''Born 2 Rap'' is the tenth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American rapper the Game. It was released on November 29, 2019 via eOne Music (now known today as MNRK Music Group). Its release coincided with the Game's fortieth birthday. It was advertised as his final album before retiring, although Game resumed his recording career in 2021. It features guest appearances from

Dom Kennedy Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 independent mixtapes, most notably his 2010 critically accl ...

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is a rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Born in London, he moved to Atlanta with his mother at age seven. He became known after releasing two m ...

, Anderson .Paak,

Bryson Tiller Bryson Djuan Tiller (born January 2, 1993) is an American singer and rapper. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he began his career in 2011 with a mixtape entitled ''Killer Instinct Vol. 1''. Tiller initially gained mainstream success in 2015 follo ...

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

D Smoke Daniel Anthony Farris (born October 17, 1985), known professionally as D Smoke, is an American rapper and songwriter from Inglewood, California. He gained attention after winning the first season of the Netflix music competition show ''Rhythm + ...

, J. Stone, Just Liv, Masego,

Marsha Ambrosius Marsha Ambrosius-Billups (born 8 August 1977) is an English singer and songwriter from Liverpool, England. She embarked on her musical career as a member of Floetry. Ambrosius released her debut solo album '' Late Nights & Early Mornings'' in M ...

, Miguel,

Mozzy Timothy Cornell Patterson (born June 24, 1987), known professionally as Mozzy, is an American rapper from Oak Park, Sacramento, California. He is signed with CMG, Interscope Records, Blackmarket Records. He started rapping in 2004 under the na ...

Nipsey Hussle Airmiess Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle (often stylized as Nipsey Hu$$le), was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid- ...

, Osbe Chill,

Red Café Jermaine Alfred DennyRed cafe Profile
Konvict Music. Accessed October 10, 2011. (born September 19, 1 ...

, Sly Pyper,

ToBi ToBI (; an abbreviation of tones and break indices) is a set of conventions for transcribing and annotating the prosody of speech. The term "ToBI" is sometimes used to refer to the conventions used for describing American English specifically, whic ...

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Tran ...

and

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, '' Trey Day' ...

Background

The Game announced ''Born 2 Rap'' as his final album, stating on social media: "I've had a great run & surpassed my rap goals a long time ago. It will always be 'QUALITY' over 'QUANTITY' from where I stand. The REAL music will always prevail & this album will cap off an amazing run".

Critical reception

''Born 2 Rap'' was met with widespread critical acclaim. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 82, based on four reviews. RapReviews.com critic Steve 'Flash' Juon said, "Both the length and the effort he put into it justify why it took over three years for it to come out and all the bases are covered here. ... It's hard to find anything to complain about".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Fred Thomas said, "It's a dense volume of street storytelling and especially reflective lyricism from this rap

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, and even at its extensive running time, ''Born 2 Rap'' delivers lots of highlights". Will Lavin of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' said, "''Born 2 Rap'' isn't just a library of classic records blended together: it's a lesson in storytelling, something The Game has never received enough credit for. ... There's a flawless project somewhere among the album's 25 tracks, which could certainly do with trimming". Aaron McKrell of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' said, "As it stands, ''Born 2 Rap'' is a proclaimed swan song that feels more like a playlist. Let's hope Jayceon has one more in him".

Track listing

Notes * "Born 2 Rap" features outro vocals by

* "I Didn't Wanna Write This Song" features additional vocals by

Sample credits * "Five Hundred Dollar Candles" contains an excerpt from ''Crips and Bloods 80s Interview'' (2016), courtesy of

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

, and uncredited elements of "If Light Escapes", written by April George and Matthew Thompson, and performed by April + VISTA. * "The Light" contains samples of "Open Your Eyes", written by

Bobby Caldwell Robert Hunter Caldwell (born August 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz and adult contemporary. He is known for his soulful and versatile vocals. Caldwell released the ...

, Norman Harris and Bruce Malament, and performed by Caldwell. * "Carmen Electra" contains samples of "

Devil's Pie "Devil's Pie" is a song by American R&B and neo soul musician D'Angelo, released October 31, 1998, on Virgin Records. It was issued as a promotional single for his second studio album, 2000's '' Voodoo''. The song was composed by D'Angelo and hip ...

, written by Christopher Martin and Michael D'Angelo Archer, and performed by

D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...

. * "Gold Daytonas" contains a sample of "Get Money", written by

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Pol ...

, James Bedford, Lamont Porter, Sylvia Striplin and Christopher Wallace, and performed by Junior M.A.F.I.A. * "Gucci Flip Flops" contains a sample from "

Dead Presidents ''Dead Presidents'' is a 1995 American crime film co-written, produced and directed by the Hughes brothers, Hughes Brothers. The film chronicles the life of Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), focusing on his teenage years as a high school graduate an ...

", written by Shawn Carter, Davis Willis,

Lonnie Liston Smith Lonnie Liston Smith Jr. (born December 28, 1940) is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with such jazz artists as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of ...

, Nasir Jones and Peter O. Phillips, and performed by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

. * "Welcome Home" contains samples from "Shine", written and performed by

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...

. * "I Didn’t Wanna Write This Song" contains a sample of "

I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto "I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto" is a song by American rapper 2Pac. It was released as the first single from the posthumous album ''R U Still Down? (Remember Me)''. The original version, titled "I Wonda if Heaven's Got a Ghetto", was released as ...

" by

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

. * "Hug the Block" contains interpolations of "Selfish", written by

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, R.L. Altman III, Jason Powers and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, and performed by Slum Village. * "Stainless" contains an uncredited sample of "Winter Sadness", written by

Robert "Kool" Bell Robert Earl "Kool" Bell (born October 8, 1950), also known by his Muslim name Muhammad Bayyan, is an American musician, singer & songwriter. He is one of the founding members of the American R&B, soul, funk and disco band Kool & the Gang. ...

and

Claydes Charles Smith Claydes "Charles" Smith (real name ''Claydes Eugene Smith''; September 6, 1948 – June 20, 2006) was an American musician best known as co-founder and lead guitarist of the group Kool & the Gang. Biography Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he ...

, and performed by

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

. * "Gangstas Make the Girls Go Wild" contains a sample of " People Make the World Go Round", written by

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 27th, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer ...

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 19 ...

and George Perry, and performed by

the Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of ...

. * "Rewind II" contains a sample of "Rewind", written by Nasir Jones,

William Mitchell William Mitchell may refer to: People Media and the arts * William Mitchell (sculptor) (1925–2020), English sculptor and muralist * William Frederick Mitchell (1845–1914), British naval artist * William M. Mitchell, American writer, ministe ...

and

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

, and performed by

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

. * "One Life" contains an excerpt from ''That Blackness'', performed by

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

, courtesy of the Estate of Nina Simone. * "Roadside" contains elements of " Happier", written by

Ryan Tedder Ryan Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. As well as being the lead vocalist of the pop rock band OneRepublic, he has an independent career as a songwriter and producer for various artists since th ...

and

Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...

, and performed by Sheeran. * "Blood Thicker Than Water" contains elements of "I Shall Wear A Crown" written by

Deleon Richards Deleon Richards (born September 18, 1976) is an American gospel singer. In the 28th Annual Grammy Awards, she was nominated for Best Soul Gospel Performance - Female. Richards reportedly had a long relationship with singer R. Kelly in the 1990s. ...

Charts

References

External links

{{Authority control 2019 albums E1 Music albums The Game (rapper) albums Albums produced by Focus... Albums produced by DJ Khalil Albums produced by Swizz Beatz Albums produced by Travis Barker