There might not be an album that’s faced as many delays this year as The Game. The Compton MC has been hyping the release of his first post-retirement album for months following salacious media appearances and a handful of singles. The album was due out earlier this summer before it was pushed back to the end of June and then the top of July.
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On Friday, The Game finally shared the official release date and cover art of his forthcoming album, Drillmatic: Heart Vs. Mind. The cover art features a photo of The Game suited up and seated on the right side of a loveseat sofa getting his hair braided while the left side is engulfed in flames. The album will be due out on August 12th with Hit-Boy as the executive producer. Co-executive producers on the album include The Game, Wack 100, Kanye West, and Chris “Big Duke” Malloy, among others.
The Game explained that much of the delay surrounding the album’s release stem from the 30-song tracklist, which caused a rift behind the scenes. Between publishing, sample clearance, and other administrative tasks, The Game had to push the album back even further that he initially expected.
“My apologies for the delay but fans sometimes don’t understand how hard it is behind the scenes trying to clear samples on over 30 records & to get publishing splits, agreements, mixes approved, featured artists agreements & a million other things done in order to have a clean, flawless album put together & released,” he wrote. “Everyone also wanted me to not put 30 songs on my album which again held us up due to the amount of music I’m pushing out but I felt & always feel my fans deserve more. This date gives me time to properly set up, get visually prepared & present to you another classic.“