Urban review: The Game, LAX

Some people need a challenge, but few relish being the underdog more than Jaceyon Taylor. After a war of words with his erstwhile mentor, 50 Cent, added street cred to the huge commercial success of his debut, he seemed to conjure up a bizarre feud with his label boss, producer and hero, Dr Dre, ahead of the follow-up. Yet that record, The Doctor's Advocate, was easily the best gangsta rap album in years. This time, Taylor's nemesis is himself: he claims this introspective third LP will be his last, and wept during the first interview to promote it. LAX is an intense and remarkably focused record - almost every syllable concerns Compton, gangsta rap and (as one song title has it) Game's Pain - but the minor-key, would-be emotive beats of tracks such as Money or the Kanye West-produced Angel (featuring rapper Common) don't bring the best out of his expressive flow. Angus Batey