Drillmatic – Heart vs. Mind (or simply Drillmatic) is the tenth studio album by American rapper the Game, released on August 12, 2022, by 100 Entertainment and Virgin Music Label & Artist Services (now Virgin Music). It consists of collaborations with Kanye West, Big Sean, Drake, Ice-T, Fivio Foreign, Roddy Ricch, YG, Ty Dolla Sign, Moneybagg Yo, ASAP Rocky, Jeremih, Pusha T, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz and Meek Mill, among others. Across its other 30 tracks, production was done by high-profile producers, such as Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Mike Dean and Hit-Boy, among others.
The album includes the January 2022 single "Eazy" with Kanye West and the single "Stupid" with Big Sean. The album includes the song "The Black Slim Shady", which is a 10-minute diss track aimed at rapper Eminem, and also includes the song "World Tours" featuring Nipsey Hussle, although it remains unplayable on streaming services.
Background
The Game said on his social media profiles that Drillmatic would make listeners "understand" why he is "the best rapper alive", also writing that "This album has a strong hold on being the best album of my career". He had earlier said that part of the reason for the delay, along with sample clearances, was "disloyalty on levels unimaginable by people I've trusted with my heart, money, career & livelihood".
The album was initially scheduled for release on July 8, 2022, but was delayed.
Critical reception
Drillmatic - Heart vs Mind received negative to mixed reviews from music critics and fans. Pitchfork (website) gave the album a 5.7 out of 10 rating, their review described the album as “exhausting” due to its length and “frustrating“ due to The Game’s interpretations and references to other styles of hip-hop and older artists, acquainting them to Easter eggs rather than tributes or paying respect. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 59, based on 5 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".
Commercial performance
In the United States, Drillmatic debuted at number twelve on the Billboard 200 chart as The Game's eighteenth charting album in the country. It opened with 25,000 album-equivalent units.
Track listing
- Notes
- "Drake with the Braids (Interlude)" features vocals by Drake.
- "O.P.P." originally features vocals by YoungBoy Never Broke Again; however, his verse was removed from the album a week after its release due to YoungBoy's clearance issues.
- "World Tours" was removed from the album after its release.
- Initial track listing features "Wasteman", but it was not released.
- Sample credits
- "La La Land" contains a sample of "Friday" as performed by Ice Cube.
- "Change the Game" contains a sample from its song of the same name as performed by Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, and Memphis Bleek.
- "No Man Falls" contains a sample of "Blow Away Breeze" as performed by Marvin Sims.
- "Chrome Slugs & Harmony" contains a sample of "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" as performed by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
- "Start from Scratch II" contains a sample of "Get Away" as performed by Mobb Deep.
- "Rubi's Rose" contains samples of "They Don't Know" as performed by Jon B., and contains samples of "Take Away" as performed by Missy Elliott and Ginuwine.
- "Money Cash Clothes" contains a sample of "Money, Cash, Hoes" as performed by Jay-Z and DMX.
- "Save the Best for Last" contains a sample of "Castles of Sand" as performed by Jermaine Jackson.
- "A Father's Prayer" contains a sample of "Song Cry" as performed by Jay-Z.
- "Universal Love" contains a sample of "Got Til It's Gone" as performed by Janet Jackson, Joni Mitchell, and Q-Tip.
Charts
References
