1992 - Review
1992 was a hell of a year, and rapper The Game remembers it well. Embers of unrest were fanned by the savage beating of Rodney King by four police office, and the entire city of Los Angeles burst into violence after their acquittal. It was like a bonfire erupting. Six days. One billion in damages. 55 dead. 2000 wounded. The National Guard, Army, and Marines had to be deployed to finally quell the riots. It wasn’t a pretty time and it did a huge amount of damage to relations between the people and the police. It’s remembered every day in communities across the country. The Game watched looting and violence as he stood in the rift between red and blue, Crip and Blood, vying for control.
It is a time that some would rather forget, but others see shocking similarities between the powder keg of the 1990’s with the unrest and conflict of 2016 America. Violence between the police and the African American community has come to a head, dominating the news-cycle while some people would rather pretend that web re in a post-racism America. We elected a black President after all. Where most people want to ignore the problem 1992 wants everyone to pay attention.
It is a dark and dirty album, bringing back the gangster rap flavor of the 90’s rap game. Gunshots and gang members dominate landscape, while his gruff voice grabs you and orders you to pay attention from minute one. From the amazing open of “Savage Lifestyle” to 90’s callback tracks like “Fuck Orange Juice”, “The Soundtrack”, and “I Grew up on Wu-Tang” where he raps over sampled tracks and decades old references. It’s socially aware rap couched in the guise of aggressive gangster tracks. This album seems part memory part cautionary tale of what might happen if we don’t watch where we are going.
“Why they ain’t tell us red and blue don’t matter when you blackMatter of fact we in blindfolds, bunch of lost soulsKids shot down in the streets, now they eyes closed.”
Simultaneously a love letter to 90’s rap and a warning about the state of race relations in America, 1992 blends hard hitting tracks with a message, while diluting the name dropping persona of The Game.
4/5
Editor's Choice
Tracklist:
1. Savage Lifestyle
2. True Colors / It's On (Feat. Osbe Chill)
3. Bompton
4. Fuck Orange Juice
5. The Juice
6. Young Niggas
7. The Soundtrack
8. I Grew Up On Wu-Tang
9. However Do You Want it
10. Baby You
11. What Your Life Like
12. 92 Bars
13. All Eyez (Feat. Jeremih)
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Tom has been writing about media since he was a senior in high school. He likes long walks on the beach, dark liquor, and when characters reload guns in action movies.
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