The rapper thanks his mother for not aborting him (“Hate It or Love It”). Isolated lyrics sympathize with hungry children. “Dreams” honors his deceased heroes Lisa Lopes, Aaliyah and Dr. Martin Luther King.
A handful of tracks glamorize crack and marijuana (using and dealing), malt liquor, rum or other alcoholic beverages. The f-word peppers this disc along with other obscene language. Like 50 Cent before him, Game has street cred for having been shot seven times. Therefore, songs about thug life advocate toting a gun (“Don’t Need Your Love,” “Westside Story”) and brag about real murders (“Hate It or Love It”). “Church for Thugs” threatens to leave someone “chopped up like Freddy’s face,” while “The Documentary” tells rivals they’ll “do life in a cemetery.” A dozen sexually explicit tracks degrade women in general (calling them “b–ches”) or objectify female celebs, often in unflattering terms. He describes intercourse (“How We Do”), oral sex (“Start From Scratch”) and sodomy (“We Ain’t”), and suggests making an erotic video with friends (“Higher”). Spiritual confusion reigns as well. He refers to a gun as his “Jesus piece” and believes his rough life is a sure ticket to heaven. One minute he prays for forgiveness, the next he arrogantly says he wouldn’t change a thing given a chance to start over. Liner photos play up the thug image.
Straight outta Compton, Jayceon Taylor (aka Game) is a West Coast gangsta with nothing of value to pass on to fans. On one track the misogynist says, “I look down on hos.” Pray teens don’t look up to him.
