The Game – 1992 (RSD 2023)

Game’s eighth proper studio album came out during an active 2016. Earlier in the year, he released soundtracks for a documentary, Streets of Compton, and a mobile app game, Block Wars. On a personal level, he and 50 Cent made amends following a prolonged period of mutual antagonism, and then he went after Meek Mill, as documented on the forceful but controlled “92 Bars,” included here. Although it’s titled 1992 and is heavily nostalgic (even by Game’s standard), stacked with references to the state of hip-hop circa the early ’90s, it’s inspired by the era more than it is a period piece.