The Documentary

Few rappers have ever been more keenly referential of gangsta rap’s legacies than The Game was on his debut LP, The Documentary. A protégé of Dr. Dre, The Game simultaneously built his reverence for ’80s and ’90s gangsta rap into practically every song while also self-appointing himself as the vanguard of its next generation. All that meta-ness aside, The Documentary also benefits from a who’s who of the top producers of the era, including Timbaland, Scott Storch, Just Blaze and Dr. Dre who helped power The Game’s chart-toppers like “Hate It or Love It” and “How We Do.”