The Documentary

The Documentary
Studio album by The Game
Released	January 18, 2005 (2005-01-18)
Recorded	June 2003 – October 2004
Genre	West coast hip hop, gangsta rap, hardcore hip hop
Length	69:57
Label	Aftermath G-Unit Interscope
Producer	Dr. Dre (also exec.) 50 Cent (also exec.) Just Blaze Scott Storch Mike Elizondo Buckwild Che Vicious Cool & Dre Danja Eminem Focus... Havoc Hi-Tek Jeff Bhasker Jeff Reed Kanye West Luis Resto Mark Batson Needlz Timbaland
The Game chronology
Untold Story (2004) The Documentary (2005) Doctor's Advocate (2006)
Alternate cover
Special edition cover
Singles from The Documentary
"Westside Story" Released: September 7, 2004 "How We Do" Released: November 23, 2004 "Hate It or Love It" Released: January 28, 2005 "Higher" Released: March 15, 2005 "Dreams" Released: June 7, 2005 "Put You on the Game" Released: August 30, 2005

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau	C−
Entertainment Weekly	B+
Los Angeles Times
The New York Times	favorable
Pitchfork Media	8.3/10
PopMatters	8/10
Rolling Stone
The Village Voice	favorable
USA Today

The Documentary is the debut studio album by American rapper The Game. It was released on January 18, 2005, by Aftermath Entertainment, G-Unit Records and Interscope Records. The record serves as his major-label debut, which was preceded by the release of his independently-released debut of Untold Story (2004). In 2001, after The Game was recovering from a shooting, he began embarking his rap career. He then was discovered by Dr. Dre, who he signed The Game to his Aftermath Entertainment label. The album includes the production from high-profile producers such as Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Scott Storch and Timbaland, among others. The album features guest appearances from 50 Cent, Eminem, Nate Dogg and Faith Evans, among others. This would be The Game's only album on Aftermath and G-Unit Records, as he left the label after a feud began to occurred between him and fellow G-Unit label-mate 50 Cent.

The Documentary debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 586,000 units in the first week. In March 2005, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the album two times platinum and sold five million copies worldwide. Upon its release, The Documentary received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the album's production. Since the album's release, The Game has been credited as a driving force in reviving the West Coast hip hop scene, which had been overshadowed by artists from the east, midwest and south. The record remains as The Game's best-selling album to date. On June 16, 2014, the sequel to the album was announced, called The Documentary 2, which was released on October 9, 2015, followed by the release of The Documentary 2.5.