Undeniably, The Game is one of the premier hip-hop artists out right now.  Besides Lil’ Wayne and Kanye, who else has captivated fans, both positively and negatively, while putting out stellar albums that can arguably be called classics?  But with L.A.X., it seems as if the sophomore jinx waited one album late to rear its ugly head, by that it no way compares to his previous LPs.

There are several factors that make this album disappointing.  For one, it is too long.  With 19 tracks (including interludes), it seems as if this album never ends.  This could also be attributed to the mediocre production or repetitive subject matter that we heard on his earlier albums The Documentary and The Doctor’s Advocate.  Another dilemma is the many guest appearances.  All but 3 tracks have a featured artist one way or another.  What makes this sad, is that an artist of his calibur can hold his own, as he proved on his last album.  With all the features, L.A.X. comes off more as a compilation rather than a solo project, put out by an emcee that is at the top of his game and holding down a whole coast.

This album definitely has its finer moments and it seems to come at certain points.  For instance, Game shines when he is emotional on tracks like the second single “My Life” featuring Lil’ Wayne and “Letter to the King” featuring Nas.  Additionally, it is when he lets himself go tracks like the lead single “Game’s Pain” featuring Keisha Cole and “Angel” featuring Chi Town’s own Common.  But one of the highlights of this album has to be when he gets creative and rhymes in the perspective of 3 legends on “Never Can Say Goodbye” featuring Latoya Williams.

But basically its seems as if Game was trying to prove too much on L.A.X. with all the guest features and its length. But it cannot be said enough; someone who has already proven that he can hold his own, especially with all the drama that came with its preceding LP, he doesn’t have anything to prove.  Maybe next time Game will rely on his own talents or at least believe in himself enough to share himself and just let it all hang out on his next go round, but that has to be seen at a later date. – Ryan Harrison