The Documentary, The Game
2005 represented rapper 50 Cent at the height of his powers, capable of blessing an artist as a member of G-Unit and also dismissing them on a whim. The Game was a high profile member of the crew even before the release of his debut album, The Documentary. 50 Cent featured on three of the tracks, all of which were singles.
One of these, “How We Do” is an iconic representation of mid-aughts hip-hop. A club anthem employing that playful tinker and kick drum sound, MTV would abuse the instrumental to signify that one of its on-screen personalities was reveling in opulence.
One of the non-50 singles was “Dreams,” produced with pre-Nazi Kanye West. The song samples “No Money Down” by Jerry Butler and is explicitly pro-black, with allusions to MLK Jr. as well as several black artists who passed away early, including Aaliyah and Lisa Lopes. It speaks to The Game’s aspirations to be an important voice not only for West Coast rap, but for all the black experience in hip hop.
But I think the one with the best shot to end up on the mixtape is “Hate It Or Love It,” another single featuring 50 Cent. This one samples “Rubber Band” by the Trammps and was produced by the duo Cool & Dre with Dr. Dre (no relation) doing additional production. This one is a cruising anthem, showcasing both 50 and The Game’s abilities against a genius interpolation. I don’t remember what school project I used it for, but I remember feeding the music video into some sort of project.
Sadly, 50 Cent’s and The Game’s creative collaborations would not be long for the world. Shortly after the success of The Documentary, there were disputes over how much 50 Cent collaborated to writing the songs on the album. The Game was booted from G-Unit and would go on to have a full-on feud with its members. The beef with 50 Cent continues into this decade, with them trading barbs on social media.
So we’ll pick “Hate It Or Love It” as a candidate for the 2005 mixtape as a tribute to old friendships.