops another memorable verse saying, “If I had to be precise, tell you two things about life/Niggas win everyday, niggas fail every night/I say now, Oprah got a billion dollars and you’re nowhere near her/Type of shit I tell myself while starin in the mirror.”
The album ends with “I Just Wanna Be” featuring Stat Quo and King Marie. Stat Quo quite possibly delivers the verse of the album rapping, “I call myself Stat to remind myself not to be a statistic/As the kush get twisted my consciousness get lifted/We party with devils, digging graves with dull shovels/Diamonds on my bezel my grind on some other level/I’m subtle but won’t settle, all black clothes/They say Stat you too ghetto/my pen wrapped in turbans, My bombs, bass and treble/Fell asleep in hell, I woke up living my dreams I’m a rebel.”
Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf continues The Game’s run of good albums. The album proves once again that The Game is one of the most consistent hip-hop artists in the rap game today. With The Documentary 2 coming and a reunion with Dr. Dre for that album, The Game looks poised to continue his run for years to come.