The Game-Holy Water Music Video from Taydoe Kidd on Vimeo.

Deen once drank Holy Water before an exam. He thinks it gave him dysentery.

I get the distinct impression that no one really cares about Game anymore. With every passing project, Jayceon seems to slip further into dreaded “irrelevance.” Between his antics – which while irritating, never really bothered me much – and the decreasing decency of his music (yes, the law of diminishing returns hit this nigga hard lately), I’d say that he kinda’ deserves to be forgotten.

Nonetheless, Game is STILL one of my favorite rappers working today. Say what you want about him (and it’s probably true), but there aren’t a ton of rappers outchea that can credibly state that they’ve made TWO classic albums – even if 50 Cent allegedly wrote the bulk of the first one, which, for the record, is NOT as good as the second one. But that’s a debate for never. Or Twitter.

I can’t begin the list the myriad of problems with Game’s music post Doctor’s Advocate because I’d be spending way too much time on this piece, and he still hasn’t re-earned that level of attention from me. I’ll just say the problems with his music since 2007 probably stem from a lack of cohesiveness brought on from his innate insecurity and need for attention. I’ve heard the occasional decent song or five, but he hasn’t really put anything really solid in a long minute. Basically, he does JUST ENOUGH to continue to qualify as a rapper. Good for him, but he’s capable of much more.

So it’s really nice to hear this new minimalist nugget from his #SundayService series. Apparently, it won’t be on his new album, Jesus Piece, supposedly dropping December 11th (yeah right), which brings to mind Kendrick Lamar leaving “Cartoons & Cereal” off of good kid, mAAd city (Sample issue or not, I’m still peeved at that being left off. No, I won’t get over it anytime soon).

Based on his recent output, I’m not sure that Game can afford to leave songs THIS good off his actual projects. Then again, it might be a matter of sonic cohesion. But scratch that. Game clearly doesn’t care about sonic cohesion anymore. He really just tries to please every potential listener and piles on the production and guests to the point of bukkake-induced nausea. Pause.

We certainly can’t knock Game for his oft-repeated “crime” of name-dropping on this track and I approve of his continuing efforts to scare off the more Christian elements of his fanbase with artistic decisions that could be interpreted as blasphemous (Jesus Piece? A cover with a black Jesus wearing a Jesus piece? A hedonistic banger titled “Holy Water”?) He puts the ADHD, excessive name-dropping and beefing aside for the 3:22 runtime and sticks to his ruminations on crass materialism to great effect. The beat strikes me as one of those “love it or hate it” polarizing types, but I happen to dig it – ghostly minimalism and all. If he’s leaving this shit off the album, then one hopes that the songs that make it will be even better. Alas, I won’t hold my breath on that one.

Let’s just hope that leaving really good songs off retail albums isn’t the only thing Game learns from Kendrick Lamar. Here’s to Jayceon making a really dope album again.

Actually, I can’t end this post on that note in good faith. After all, that I’m pretty sure that terrible “1st of the Month”-aping single with every rapper in the world on it is going to be on this new album and that alone relegates it from “dope” to a maximum of “slightly better than the last one.” I guess I can settle for that. That’ll just mean I have $10 to spend on a more deserving rapper. If it’ll make Game feel any better, I’d like to let him know that Jimmy Iovine will probably get the bulk of that $10 when I spend it all on ten purchases of “Love Sosa.”

Download:
MP3: Game ft. Lil WayneTyga, Wiz Khalifa & Chris Brown – “Celebration (Left-Click)