The 10-minute Eminem diss “The Black Slim Shady” takes the mimicry to another level. Game goes beyond merely mocking the white rapper’s voice, delivery, and complexion, writing himself into the Marshall Mathers Cinematic Universe: He kidnaps the brother of Eminem’s infamous “Stan”; murders (and eats) Dr. Dre; and name-drops Em’s childhood bully D’Angelo Bailey, his ex-wife Kim, and that cluttered closet. He makes desperate attempts to sound as deranged as the white Slim Shady, making for some truly smooth-brained one-liners—“I stick my dick in your podcast,” “Wipe down my stripper pole with the hair grease from your bandana.” The Game’s reverence for Eminem is well-documented, so his claim that he’s only ever played one of his records in his car rings hollow. There’s a sad sweetness to his obsession, the kind of admiration that can only be felt by a die-hard fan.
Drillmatic still offers some poignant moments, however brief. On “Voodoo,” his remake of BOA QG and BOA Hunxho’s original, Game paints a scene of a desperate father struggling to care for his newborn as her mother battles breast cancer, imbuing an otherwise standard ode to the trap with pathos. And Kanye’s verse on “Eazy,” in which he laments the behavior of his spoiled children (“When you give them everything, they only want more/Bougie and unruly, y’all need to do some chores”) might even garner some sympathy, despite the latent narcissism and toxicity he directs toward his ex. Yet at nearly two hours of runtime across 29 songs—with almost as many features—Drillmatic is plagued by the tracklist bloat typical of the streaming era. Neither fun nor profound, the album is almost impressive in the sense of collecting so much talent to create something so mediocre.
Even at The Game’s commercial peak, he was often overshadowed by his mentor-turned-rival 50 Cent, and he’s been trying to distinguish himself ever since. It’s a little tragic: From the start of his career, the Game has been desperate to be included in the pantheon of his rap heroes, like the ones who performed at this year’s Super Bowl. Yet almost 20 years later he’s even further from that dream, his rivals having taken his place. It’s a common aspiration, to be acknowledged by those you admire. But Game has spent so much energy wanting to be the GOAT that he forgot to actually be great.