Game

Game—formerly known as The Game—started strong with his 2005 debut, The Documentary, featuring production from Dr. Dre and a not-yet-uncool 50 Cent. After parting ways with both for 2006’s Doctor’s Advocate, Game released the anemic LAX in 2008, his ostensible final album. By that point, both his sound and his behavior (beef with G-Unit, yawn) had worn thin, so the retirement seemed well-timed. It didn’t last, of course, and Game returned in August with The R.E.D. Album. Although he’s decked out like a Blood lifer on the cover, “R.E.D.” is apparently shorthand for “rededicated.” He’s definitely gone big, as the star-studded credits attest: Timbaland, Akon, The Neptunes, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Lil Wayne, Drake, and Robin Thicke, among others. 

Updated 10/26/2011