Overview
LAX is the third studio album by American rapper the Game. It was released on August 26, 2008, by Geffen Records. Recording sessions took place from 2007 to 2008, with the production that were contributed by Cool & Dre, Kanye West, Scott Storch, Nottz, Hi-Tek, J.R. Rotem and JellyRoll; as well as guest appearances from DMX, Chrisette Michele, Common, Ice Cube, Keyshia Cole, Ludacris, Nas, Ne-Yo, Raekwon, Raheem DeVaughn, Travis Barker, Bilal and Lil Wayne. The album was supported by four singles: "Game's Pain" featuring Keyshia Cole, Grenique "Dope Boys" featuring Travis Barker, "My Life" featuring Lil Wayne, and "Camera Phone (song)" featuring Ne-Yo. The album was released with two different cases such as one cover art for the deluxe version with Game looking at the camera with his bandanna in his hand, and the cover art for another was with him sitting on a couch smoking a blunt.
LAX debuted at number 2 on the United States Billboard 200, selling 238,000 copies in its first week, behind metal band Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone. Initially, Billboard magazine published an article stating that the Game had secured the top spot by a margin of 13 copies, in what was described as the "closest race for number one since SoundScan began tracking data in 1991". However, Slipknot's record labels Warner Music Group and Roadrunner Records requested Nielsen SoundScan to recount the album sale totals for the week. The recount placed LAX at #2, with final 1st week sales of 238,382 copies in the United States, and awarded Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone the top spot, with first week sales of 239,516 copies, a margin of 1,134 copies in the United States of America.
Upon its release, LAX received generally favorable reviews from most music critics, with music critics praising the album's production.
Background
After signing a deal to Interscope Records and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment label, Interscope Records' head COO Jimmy Iovine convinced 50 Cent to take Game under his wing in an effort to guarantee record sales. In 2005 the Game released his debut album The Documentary, but then left G-Unit following beef with 50 Cent. In 2006 he released his follow-up album Doctor's Advocate. On December 31, 2007, at Nas' New Year's Eve party, the Game announced the title and release date for LAX.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).