The weird thing is: I actually enjoy most of Game's music on a casual level and I feel like Red and Drillmatic are his only true duds.
However, my issue with Game is that his music simply isn't distinctive enough nor has enough of a standout personality that makes me actually rank him on the levels of Cube, Kendrick, Pac, etc. Hell, E-40 who's not all that technical of a rapper is someone I'd place above Game as an overall West Coast rap artist.
Game's 2000's albums were great enough at showcasing his consistency and proving that he didn't need G-Unit or Aftermath to make good albums. But, around the 2010's, Game just started becoming unoriginal and simultaneously too trendy and too much of a throwback tribute act at the same time.
You would have Game jacking flows from other rappers in the same way that a ghostwritten producer like Dre and Diddy would and he'd do it so relentlessly that it started to feel overly performative and inauthentic. He would also use blatant samples and interpolations of other iconic rap songs with his version being the Great Value version compared to the original. Also, he often recycles the same album themes and subject matter on most of his albums.
So, I think in spite of Game's skill level and good albums, he simply doesn't have enough originality, personality, and creativity to stand out from the other legends and icons of the West Coast. He's almost like Crank Lucas if he had a mainstream rap career and hailed from the West Coast.
Never looked at it like that, now I can't unsee it.
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