Game's 25 Favorite Albums

The Doctor's Advocate names his favorite albums from himself, EPMD, Ghostface Killah, and more.

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Image via Complex Original
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Intro

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The Chronic

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Dr. Dre, The Chronic (1992)

Label: Death Row/Interscope/Priority

Game: “You know how I want my list to look? The Chronic got to be by itself with no number, and then the list starts. The Chronic was just an incredible fucking album, man. It was so well put together. It was actually more of a fucking Snoop album. Snoop was on every song on The Chronic and shit. It was like Snoop’s introduction to the world.

“You think, ‘Damn, if I’m going to meet Dre, or I’m about to be signed to Dre, I’m going to ask him so many questions about the album.’ But I never had that conversation with him. Neither one of them, and I see them and talk to them all the time.”

Follow Me Home

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#25. Jay Rock, Follow Me Home (2011)

Label: Top Dawg Entertainment/Strange Music

Game: “I put this on the list because I’m an asshole and people may not know that this is a good album. It’s strictly West Coast and it’s the type of album I would’ve recorded if I was 19-years-old. Jay Rock did a good job depicting the California lifestyle.

“I love when albums come out and people do that. Gangster rap is not a thing of the past but it isn’t as popular as it once was so it’s hard for some of these guys to get their shit off but you should check it out. It’s a dope album.”

Doctor's Advocate

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#24. The Game, Doctor’s Advocate (2006)

Label: Geffen

Game:The Doctor’s Advocate is better than The Documentary. I have to put The Documentary before because I know people would be like, ‘What? The Documentary was killing Doctor’s Advocate!’

“I was going through some crazy shit in my life, and I was alone. I didn’t have Dr. Dre. I went from having 50, Dre, and Em, to having no 50, no Dre, and no Em. I had to complete that album by myself with the relationships that I had made in those two-and-a-half to three years.


 

If I could have killed everybody who had a part in that fucking G-Unit break-up and gotten away with it, I would have done it.

 

“The label didn’t think I could do it, and nobody believed in me. Everybody turned their backs on me, and for good reason. Now that I’m older I understand. I felt like it was me against the world. I wanted to kill everybody. If I could have killed everybody who had a part in that fucking G-Unit break-up and gotten away with it, I would have done it. I was pissed off. I was in a dark space. I wasn’t fucking with anybody.

“Then I came with ‘One Blood,’ and they were like, ‘Oh my god! Where’s the rest of the album? Does it sound like this?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s cool. I’ll let y’all hear it.’ Then they gave me more money when I let them hear the album. That shit was classic man.

“I wanted Dre to be all over it—and I had gotten beats for it—but I did the songs, and they weren’t better than the songs I had. My favorite song on that album was “Old English.” That song is classic. I think I did that one perfect.”

Buhloone Mindstate

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#23. De La Soul, Buhloone Mindstate (1993)

Label: Tommy Boy

Game: “That was fucking crazy, man. Their first two albums are two of the greatest albums ever in hip-hop. De La Soul was dope. Prince Paul was dope, he was producing for them. They were like the early ’90s Drake—they had songs that were cool and still hip-hop but they also had this smooth singing vibe to them.

“They fell in a era that they excelled in. If you took them out of that era and put them anywhere else, I don’t think they would have been as successful. I just remember they were making shit cool. There’s another album that I left off that would go hand-in-hand with that: A Tribe Called Quest’s A Low End Theory.”

Flesh of My Flesh

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#22. DMX, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood (1998)

Label: Ruff Ryders/Def Jam

Game: “That’s when DMX was the man. Drag-On was sick and X had already put out It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, which was crazy. Back then everybody had their turn and they killed it during that time-slot.

“DMX put out two albums that went fucking crazy-dumb platinum in one year. Not many people can do that. I think Ja Rule did it. At that time, those were two of my favorite rappers.

“I used to think Ja Rule was incredible. His voice and the shit that he was talking about was real. DMX was the same way. My favorite all time DMX joint is ‘Slippin.’ It makes me feel the same way as when I hear ‘Keep Your Head Up.’ He rapped with so much pain and conviction.”

Kiss Tha Game Goodbye

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#21. Jadakiss, Kiss Tha Game Goodbye(2001)

Label: Ruff Ryders

Game: “That was Kiss at his best. And that shit had ‘We Gone Make It,” ‘Fuck the frail shit, cause when my coke come in they gotta use the scale that they weigh the whales with.’”

Strickly For My

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#20. 2Pac, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993)

Label: Atlantic/Interscope

Game: “I can’t remember how old I was when ‘Brenda’s Got A Baby’ came out but I was young. I was only hearing them shits in the garage with my pops when he’d be washing the car or something like that. This was the first 2Pac album I ever got. I didn’t even know him, I just knew that was the dude from Juice. I thought his name was fucking Bishop.

