Music
The Game released The Documentary III on Friday 21 August 2026, more than twenty years after the first instalment established him as a defining voice out of Compton. Twenty-four tracks, a formidable guest list — and, within hours, a controversy he has been denying ever since.
An album built as a career reckoning
The record brings together Drake, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, E-40, YG, Black Thought, Larry June and Drakeo the Ruler, who died in 2021. The Game co-produced it with Tommy Brown, Mike & Keys and Travis Wilson.
That cast says something in itself. After two decades of fallings-out and reconciliations, The Game places himself at the centre of a West Coast map he did a great deal to draw.
What listeners heard
The debate settled on two tracks.
On “No Brakes”, featuring Drake, The Game raps “Me, Drake and Drake, we the three amigos,” then follows with a line about picking a side. Given the very public conflict between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, many read it as a declaration of allegiance.
On “LA Monster”, he raps that he has no problem with the boogeyman, and the boogeyman has no problem with him. Boogeyman is a persona Kendrick Lamar has used for himself. The album also references a GNX — the car that gives Kendrick’s 2024 album its title.
People close to Kendrick Lamar responded publicly to the album. Kendrick Lamar himself has not commented.
The Game’s answer
The rapper denied it quickly and bluntly. In a pinned comment he wrote that he had not dissed anyone on the track in question.
So here is where the verifiable facts sit: an album, lyrics open to interpretation, a reaction from one artist’s circle, a denial from the author, and silence from the other side. Everything past that is reading.
Why this matters beyond rap
The Drake-Kendrick conflict, which erupted in 2024, became one of the most closely followed episodes in recent hip-hop history. It produced number ones, streaming records and coverage that spilled well outside the music press.
For many newcomers, records like this are also a cultural doorway. Music is often how you learn the codes — the city rivalries, the references a conversation assumes you already know. Understanding why a line about a car makes headlines is understanding something about the country you have just arrived in.
And for Drake there is a Canadian dimension too: the Torontonian remains the most-streamed Canadian artist of his generation, and every chapter of this rivalry is followed closely here.
Worth a listen
Our The PremiereMinistar Playlist is updated regularly with what is out and what people are talking about. You will find it on our Music page.
Further reading
- Coverage of the release in Billboard, Complex, Rolling Stone and XXL (21-24 August 2026).
This article reports public statements and interpretations carried by the music press. It takes no side. Updated: 25 August 2026.