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
![Midnights [Jade Green Edition] [Edited]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602448247032_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "Midnights [Jade Green Edition] [Edited]")
![Neva Left [Bonus Track]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0888915370162_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Neva Left [Bonus Track]")
![Czarface [Extended Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0853044003229_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Czarface [Extended Edition]")
![General Admission [Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602547449542_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "General Admission [Deluxe Edition]")
![The Documentary 2/2.5 [Collector's Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0099923542124_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "The Documentary 2/2.5 [Collector's Edition]")
