40 Best Rap Albums of 2015

In the ten years since the Game released The Documentary, something remarkable happened: He grew up as a person and out as an artist, resuscitating a career that was nearly thwarted in 2005 after a highly publicized G-Unit break-up (and shooting incident, which he details here), widening his artistic palette to depths no one could have predicted. The Documentary 2 and 2.5 is a sprawling double-album on which the Game totally deserves to preserve this moment, boasting a phalanx of guests. His assists come mostly from the West Coast (Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, DJ Quik, Kendrick Lamar, YG and more), showing that even though his tastes run from rider's anthems to woke dirges, home is where the heart is. We couldn't have predicted Game prevailing like this, but we're all better for it. J.E.S.