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Doctor's Advocate is the second studio album by West Coast rapper The Game. It was released on November 14, 2006 by Geffen Records. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making it The Game's second number one album. The album was produced by three producers from The Game's debut album—Kanye West, Just Blaze and Scott Storch—as well as newcomers like will.i.am and Swizz Beatz. A difference between his debut album, The Documentary, and his second album is the absence of Dr. Dre. Although Dre does not appear on Doctor's Advocate, The Game dedicated the album to him.
The Game made a point to prove that he could still make music, as he did on The Documentary, without help from Dr. Dre or 50 Cent. Guests featured on Doctor's Advocate include Busta Rhymes, Kanye West, Nas, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, Jamie Foxx and Xzibit.
Music
Lyrics
Doctor's Advocate contains various staples of West Coast hip hop albums including explicit rhymes about gang violence, drug use and sex. The album looks into The Game's relationship with his former mentor Dr. Dre on several tracks, most notably Doctor's Advocate which also features former Aftermath rapper Busta Rhymes. This album is known for its heavy West Coast hip hop sound, something that didn't feature much in his debut The Documentary. He worked with a number of west coast artists such as Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit and Tha Dogg Pound giving more west coast oreientated lyrics. Rapreviews said "He is absolutely quintessentially relentlessly and unapologetically thugging it up on this CD, but unless your name is Joe Lieberman or Tipper Gore you're gonna enjoy the hell out of the dope beats and lyrical bravado and be begging for more." DJBooth praised his lyrical skills by saying "to briefly touch on the lyrics, only Eminem and Lil’ Wayne are currently equals." However, once again many critics panned The Game's namedropping throughout the album, but Steve Juon of Rapreviews says that "some accused him of being a "name dropper" back then and still will today, the references seem more in keeping with his "soldier of the West" philosophy and less like a filler for lack of content."
Production
The production on the album was praised by critics. Allmusic writer David Jeffries stated: "beat-makers like Kanye West, Just Blaze, Scott Storch and Swizz Beatz are all on fire" and went on to praise will.i.am's return to his "hood sound after years with the polished Black Eyed Peas". A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin noted that the beats created a "gleaming, hydraulics-enhanced '64 Impala of an album to ride".
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. The album's production stands out with its combination of sampling and live instrumentation. Tracks like "Why You Hate the Game" combine soul samples with string arrangements, and piano-playing, while other tracks like "Remedy" rely heavily on sped-up funk samples. "Too Much" was noted for being an "ABBA-inspired disco-thump", while "Remedy" revolves around "pilfering Public Enemy's hard-hitting sound". The production on "Ol' English" was depicted as "slow-rolling" music, and "Compton" was declared a "return to old-fashioned gangsta rap". "Why You Hate the Game" was driven by a "sparkling piano-heavy...track".
Reception
Commercial performance
Doctor's Advocate sold over 358,000 copies in its first week and as of March 2008 has sold approximately 969,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen Soundscan. The album has sold over 3,000,000 copies worldwide.
Critical response
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   2006 |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B) 2006 |
| Pitchfork Media | (8.1/10) 2006 |
| PopMatters |   2006 |
| HipHopDX |  link |
| RapReviews | 2006 |
| Rolling Stone | 2006 |
| Stylus | (B+) 2006 |
| USA Today | 2006 |
Doctor's Advocate received mostly favorable reviews from music critics. It received an average score of 73 based on average critic scores. Allmusic 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 a 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." The album received a near perfect 4.5 mic rating from The Source. The first single was It's Okay (One Blood) which was met with positive acclaim and it charted moderately in the US and the rest of the world. It has one of the biggest remixes ever with 24 artists featured on it, something which has not been done before. The second single was Let's Ride which was met with mediocre reviews, it charted in the top 50 in the US. The third single Wouldn't Get Far is featured and produced by Kanye West, it was released only for the US.
Track listing
| # | Title | Songwriter(s) | Producer(s) | Sample(s) & Instrumentation (s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Lookin' at You" | Taylor, J./ Pope, E. | Ervin "EP" Pope |
|
3:37 |
| 2 | "Da Shit" | Taylor, J. / Abdul-Rahman, K. / Jasmine, J. / Rift. Z. | DJ Khalil |
|
5:23 |
| 3 | "It's Okay (One Blood)" (feat. Junior Reid) | Taylor, J. / Slater, S. / Collington, D. / Dowell, M. / Reid, D. | Reefa |
|
4:17 |
| 4 | "Compton" (feat. will.i.am) | Taylor, J. / Wicker, A. / Hinton, A. / Mayfield, C. / Weldon, D. / Wright, E. / Weaver, Jr., J. / Adams, W. | will.i.am |
|
4:41 |
| 5 | "Remedy" | Taylor, J. / Hayes, I. / Smith, J. | Just Blaze |
|
2:57 |
| 6 | "Let's Ride" | Taylor, J. / Dowell, M. / Storch, S. | Scott Storch |
|
3:57 |
| 7 | "Too Much" (feat. Nate Dogg) | Taylor, J. / Storch, S. / Hale, N. / Thompson, J. | Scott Storch | 4:11 | |
| 8 | "Wouldn't Get Far" (feat. Kanye West) | Taylor, J. / West, K. / McLeod, M. / Sawyer, P. | Kanye West |
|
4:11 |
| 9 | "Scream on Em" (feat. Swizz Beatz) | Taylor, J. / Dean, K. | Swizz Beatz |
|
4:20 |
| 10 | "One Night" | Taylor, J. / Lamb, D. / Bristol, D. / Edmonds, K. / Johnson,S. | Nottz |
|
4:27 |
| 11 | "Doctor's Advocate" (feat. Busta Rhymes) | Taylor, J. / Smith, T. / Rotem, J. / Young, C. / Goldsmith, D. / C. Hannibal (Vocals) | J. R. Rotem |
|
5:03 |
| 12 | "Ol' English" (feat. Dion) | Taylor, J. / Cottrell, T. | Hi-Tek |
|
4:44 |
| 13 | "California Vacation" (feat. Snoop Dogg & Xzibit) | Taylor, J. / Broadus, C. / Joiner,A. / Rotem, J. | J. R. Rotem |
|
4:29 |
| 14 | "Bang" (feat. Tha Dogg Pound) | Taylor, J. / Drew, D. / Arnaud, D. / Brown, R. | Jellyroll | 3:37 | |
| 15 | "Around the World" (feat. Jamie Foxx) | Taylor, J. / Porter, D. / Chavarria, M. | Mr. Porter, (co-produced by Mike Chav) |
|
4:02 |
| 16 | "Why You Hate the Game" (feat. Nas & Marsha Ambrosius) | Taylor, J. / Smith, J. / Dowell, M. / Ambrosius, Marsha / Ambrosius, Marvin Paul / Jones, N. / Sloley, N. | Just Blaze |
|
9:22 |
| * | "I'm Chillin'" (UK Version)(feat. will.i.am & Fergie) | Taylor, J. / Adams, W. / Brown, J. / Sermon, E. / Smith, P. | will.i.am |
|
4:33 |
An asterisk (*) indicates a bonus track.
