The Game Drops ‘LAX’ Album: Today in Hip-Hop

On this day, Aug. 26, in hip-hop history...

2008: West Coast rapper The Game dropped his third album LAX on Aug. 26, 2008.

Coming off a universally hailed debut studio album with 2005's The Documentary and a strong sophomore followup with 2006's Doctor's Advocate, Game didn't really have much left to prove. And yet, the Compton rapper tasked himself to create a soundtrack for the African American struggle in the eyes of a nation going through recession.

Production credits on the album include Cool & Dre, Kanye West, Scott Storch, Nottz, Hi-Tek and more. Always one to be known for big guest stars, Game enlisted Lil Wayne, Chrisette Michele, Common, Ice Cube, Keyshia Cole, Ludacris, Nas, Ne-Yo, Raekwon and more for the 19-track offering. Songs like "Dope Boy," "Game's Pain" and "My Life" helped propel the album to debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, moving almost 240,000 copies in the first week. The album was released in both a regular version and deluxe version with two different cover arts. The first cover art featured Game and his two sons on a couch while the second cover art shows Game alone on that same couch smoking a blunt.

Though LAX wasn't a home run album for Game, the subject matter of the album, both the profound and profane, kept fans intrigued by the outlandish California export. In a time when the South was ruling the charts with albums like Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III and Bun B's Ill Trill, Game represented for the West Coast with unwavering pride and musical candor.

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