Blood Moon: Year Of The Wolf

Album review

The Game's previous discography is nothing if not interesting, as the rapper willingly succumbed to his obsessions. Biggest obsession of them all being Dr. Dre, the superstar producer who only occasionally works with this loose cannon rapper but still colors so much of his work in absentia. Dre gets some mentions on Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf, and according to the Game, he's still behind the boards, working on the man's 2015 album and brewing up a game changer. So what's all this then? Blowing up the rapper's decent run of solo albums, Blood Moon was announced as a compilation focused on Blood Money, the label the MC launched with Stat Quo, and it was tagged as a "The Game Presents" release until the last minute, which might help explain why it is so darn feature-heavy. Features from returning guests, even, like Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, and 2 Chainz, plus features from newcomers Dubb and Skeme, both of them signed to Blood Money. In spite of all that, the 2014 album kicks off with the solo "Bigger Than Me" where the Game goes after the very 2011 target of Frank Ocean, and uses homophobia and past associations as his weapons. Game debuted with Eminem and Jay-Z while Ocean's class is whack goes the argument, an argument rehashed on the solo "F.U.N.", making 2 Chainz the album's first rational voice once he joins "Really," a fun posse cut with the party people in mind. It's sweet relief as Blood Moon turns out the odd Game album where folks like Tyga excel with strip club cuts such as "Best Head Ever," and while Snoop Dogg always seemed absent from the MC's hallowed hall of West Coast worship, the great "Or Nah" with Too $hort comes off like a tribute to Doggystyle and the classic album's love of pimp walks plus Zapp. Hardcore jollies finally come once "Hit Him Hard" lands with Bobby Shmurda and Freddie Gibbs doing the heavy lifting, then the worthwhile "Black on Black" with Young Jeezy closes a solo album so misshapen that its title cut only appears on the "Deluxe" edition. More a misrepresentation than a failure, Blood Moon is a loose label comp that would do fine living in the forgiving lands of stopgap and second tier. Labeled as a Game album proper, it's a serious dip.
© David Jeffries /TiVo