What the Game's Been Missing! [Clean] [Edited] (CD - 2005)

Audio Mixers: Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic; Mike T.

Photographers: Clay Patrick McBride; Kris Yiengst.

With the swift wit and relaxed swagger that marked his many guest appearances for Cam'Ron, Harlem rapper Juelz Santana quickly established himself as the one to watch in that rapper's Dipset crew. After a solid, if uneven 2003 solo debut, Santana delivered on the hype with his second release, 2005's WHAT THE GAME'S BEEN MISSING.

A remarkably versatile MC, Santana can paint a desperate, vivid picture of growing up in the concrete jungle ("Rumble Young Man Rumble") or unleash tremendous fire as he ponders the roots of rap's often bloody state-of-affairs ("Violence"). However, he can also turn a sinister Geto Boys sample into a tender ode to his young son ("Daddy") or get just plain silly, as he does for the single "There It Go (The Whistle Song)." While the title's boast is nearly impossible to back up, Juelz Santana does prove he has something to add to the game on this consistently inventive sophomore release.

Dipset member Juelz Santana took two years to release his sophomore album, but he was hardly absent from the scene. Plenty of proper Diplomats releases and twice as many mixtapes have flooded the hood since his debut, and his second solo release date caps off a year where the Dips practically owned half of MTV2's hip-hop programming. Rather than his lukewarm debut, all this Diplomats activity is responsible for the high anticipation What the Game's Been Missing! was graced with, but the album is surprisingly, firmly solo. Diplomats brother Cam'ron makes a big splash with his appearance on "Murda Murda" -- a track that cops the same Ini Kamoze sample as Damian Marley's massive "Welcome to Jamrock" -- but Juelz is responsible for the rest of the numerous highlights and opens the album with a touching, personal conversation between himself and his son. Of course, this is a Diplomats release, so it's only a matter of time before the poignancy of the intro is wiped away by "true tales from the street" that are irresponsible at best, despicable at their worst. There's plenty of redundancy too, but the good news is the Diplomats' stable of producers is at the top of its hook game, churning out memorable beats when it isn't ripping off the Ying Yang Twins. "There It Go (The Whistle Song)" is a thin and way-late attempt to capitalize on the success of "Wait (The Whisper Song)," but on the other hand, "Oh Yes" is a striking and exciting track that stutters a bit of the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" brilliantly. With a robotic beat and upright bass, the great "Clockwork" sounds like little else in the Dipset catalog, while the easy-flowing "Changes" is a lyrical high point for Santana as he reflects how different things are when you become a father. Contrasting these inspired, mostly personal tracks are the usual cocaine-moving numbers that suggest Santana's still involved in, or at least a fan of, dealing and pushing and the harsh reality that comes with it. "Lil' Boy Fresh" wastes its fresh production with tired hustle lyrics, and even Santana admits in the lyrics that "Gone" drags on and on. The spottiness and putting self-aware fatherhood numbers next to "thug and get paper" numbers are just further proof the Diplomats think track by track rather than album, but this hodgepodge gives Santana more of an identity than his debut did and with twice the hooks. ~ David Jeffries

Dipset member Juelz Santana took two years to release his sophomore album, but he was hardly absent from the scene. Plenty of proper Diplomats releases and twice as many mixtapes have flooded the hood since his debut, and his second solo release date caps off a year where the Dips practically owned half of MTV2's hip-hop programming. Rather than his lukewarm debut, all this Diplomats activity is responsible for the high anticipation What the Game's Been Missing! was graced with, but the album is surprisingly, firmly solo. Diplomats brother Cam'ron makes a big splash with his appearance on "Murda Murda" -- a track that cops the same Ini Kamoze sample as Damian Marley's massive "Welcome to Jamrock" -- but Juelz is responsible for the rest of the numerous highlights and opens the album with a touching, personal conversation between himself and his son. Of course, this is a Diplomats release, so it's only a matter of time before the poignancy of the intro is wiped away by "true tales from the street" that are irresponsible at best, despicable at their worst. There's plenty of redundancy too, but the good news is the Diplomats' stable of producers is at the top of its hook game, churning out memorable beats when it isn't ripping off the Ying Yang Twins. "There It Go (The Whistle Song)" is a thin and way-late attempt to capitalize on the success of "Wait (The Whisper Song)," but on the other hand, "Oh Yes" is a striking and exciting track that stutters a bit of the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" brilliantly. With a robotic beat and upright bass, the great "Clockwork" sounds like little else in the Dipset catalog, while the easy-flowing "Changes" is a lyrical high point for Santana as he reflects how different things are when you become a father. Contrasting these inspired, mostly personal tracks are the usual cocaine-moving numbers that suggest Santana's still involved in, or at least a fan of, dealing and pushing and the harsh reality that comes with it. "Lil' Boy Fresh" wastes its fresh production with tired hustle lyrics, and even Santana admits in the lyrics that "Gone" drags on and on. The spottiness and putting self-aware fatherhood numbers next to "thug and get paper" numbers are just further proof the Diplomats think track by track rather than album, but this hodgepodge gives Santana more of an identity than his debut did and with twice the hooks. [What the Game's Been Missing! was also made available in a clean version, with all explicit material removed.] ~ David Jeffries minimize