''Drillmatic – Heart vs. Mind'' (or simply ''Drillmatic'') is the tenth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American rapper the Game, released on August 12, 2022, by 100 Entertainment and Virgin Music Label & Artist Services (now

Virgin Music Virgin Music, known as Virgin Music Label & Artist Services until 2022 and originally as Caroline Distribution, was a music distributor of independent artists and record labels, most prominently Death Grips, Weezer, and Radiohead. Virgin Music ...

). It consists of features from

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

, among others. Across its other 30 tracks, production was done by high-profile producers, such as

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...

, Mike Dean and

Hit-Boy Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr. (born May 21, 1987), known professionally as Hit-Boy, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He first signed with fellow producer Polow da Don in 2007 as in-house production staff for his l ...

, among others. The album was supported by two singles, " Eazy" with Kanye West and "Stupid" with Big Sean. The album includes the tracks "Eazy" and " The Black Slim Shady", which are

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...

s aimed at comedian

Pete Davidson Peter Michael Davidson (born November 16, 1993) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He began his career in the early 2010s with minor guest roles on ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', ''Friends of the People'', ''Guy Code'', and ''Wild 'n O ...

and fellow rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

, respectively. The album also includes the song "World Tours" featuring

Nipsey Hussle Ermias Joseph Asghedom (born Airmiess Joseph Asghedom; August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle, was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip-hop scene in the mid-20 ...

, although it remains unplayable on streaming services.

Background

The Game said on his social media profiles that ''Drillmatic'' would make listeners "understand" why he is "the best rapper alive", also writing that "This album has a strong hold on being the best album of my career". He had earlier said that part of the reason for the delay, along with sample clearances, was "disloyalty on levels unimaginable by people I've trusted with my heart, money, career & livelihood". On January 15, 2022, the first single "Eazy" was released exclusively on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

before being added to other streaming platforms a day later, and was also released as the first single on West's album ''

Donda 2 ''Donda 2'' is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Kanye West. It has also been described as a Demo (music), demo, having been released in an unfinished state with four songs on Kano Computing's Stem Player on February 23, 2022, with a ...

''. ''Drillmatic'' was initially scheduled for release on July 8, 2022, but was delayed.

Critical reception

''Drillmatic – Heart vs. Mind'' received negative to mixed reviews from music critics and fans. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 59, based on 5 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". Matthew Ruiz of ''Pitchfork'' gave the album a 5.7 out of 10 rating, with him describing the album as "exhausting" due to its length and "frustrating" due to The Game's interpretations and references to other styles of hip-hop and older artists, acquainting them to Easter eggs rather than tributes or paying respect.

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Drillmatic – Heart vs. Mind'' debuted at number twelve on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and number eight on the US

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

, opening with 25,000

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...

s, marking The Game's eighteenth charting album in the country.

Track listing

Notes

*"Drake with the Braids (Interlude)" features vocals by

. *"O.P.P." originally features vocals by

YoungBoy Never Broke Again Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born October 20, 1999), known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper. From Louisiana, United States, Gaulden released eight independent mixtapes and garnered a regional foll ...

; his verse was removed from the album a week after its release due to YoungBoy's clearance issues. *"World Tours" was removed from the album after its release. *Initial track listing features "Wasteman", but it was not released.

Sample credits

*"La La Land" contains a sample of "Friday" as performed by

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

. *"Change the Game" contains a sample from its song of the same name as performed by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

Beanie Sigel Dwight Equan Grant (born March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his association with Jay-Z and his label Roc-A-Fella Records, to which Grant signed ...

, and

Memphis Bleek Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper. He is best known for his affiliation with fellow New York City-based rapper Jay-Z, with Cox often described as his hype man and protégé. Cox s ...

. *"No Man Falls" contains a sample of "Blow Away Breeze" as performed by Marvin Sims. *"Chrome Slugs & Harmony" contains a sample of "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" as performed by

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (formerly known as B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e and also referred to as simply Bone Thugs or Bone) is an American hip hop group formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio. Consisting of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie ...

. *"Start from Scratch II" contains a sample of "Get Away" as performed by

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

. *"Rubi's Rose" contains samples of "They Don't Know" as performed by Jon B. and "Take Away" as performed by

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

and

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine ( ), is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic R ...

. *"Money Cash Clothes" contains a sample of "Money, Cash, Hoes" as performed by Jay-Z and DMX. *"Save the Best for Last" contains a sample of "Castles of Sand" as performed by

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun (né Jackson; born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist. He is known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the ...

. *"A Father's Prayer" contains a sample of "Song Cry" as performed by Jay-Z. *"Universal Love" contains a sample of "Got Til It's Gone" as performed by

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, and

Q-Tip Cotton swabs (American English) or cotton buds (British English), also Q-tips ( proprietary eponym), are wads of cotton wrapped around a short rod made of wood, rolled paper, or plastic. They are most commonly used for ear cleaning, although th ...

. *"Eazy" samples "

Eazy-Duz-It ''Eazy-Duz-It'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 22, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite ve ...

" by

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drillmatic Heart vs Mind 2022 albums The Game (rapper) albums MNRK Music Group albums Albums produced by Hit-Boy Albums produced by Mustard (record producer) Albums produced by DJ Paul Albums produced by London on da Track Albums produced by Symbolyc One Albums produced by Mike Dean (record producer) Albums produced by Swizz Beatz