Last night, Los Angeles rapper the Game released his latest album, The Documentary III, a sprawling 24-track epic in which the highly opinionated West Coast rap staple lets a few things off his chest. Featuring appearances from Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Ye, YG, Black Thought, Larry June and others, the album also finds Game seemingly airing out some long-simmering feelings about none other than Kendrick Lamar. Most notably, he links up with Kendrick’s most famous nemesis, Drake, on the track “No Brakes.” (Drake ominously offers the hook, but no bars, alas.)
The apparent animosity has been bubbling for some time. Game and Kendrick were once publicly aligned: In 2011, Game joined Snoop Dogg and other West Coast veterans for a ceremonial passing of the torch to Kendrick. Things haven’t gone so smoothly since. Recently, TDE’s general orbit has appeared on podcasts and in interviews suggesting a hint of tension between the two going back to before any of Drake and Kendrick’s public beef.
That all came into view during Game’s July Verzuz battle with YG, where he performed his 2015 Drake collaboration “100” and paused to shout out the Toronto rapper. “I don’t give a fuck how a nigga feel about it,” he told the Los Angeles crowd. YG, of course, was in attendance at Kendrick’s now-infamous Pop Out concert, apparently something of a veritable enemies list in Drake’s eyes. He’s also more generally aligned himself with the West Coast allegiances that played a role in Kendrick’s feud with Drake. Game, for his part, seemed to bristle at the suggestion that being from Los Angeles requires him to fall in line behind Kendrick and turn on an artist he considers a friend.
The Documentary III arrives amid something of a renewed period of activity for Game. Earlier this year, he released Gangsta Grillz: E.M.N.T. — The Credits, an expanded edition of his DJ Drama and Mike & Keys project Every Movie Needs a Trailer. This new project marks his first proper studio album since 2022’s Drillmatic — Heart vs. Mind and his first entry in the Documentary series since 2015.
For now, fans can only wonder if Game’s shots, and especially his conspicuous Drake cameo, are enough to wake Kendrick, who, for his part, has so far declined to publicly engage with the speculation surrounding his relationship to much of anything.
Matt Collyer of The Planet Smashers