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.
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Murda" | Dr. Dre | 3:55 |
| 2 | "Hold You Down" (feat. Keyshia Cole) | Dr. Dre | 3:42 |
| 3 | "Won't Stop" | Dr. Dre | 4:12 |
| 4 | "Breathe Eazy" (feat. Riz & Nu Jerzey Devil) | Nu Jerzey Devil | 4:33 |
| 5 | "Feels Good" (feat. Yummy Bingham) | J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League | 4:22 |
| 6 | "Wonderful Life" | Buckwild | 4:28 |
| 7 | "My Bitch" | DJ Khalil | 4:42 |
| 8 | "Hustler's Dream" (feat. Anthony Hamilton) | Dre & Vidal | 4:31 |
| 9 | "Hard Liquor" (feat. Kokane) | Dr. Dre | 3:50 |
| 10 | "Here We Go Again" (feat. Dr. Dre) | Dr. Dre | 3:21 |
| 11 | "Bang Along" | 5:41 | |
| 12 | "Gangster" | Scott Storch | TBA |
Personnel
|
|
Chart positions
Album
| Charts (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 20 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 12 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 19 |
| French Albums Chart | 9 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 2 |
| German Albums Chart | 17 |
| Irish Albums Chart | 8 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 15 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | 14 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 15 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart | 10 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart positions | |||||||||
| US | US R&B | US Rap | Austria | Finland | Germany | Ireland | New Zealand | Switzerland | UK | ||
| 2006 | "It's Okay (One Blood)" (feat. Junior Reid) | 71 | 33 | 16 | 68 | 9 | 41 | 16 | 25 | - | 21 |
| "Let's Ride" | 46 | 55 | 14 | - | 12 | 74 | 36 | 17 | 79 | 42 | |
| 2007 | "Wouldn't Get Far" (featuring Kanye West) | 64 | 26 | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
References
- "The Game: Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
- Sanneh, Kelefa (November 9, 2006). "Doctor's Advocate Review". New York Times. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Berkman, Seth. "Doctor's Advocate Review". PrefixMag.com. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
- Dombal, Ryan. "Doctor's Advocate Review". Entertainment Weekly'. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Bernard, Adam. "The Game Interview". RapReviews.com. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
- Gamble, Ronnie. "The Game: Game Time Again (Interview)". BallerStatus.com. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
- ^ http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2006_11F_advocate.html
- http://www.djbooth.net/index/albums/review/the-game-the-doctors-advocate/
- ^ Jeffries, David (2006). Doctor's Advocate Review. Allmusic. Accessed August 3, 2007.
- ^ Sales. Sales. Cite error: The named reference "AVClub" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Dombal, Ryan (November 10, 2006). Doctor's Advocate (2006). Entertainment Weekly. Accessed August 3, 2007.
- Pareles, J. (2006, December 26). James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul" dies at 73. The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2007.
- Breihan, Tom. (November 14, 2006) The Game: Doctor's Advocate Pitchfork. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
- http://www.billboard.com/#/news/g-unit-the-game-push-back-new-albums-1003794170.story
- Doctor's Advocate. Metacritic. Accessed August 3, 2007.
- Hoard, Christian. "Doctor's Advocate Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Greene, Jayson (November 17, 2006). Doctor's Advocate. Stylus magazine. Accessed August 3, 2007.
- Sanneh, Kelefa (November 9, 2006). Repentant Yet Defiant, a Rapper at His Best. The New York Times. Accessed August 3, 2007.
- Amie Street – The Game's Music Store. Accessed August 3, 2007.
- World Chart Positions. aCharts.us. Accessed September 5, 2007.
| Preceded byNow 23 by Various Artists | Billboard 200 number-one album November 26, 2006 – December 2, 2006 |
Succeeded byKingdom Come by Jay-Z |
| The Game | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums |
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| Compilations |
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| Soundtracks |
|
| Mixtapes |
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| Related articles | |
- Pages with empty short description
- 2006 albums
- Albums produced by Denaun Porter
- Albums produced by Hi-Tek
- Albums produced by J. R. Rotem
- Albums produced by Just Blaze
- Albums produced by Kanye West
- Albums produced by Scott Storch
- Albums produced by Swizz Beatz
- Albums produced by will.i.am
- Albums produced by DJ Khalil
- Albums produced by Nottz
- Geffen Records albums
- Game (rapper) albums