“That shit was hard and when I listened to it I thought I was hard as shit too. I felt like I could beat anybody up, like I could walk through any hood with red on. That was my album.

“I had it on tape. I think I stole it. Nobody had money back then so everybody stole shit. If it had a little bit of dust on the case, that meant they hadn’t listened to it in a while so it was okay to steal.”

Unfinished Business

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#19. EPMD, Unfinished Business (1989)

Label: Fresh Records/Sleeping Bag Records

Game: “That was a classic fucking album, just because it was fucking Eric Sermon and Paris Smith. They were another one of those groups that weren’t hood but they were dope lyrically. They pulled me in. Eric Sermon’s slurred voice was complimented by Paris’ voice. ‘Please Listen to My Demo’ was the best record about wanting to be a rapper.”

Way 2 Fonky

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#18. DJ Quik, Way 2 Fonky (1992)

Label: Profile Records

Game:Way 2 Fonky was Compton shit. When that album came out, I asked my mom if she could buy it for me and she said ‘No.’ I had to wait because at that time if you weren’t over 18 there was no way for you to get the album. You would have to burn it from somebody on tape or something like that.

“That’s when Sam Goody and all the record stores wouldn’t sell to minors. You had to have your parents go get it, so when she said ‘No,’ I had to burn it from my brother. Back then, you had to have an adult with you to get anything: a brew, a blunt. You still do but it’s 2011 so there’s ways to get shit now. All these bad ass kids get whatever they want.”

he Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill

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#17. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998)

Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia

Game: “That was a girl putting out a classic fucking album! It was dope. My favorite song was ‘To Zion.’ I thought that was dope and crazy because I didn’t have any kids but I always wanted to be a good parent.

“Back then, I questioned who the fuck was writing that shit. It seemed too crazy for her to do on her own. Then the controversy of who wrote it came out.That shit was crazy. I thought there was some foul play on that shit. It’s fucked up for Lauryn Hill. But she performed it well, so who cares?”

Stillmatic

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#16. Nas, Stillmatic (2001)

Label: Columbia

Game:Illmatic and Stillmatic have got to be in my top 25, man. Just the name by itself is a classic. ‘Ether’ is the best battle song of all time... next to ‘300 Bars.’” [Laughs.]

Aquemini

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#15. Outkast, Aquemini (1998)

Label: LaFace/Arista

Game: “That fucking album was crazy. It’s the best Outkast album. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik was crazy too but Aquemini was when Andre first started getting weird—and doing it for the right reasons. At first I didn’t like it, but then I realized it made him dope musically. It was easier and more refreshing to listen to.”

”On Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik Andre was still ATL-hood. N.W.A. came out and they were Khaki’s and chucks, then there were groups after that who came out and were hood like Bone Thugs. Outkast was the next one for me.

Amerikkkas Most Wanted

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#14. Ice Cube, Amerikkka’s Most Wanted (1990)

Label: Priority

Game: “When that album came out, I thought Cube was the best rapper in the world. He should have been further up on my list but I just remembered so I have to throw him in there before it gets too late in my list. One of the reasons it was classic is because before you even opened the package he had America spelled with three K’s.

“It was like a ‘Fuck you’ to the Ku Klux Klan. I thought it was bold and dope for him. I didn’t understand it back then, I thought you could just do whatever the fuck you wanted with your album. Now that I understand that all of these albums were put out by white people, the fact that Ice Cube had an album out that was like, ‘Fuck the KKK,’ in the album title was crazy.”

The Resurrection

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#13. Geto Boys, The Resurrection (1996)

Label: Rap-A-Lot Records

Game: “Those were three motherfuckers with attitudes. You know where they got the ‘attitude’ from, right? They were dope, and it just showed that they appreciated N.W.A. just as much as everyone else did.

“One of my favorite lyrics was... Give me a second to remember. It’s been a long time since I talked to anyone about someone who isn’t fucking Wiz Khalifa or Drake. Willie D said, ‘I’m the type of nigga that throws a party when the flag burns/I’m at the point of no return.’


 

I’ll tell you some rappers that are just hard as fuck but aren’t lyricsts: Willie D, Big Mike, Baby, Lil Boosie. They need their own category called ‘Hard As Fuck.’

 

“When I was young, I thought he was talking about he’s the type of nigga that’ll throw a party when the Ku Klux Klan were burning flags and shit. That didn’t make too much sense and I got told I was stupid so many times.

“Later, I figured he was talking about the American flag burning. At that time it felt like all rappers were fucking anti-American. Reagan was in office and motherfuckers didn’t like Reagan. He was saying if somebody burned the American flag, then that’s when it was time to get the 40’s out and start kicking it.

“People don’t even understand but that shit was crazy. Willie D was my favorite, I don’t give a fuck what nobody says. Scarface was dope. He was the dopest member in the group lyrically, but fucking Willie D didn’t give a fuck.

