After listening to True to the Game, the initial impression of this album is it sounds like a soundtrack to a movie that never came out-think Soulfood, Nutty Professor, and to a lesser extent Poetic Justice. The thing about each of those previously mentioned films is their soundtracks were a mixture of hip-hop and R&B heavy weights. Some of the songs from those albums went on to be chart toppers, but more importantly each of the songs helped shape moments, some more critical than others, which helped to even more clearly define the themes of those films (even if they were incredibly transparent). Knowing that True to the Game is the first installment in a series of commemorative CDS created for the purpose of benefiting the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, it seems like many of these songs are out of place. While this album is littered with Grammy award winning producers, singers, and rappers, only a handful, and that might be putting it generously, even reference the topic that this entire album is supporting. Don’t get me wrong, an album entirely composed of songs about Baseball may not sound incredibly exciting, but it would have made far more sense than songs about “Ghetto Love” and making your way to the dancefloor. There are plenty of club bangers on this album and many of the songs sound as if they were not original tracks made for this project but instead the artists allowed these songs, which may appear on their next project(s), to appear on this project. Sure having the word the ” game” as part of the title could easily refer to the hip-hop game or kickin’ game, but really should that term even be used in multiple ways when serving as a benefit to an often underappreciated, moment in baseball history? If this album didn’t feature The Hustle Boyz and Snoop’s The Bigg League, this album would be entirely comprised of some incredible baby making, club banging music. A collection of songs that has no thematic connection tries to provide something for everyone and as a result misses completely in creating a cohesive, enjoyable album.
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