Born 2 Rap

Last updated
Born 2 Rap
The Game - Born 2 Rap.png
Studio album by
the Game
ReleasedNovember 29, 2019 (2019-11-29)
Recorded2018–19
Genre
Length90:12
Label
Producer
the Game chronology
1992
(2016)		Born 2 Rap
(2019)		 Drillmatic – Heart vs. Mind
(2022)
Singles from Born 2 Rap
  1. "West Side"
    Released: June 21, 2019
  2. "Stainless"
    Released: November 1, 2019

Born 2 Rap is the ninth studio album by American rapper the Game. [2] It was released on November 29, 2019 via eOne Music. Its release coincided with the Game's fortieth birthday. [3] It was advertised as his final album before retiring, although Game resumed his recording career in 2021. It features guest appearances from Dom Kennedy, Ed Sheeran, 21 Savage, Anderson .Paak, Bryson Tiller, Chris Brown, D Smoke, J. Stone, Just Liv, Masego, Marsha Ambrosius, Miguel, Mozzy, Nipsey Hussle, Osbe Chill, Red Café, Sly Pyper, ToBi, Travis Barker and Trey Songz.

Contents

Background

The Game announced Born 2 Rap as his final album, stating on social media: "I've had a great run & surpassed my rap goals a long time ago. It will always be 'QUALITY' over 'QUANTITY' from where I stand. The REAL music will always prevail & this album will cap off an amazing run". [4]

In 2019, The Game was found guilty of sexually assaulting Priscilla Rainey, a contestant on She's Got Game . Rainey was awarded $7,000,000 in damages, plus the royalties to the album. The Game's manager Wack 100 claimed that he owned all the royalties to the album, and that he doesn't owe her anything. [5] [6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 82/100 [7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
HipHopDX 3.4/5 [9]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
RapReviews9/10 [11]

Born 2 Rap was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 82, based on four reviews. [7]

RapReviews.com critic Steve 'Flash' Juon said, "Both the length and the effort he put into it justify why it took over three years for it to come out and all the bases are covered here. ... It's hard to find anything to complain about". [11] AllMusic's Fred Thomas said, "It's a dense volume of street storytelling and especially reflective lyricism from this rap MVP, and even at its extensive running time, Born 2 Rap delivers lots of highlights". [8] Will Lavin of NME said, "Born 2 Rap isn't just a library of classic records blended together: it's a lesson in storytelling, something The Game has never received enough credit for. ... There's a flawless project somewhere among the album's 25 tracks, which could certainly do with trimming". [10] Aaron McKrell of HipHopDX said, "As it stands, Born 2 Rap is a proclaimed swan song that feels more like a playlist. Let's hope Jayceon has one more in him". [9]