“He didn’t even know how to rap too much either, he just didn’t give a fuck. You have some rappers out there that are lyricists and some rappers that are just hard as fuck. I’ll tell you some rappers that are just hard as fuck but aren’t lyricsts: Willie D, Big Mike, Baby, Lil Boosie. They need their own category called ‘Hard As Fuck.’”

No One Can Do It Better

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#12. The D.O.C., No One Can Do It Better (1989)

Label: Ruthless/Atlantic

Game: “Thought you was talking to Soulja Boy, huh? You thought I was gonna be like, "Ahh Thank Me Later." [Laughs.] That was the shit. D.O.C. was dope, he was from Texas and nobody could figure out how he was writing all these crazy ass West Coast stories and lyrics and shit. It was ill.

“D.O.C. was crazy because he was the dude who was writing a lot of shit for N.W.A. I knew that because I’m from Compton. Compton’s so fucking small. If anything’s said or done in Compton, you know about it. Everybody knew D.O.C. was the man. If you didn’t know, you definitely weren’t as big an N.W.A. fan as you thought you were.”

Supreme Clientele

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#11. Ghostface Killah, Supreme Clientele (2000)

Label: Epic/Sony/Razor Sharp

Game: “Just listen to how that fucking name sounds. That’s a drug-dealer’s dream, to have so many fiends loving your shit. It makes you the motherfucking man. Supreme Clientele was all in the name.

“The album was crazy. Ghostface Killah’s voice was crazy. He rapped exactly like he was a motherfucking gangster, hood, New York comic-character. He rapped wild. He’d be rapping about eating fucking peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and eating hors d’oeuvres with mobsters for dinner.

“Ghostface is one of the illest motherfuckers ever. When I met him, I got starstruck. Look at his name, how do you even put ghost with face with killer? That’s Wu-Tang. They’re some nutty dudes, man. Ghost was my second favorite from Wu-Tang. My first was Raekwon the Chef.”

Mama Said Knock You Out

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#10. LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)

Label: Def Jam/Columbia/CBS

Game: “That album was crazy. Of course LL was already around but that was like the first classic album of the ’90s. He was beefing with Kool Moe Dee and my whole career is fueled on beef. That was one of the first beefs that I was old enough to understand.

“I was a kid and when I heard that I was like, ‘Fuck Kool Moe Dee. You’re dead.’ I was like 10 years old and I remember putting on my Kangol and wanting to fuck everybody up. Fuck it, I wanted to fight. That album made me want to fuck people up. The craziest part about it was that you could just blame it on your mom like, ‘My mom said to fuck you up.’”

Raising Hell

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#9. Run-D.M.C., Raising Hell (1986)

Label: Profile/Arista

Game: “When I was like five, that was the first rap album I ever heard. My dad had that album. My brothers weren’t even old enough to fuck with that yet.

Raising Hell was like the first great rap album. It was dope because nobody sounded like DMC, nobody sounded like Run. The energy was crazy. Those dudes were like hood superheros.

“One of my favorite lines on there was, ‘I leave all suckers in the dust/Those dumb motherfuckers can’t mess with us.’ I was like, ‘Oh, man.’ That was crazy for dudes to be saying stuff like that. It was like, ‘Motherfuckers? What? This is 1986, what do you mean motherfucker?’

Reasonable Doubt

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#8. Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt (1996)

Label: Roc-A-Fella/Priority

Game:Reasonable Doubt was crazy. My brother Big Face put the album on and once again I was put on to another East Coast emcee. Dude’s voice was so distinctive. That’s why he’s had the longevity, why he’s still potent, and considered today’s hip-hop king.


 

Jay-Z's voice was so distinctive. That’s why he’s had the longevity, why he’s still potent, and considered today’s hip-hop king

 

“Jay could flat out rap. He was cocky as fuck, and he was doing all the things that all the hustlers and dope-dealers were doing. For someone to be talking about it and letting you see it, it switched the fucking climate up. It was an all gangster rap climate at that time. Everything was gangster and he came in and made everything smooth on some hustle shit.

“He made hood niggas think they could dress cool. They didn’t have to wear khakis and chucks all the time. He had motherfucking suits and shit. He came with so much swag that it was undeniable. On top of that, he was the guy that Pac was dissing, so it was like, ‘Oh, this is Jay-Z? He is nice.’ if I rock with someone, I don’t give a fuck who disses them, unless it’s Dre. If Dre doesn’t fuck with you, then I’m not fucking with you.”

The Documentary

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#7. The Game, The Documentary (2005)

Label: G-Unit/Aftermath/Interscope

Game: “Why wouldn’t it be [#7]? You tryna say my album ain’t Top 10? I think my album is the best album in the world, simply because it was my album. It’s better than everybody’s album so why wouldn’t I rank it high?

