What the Game's Been Missing! (2005)

''Rap's one big casino, I'm plottin' Ocean's Eleven,'' pronounces no-nonsense hip-hop barker Santana on What the Game's Been Missing!. And he convincingly supports such rampant braggadocio with an overwhelming, contagious sense of self-confidence. Surprising musical flourishes, from the ragga-gangsta yelp of ''Shottas'' to the ''Please Mr. Postman'' sample on ''Oh Yes,'' help everything bounce with force, while the striking tick-tock pop of ''Clockwork'' takes his bigheaded blasphemy to uncharted levels of freshness.