Track listing

Born 2 Rap track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."City of Sin" (featuring Ed Sheeran)
1:43
2."No Smoke" (featuring Miguel and Travis Barker)
3:19
3."Five Hundred Dollar Candles" (featuring Dom Kennedy)
  • Taylor
  • Dominic Hunn
  • Benton
  • C. Jones
  • N. Jahanbin
  • P. Jahanbin
  • Amir Motamedi
  • Wallis Lane
  • Prince Productions
  • Mike Wavvs
4:47
4."The Light"
Brandon "Tec Beatz" Sewell3:18
5."Carmen Electra" (featuring Mozzy, Osbe Chill and TOBi)
Brandon "Tec Beatz" Sewell4:16
6."Dead Homies" (featuring Red Café)
  • Taylor
  • Jermaine Denny
  • Benton
  • C. Jones
  • N. Jahanbin
  • P. Jahanbin
  • Amir Motamedi
  • Wallis Lane
  • Prince Productions
  • Mike Wavvs
  • Reske
2:53
7."Gold Daytonas" (featuring Dom Kennedy)
  • Taylor
  • Hunn
  • Benton
  • C. Jones
  • N. Jahanbin
  • P. Jahanbin
  • Amir Motamedi
  • Chris Anthony Malloy Jr.
  • James Bedford
  • Roy Ayers
  • Sylvia Striplin
  • Wallis Lane
  • Prince Productions
  • Chris "Big Duke" Malloy
2:37
8."West Side"
  • Taylor
  • Benton
  • C. Jones
  • N. Jahanbin
  • P. Jahanbin
  • Amir Motamedi
  • Chris Anthony Malloy Jr.
  • Wallis Lane
  • Prince Productions
  • Chris "Big Duke" Malloy
2:50
9."40 Ounce Love" (featuring Just Liv)
Brandon "Tec Beatz" Sewell2:57
10."Gucci Flip Flops"
 Swizz Beatz 3:43
11."Born 2 Rap"
  • Taylor
  • Benton
  • C. Jones
  • Sewell
  • Malloy Jr.
  • Johnson
  • Brandon "Tec Beatz" Sewell
  • Chris "Big Duke" Malloy
4:00
12."Welcome Home" (featuring Nipsey Hussle)
 BongoByTheWay 4:33
13."Help Me (Interlude)" (featuring Sly)
  • Taylor
  • Sylvester Jordan
Sly2:18
14."I Didn't Wanna Write This Song" (featuring Marsha Ambrosius)
 Focus... 4:21
15."The Code" (featuring 21 Savage)
  • Brandon "Tec Beatz" Sewell
  • Prince Productions
  • Chris "Big Duke" Malloy
  • Titus E Johnson
5:49
16."Stay Down" (featuring Bryson Tiller)
3:36
17."Hug the Block"
  • Taylor
  • Walker
  • Benton
  • C. Jones
  • N. Jahanbin
  • P. Jahanbin
  • Amir Motamedi
  • Wallis Lane
  • Prince Productions
4:57
18."Ask for Me"
2:38
19."Stainless" (featuring Anderson .Paak)
Track King Cole3:59
20."Gangstas Make the Girls Go Wild" (featuring Chris Brown)
  • Wallis Lane
  • Chris "Big Duke" Malloy
  • Titus E Johnson
2:48
21."Blood Thicker Than Water" (featuring Trey Songz)
  • Streetrunner
  • Azzouz
3:47
22."Rewind II"
  • Taylor
  • Benton
  • C. Jones
  • Malloy Jr.
Chris "Big Duke" Malloy2:24
23."One Life" (featuring J. Stone and Masego)
  • Wallis Lane
  • Prince Productions
5:14
24."Cross on Jesus Back" (featuring D Smoke)
  • Wallis Lane
  • Chris "Big Duke" Malloy
  • Mike Zombie
3:28
25."Roadside" (featuring Ed Sheeran)
Ed Sheeran3:56
Total length:90:12

Notes

Sample credits

Charts

Chart performance for Born 2 Rap
Chart (2019)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [13] 53
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [14] 18
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [15] 70
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [16] 40
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17] 66
US Billboard 200 [18] 19
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [19] 5
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard) [20] 7
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [21] 10

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References

  1. ↑ Brabo, Joseph (30 November 2019). "The Game Releases Final Album "Born 2 Rap" Ft. Nipsey Hussle, Dom Kennedy, Miguel, Mozzy, Ed Sheeran, D Smoke, + More". Respect My Region.
  2. ↑ Ivey, Justin (November 28, 2019). "The Game Releases 'Born 2 Rap' Album". HipHopDX . Archived from the original on 2019-11-20. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  3. ↑ "The Game Releases New Album 'Born 2 Rap'". Complex. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  4. ↑ "The Game Is Not Retiring, Readies New Project '30 for 30'". Rap-Up . January 17, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  5. ↑ Espinoza, Joshua. "The Game's 'Born to Rap' royalties and record label seized to pay $7 million to accuser". Complex. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  6. ↑ https://hiphopdx.com, HipHopDX- (2020-04-18). "Wack 100 Says The Game's 'Born 2 Rap' Royalties Are His: 'I Don't Owe That Bitch A Dime'". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2024-06-21.{{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)
  7. 1 2 "Born 2 Rap by The Game". Metacritic . Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  8. 1 2 Thomas, Fred. "Born 2 Rap - The Game | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  9. 1 2 McKrell, Aaron (November 30, 2019). "Review: The Game Jogs Through A Marathon On 'Born 2 Rap'". HipHopDX . Archived from the original on 2019-12-01. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  10. 1 2 Lavin, Will (November 29, 2019). "The Game – 'Born 2 Rap' review". NME . Archived from the original on 2019-12-01. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  11. 1 2 Juon, Steve 'Flash' (February 11, 2020). "The Game :: Born 2 Rap – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  12. ↑ Mowatt, Robyn (December 9, 2019). "The Game Gets Called out for Sampling Uncleared April + VISTA Song on 'Born 2 Rap'". okayplayer. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  13. ↑ "ARIA Chart Watch #554". auspOp. December 7, 2019. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  14. ↑ "The Game Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Game – Born 2 Rap" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Game – Born 2 Rap". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Game – Born 2 Rap". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  18. ↑ "The Game Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  19. ↑ "The Game Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  20. ↑ "The Game Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  21. ↑ "The Game Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2019.

Born 2 Rap at Discogs (list of releases)

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