Doctor's Advocate

Doctor's Advocate is the second studio album by West Coast rapper The Game, released on November 14 2006 (see 2006 in music). The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 358,988 copies, making it The Game's second number one album. The album has many of the same producers that his first album had, including Kanye West and Just Blaze. In contrast to his debut, this album features no production from Aftermath Entertainment CEO and famed hip-hop producer Dr. Dre, although long-time Dr. Dre collaborator Scott Storch produced two songs on the album. The album received a near perfect 4.5 mic rating from The Source.

The Game wanted to prove that he could still make good music as he did on his first album, The Documentary, without help of Dr. Dre or 50 Cent. Although 50 Cent is not featured, there are many new and re-occurring guest appearances on this album, notably artists Busta Rhymes, Nas, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, will.i.am, and Xzibit.

Overview
Doctor's Advocate features The Game rapping about issues in his life, incorporating common rap industry themes. The track "Remedy" (produced by Just Blaze) has The Game rapping about how he must feed his son and also expresses his hatred towards the law, and has a beat jacked from Public Enemy's "Black Steel In The Hour of Chaos," which chronicles Chuck D's escape from prison.

With its use of more West Coast-type beats, crispier drums, and deeper bass, the album leans more towards the West Coast sound than The Documentary.

Reception
Doctor's Advocate received mostly favorable reviews from music critics. All Music Guide wrote that while the album "is nothing new" from The Documentary, "the fact remains that every track here is as good as or better than those on his debut." Entertainment Weekly disagreed, saying "it doesn't live up to the nihilistic brilliance" of his previous album. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone stated that the album "isn't the classic that message boards are calling it, but it is a middling yet pleasurable record." Hoard also wrote that "lyrically, it's a mixed bag. The Game is still kind of corny, but his skills have improved... He's more nimble and more assured than before, and he switches up his flow more often". Stylus Magazine noted that The Game "brought his personality—occasionally funny, disarmingly needy, a little lunkheaded—into the booth" and that despite Dr. Dre's absence, "the album sounds just as big-budget and lavishly appointed as The Documentary". The New York Times shared this view saying, "this album sounds much more like an Los Angeles album than its predecessor" and that the rapper "has a terrific voice, bassy and raspy". Similarly, The A.V. Club wrote that The Game "boasts a raspy-voiced, belligerent charisma" and that the album "succeeds primarily on the strength of its beats." As of March 2008, the album has sold over 966,000 units in the United States 3 Millon Worldwide.

Unreleased tracks
In 2007, The Game released several tracks that did not make the final cut for Doctor's Advocate on Amie Street, an online music store.

Credits

 * Producers – The Game, DJ Khalil, Hi-Tek, Jelly Roll, J. R. Rotem, Just Blaze, Kanye West, Mr. Porter, Nottz, D-Roc, Reefa, Scott Storch, Swizz Beatz, Urban "E.P." Pope, will.i.am
 * Engineers – Asif Ali, Mike Chav, Andrew Dawson, Scott Elgin, Conrad Golding, Andy Gwynn, Padraic Kerin, Padraic Kerin, Marc Lee, Oscar Ramirez, Brian Sumner, Sean Tallman, Ryan West, will.i.am
 * Assistant engineers: Asif Ali, Patrick Magee, Omar Reyna


 * Vocals – Marsha Ambrosius, Tha Dogg Pound, Nate Dogg, Jamie Foxx, Andrea Martin, Nas, Tracey Nelson, Junior Reid, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, will.i.am
 * Mixing – Dylan Dresdow, Ryan West, will.i.am, Doug Wilson
 * Mastering – Bernie Grundman
 * A&R – Kelvin Chu, Tony Martin, Angelo Sanders
 * Project coordinator – Wendell Cage
 * Wardrobe – Monica Marrow

Samples
"Da Shit" "It's Okay (One Blood)" "Compton" "Remedy" "Wouldn't Get Far"
 * "Ipecac" by Zoogz Rift
 * Excerpts from the film Tales from the Hood
 * "One Blood" by Junior Reid
 * "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" by Eazy-E
 * "Gangster Boogie" by Schoolly D
 * "Hard Times" by Baby Huey
 * "Gangster Boogie" by Chicago Gangsters
 * "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" by Isaac Hayes
 * "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" by Public Enemy
 * "Puppet Master" by B-Real & Dr. Dre
 * "I'd Find You Anywhere" by Creative Source
 * "All Bout U" by Tupac Shakur
 * "Long Red" by Mountain
 * "By Your Side" by Jadakiss

"One Night" "Doctor's Advocate" "California Vacation" "Why You Hate The Game" "I'm Chillin'"
 * "Two Occasions" by The Deele
 * "Up Against the Wind" by Lori Perri (Sampled directly from the film Set It Off)
 * "Funky Worm" by Ohio Players
 * "With You" by The Main Ingredient
 * "Funky Drummer" by James Brown
 * "You Gots To Chill" by EPMD

Interpolations
"Compton"
 * "Swahililand" by Ahmad Jamal