“I spent three-and-a-half years working on it. When I get time to work on an album, I’m definitely going to take my time and it’s going to be amazing. It was a classic. I had Dre’s help, 50 helped, Eminem helped—all of those guys are multi-platinum and dope. It was Aftermath, and right after Get Rich or Die Tryin’ dropped. We were winning. There wasn’t anything that as a team we couldn’t do.”

Ready To Die

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#6. The Notorious B.I.G., Ready To Die (1994)

Label: Bad Boy

Game: “I was in the tenth grade and they used to play music at lunch on these big old speakers. So we came out one lunch and all I heard was ‘Juicy’ playing. I was like, ‘Who the fuck is this?’ Somebody told me, ‘It’s this guy from New York. His name’s Biggie.’

“I was like, ‘Biggie? Who the fuck is Biggie? He better be big.’ All of a sudden everybody started fucking with that song and I would hear it every single day in cars driving by. I was like, ‘Why is everybody playing this New York shit?’

“I thought Nas was the shit and it wasn’t like today. There was only a handful of rappers. Everybody couldn’t be a rapper, so if a rapper came out it was like, ‘Damn, he’s about to be a star.’ So everybody was fucking with Biggie when that album came out and it lived up to expectations.

“When I was recuperating from gunshot wounds and couldn’t walk, I couldn’t do shit but stay in the room. All I did was listen to classic albums. I had no choice. I had to listen and listen in depth.”

Illmatic

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#5. Nas, Illmatic (1994)

Label: Columbia

Game: “The story I told in ‘Hustlers’ was a true story. I already had The Chronic but I had lost it or someone had stolen it from me. So I stole them both. At that time I didn’t have money like I do now so it was rough. It was like, if you can get away with stealing something, why not?

“Nas was fresh on the scene. It’s such a classic. When you ask somebody’s top five albums, that album always comes up. That was Nas’ introduction to the world. Illmatic is probably the last of these 25 that I listened to. It’s actually in my Porsche now. I was just rocking with ‘Halftime’ when I came home earlier.

“That album was the first time I was able to get into an East Coast rapper. I was all West Coast until that dropped. That was the first album where I was old enough to understand what was going on and the concept behind it.”

The Slim Shady LP

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#4. Eminem, The Slim Shady LP (1999)

Label: Aftermath/Interscope

Game: “‘My Name Is’ was it. If you didn’t know what his name was, he fucking told you. I had no idea at that time that was Dr. Dre’s artist. I just saw this white boy on MTV. I didn’t know what Aftermath was to be able to relate it to anything that Dre was doing.

“I remember thinking, ‘Damn, he’s really a white rapper.’ It was so crazy and the song was so dope. It was in a format that I had never heard. I had never heard anybody talk about their mom and pulling their eyelids out.”

All Eyez On Me

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#3. 2Pac, All Eyez On Me (1996)

Label: Death Row/Interscope

Game:

I remember going to my cousin’s house one Christmas and he had All Eyez on Me. I stole it but what made me want to steal it was that he kept playing ‘Thug Passion’ over and over again. It just made you feel good. I bumped that motherfucker on repeat for like the next 10 years.”

“I don’t even know why my favorite song on All Eyez on Me is ‘Thug Passion.’ It wasn’t like it was a hip-hop classic or anything like that, but that album was just crazy. It was a double-disc.

“That was Pac’s Death Row introduction. It was the Death Row dynasty: Snoop, The Chronic, you just had to fuck with that. Plus, Pac was fresh out of jail. Everybody was waiting on that and it was a dope ass album.

Doggystyle

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#2. Snoop Doggy Dogg, Doggystyle (1993)

Label: Death Row/Interscope

Game:Doggystyle was the shit. Snoop Dogg was the biggest breath of fresh air for hip-hop at that time. That album made Snoop who he is. It was so fucking raw. I don’t think Snoop’s had an album like that, or an album that could come close to fucking with that, in his entire career. And that’s my homie, so I don’t cut any corners about saying that.

“That was the first time we had seen a fucking dope-ass cartoon cover and it was disrespectful. I don’t even know how the fucking cover made it to stores like that. He’s reaching for old girl’s ass. Her ass is sticking out the fucking doghouse. That shit was crazy man. The only person that could get away with some shit like that today is Kanye.”

Straight Outta Compton

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#1. N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton (1988)

Label: Ruthless/Priority/EMI

Game: “My mom didn’t want me listening to that. That’s what made her such a cool individual. My mom was twenty-something raising us. She just kind of sheltered us and did the best job she could even though she was young. I was seven or eight years old when it came out.

“I didn’t grow up listening to it. It was forbidden. That was what I loved so much. My mom wouldn’t let me fuck with that at all and that’s what pulled me into it. At that time, that album was bigger than Madonna and shit. They were talking about that on MTV more than rock albums.”

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