Seattle rap artist Twin-G put out his first album on Wet City Records in 2001, titled In Tha Name Of Game. It included diverse tracks like the braggadocious “Peanut Butter Guts,” the reflective “What Can I Do,” and the party cut “Show Me The Money,” featuring rap stars Spice 1 and Kokane. In fact, the album featured a long roster of guest performers, including the “J.R. Ewing of Seattle,” the one and only Sir Mix-A-Lot. Four years later in 2005, Twin-G returned with In Tha Name Of Game: Volume 2 on D-Sane’s Street Level Records.

In Tha Name Of Game: Volume 2 includes a remix of “Show Me The Money,” which replaces the original’s feathery, laissez-faire beat with something a little more substantial and hard-hitting. Similar to the debut album, there are a bunch of guest appearances on Volume 2, perhaps too many to list in this review. Two songs here, “We Bang” and “Cocc It N Shoot” feature Twin-G’s group Lac Of Respect, which put out a solid album in 2004 called Game Members also on Street Level Records.

A good Volume 2 standout track is “Pros,” which sets down a unique guitar-jam beat produced by the talented John Silva, and then swirls Twin’s lyrics around it like stripes on a barber pole. “Pros” is compact and balanced, with a very catchy chorus. “Swisher Heat” is a slow cooker which interpolates the melody to The Gap Band’s classic “Yearning For Your Love.” Another perfectly framed song is “Respect” which leaves lots of space for the beats and quotable lines to stand out. To me, some Volume 2 tracks feel vocally or sonically overloaded, but “Respect” pares it down and gives you “just the facts, ma’am” as the famous Dragnet catchphrase put it.

My favorite track on In Tha Name Of Game: Volume 2 is the most confessional. “You Don’t Know Twin Game” is the title, and the song is extremely meta. I especially appreciate the way the arrangement comes together right in front of us during the first 30 seconds, and then settles into a platinum-sounding vibe. In “You Don’t Know Twin Game,” Twin-G tells his life story with extreme detail. “He gave me twenty G’s and said give me an LP, I f***ed off most of it, bought a Caprice, and fed my family,” is one example. The emotional beat is by Todd Brown, who incidentally also produced “Swisher Heat.”

Hats off to all the producers on this album, and to all the guest stars. Overall, In Tha Name Of Game: Volume 2 is a strong sophomore effort from Twin-G, and it shows that gangsta rap is alive and well in the 206. Written by Novocaine132