Friday, August 17, 2007

DA GAME


Biography
The Game was born and raised in the "birthplace of gangsta rap," Compton, California. He received his nickname from his grandmother who claimed he was always game for anything. Growing up in Compton, The Game grew up in the Santana Blocc Crips neighborhood. He was placed in a foster home from the 3rd grade until the 9th grade due to family problems with his father. Soon after he was reunited with his mother, one of his older brothers, Jevon, was shot and killed. Just after his high school graduation in 1999, another older adopted brother, Charles, was shot and killed. His half brother, nicknamed "Big Fase Hunned", grew up in a different neighborhood and was an active member of the Cedar Block Piru Bloods. As their relationship grew, The Game became a member of the Cedar Block Pirus as well, all while living in a Crip neighborhood. Prior to rapping, at 6'4" The Game (AKA Chuck Taylor) was a star basketball player at Compton High School. He received a basketball scholarship to Washington State University but was dismissed from the school during his freshman year over drug allegations. He grew up with NBA star Baron Davis, who is now the godfather to The Game's son, Harlem Caron Taylor. The Game eventually got into the lifestyle of hustling with his brother, Big Fase Hunned. Car thefts, drug dealing, and shootings forced his mother to kick him out of the house. He moved into the projects in a nearby city with Big Fase 100 in 2000 and took over the local drug trade. Late on the night of October 1st 2001, he was shot five times during a home invasion. While in the hospital The Game decided to change his life and put the past behind him, to pursue his interest in hip hop music and dream of becoming a rapper. Soon after, The Game was discovered by rap pioneer, and former N.W.A member, Dr. Dre, who signed The Game to his Aftermath Entertainment label.

Although The Game was originally signed as an artist at Aftermath Entertainment, Interscope CEO, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre decided to have The Game work with 50 Cent and G-Unit (currently made up of 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, Olivia, Young Buck, and The Game). The concept of The Game with G-Unit, was to help increase the popularity of one of the leading acts in rap & hip-hop, and to also increase the notoriety of G-Unit on the West Coast. Furthermore, the already existing popularity of G-Unit along with the support of Dr. Dre, would ensure The Game a high number of album sales, which it did, with The Documentary debuting at the number one spot on the Billboard music charts. His mentors Dr. Dre and 50 Cent were responsible for the debut of The Documentary, an album that explores The Game's life while he was pursuing a career in the rap industry.

Although The Game originally wanted to title his album Nigga Wit' An Attitude - Volume 1, he couldn't secure the album's title because of a court order from the widow of Eazy E's, requesting to not have the N.W.A. name on the album. The Game decided to rename his album to The Documentary. The album went on to top sales charts with singles such as "How We Do", "Hate It Or Love It", and "Dreams" (with the first two featuring 50 Cent).

Controversy

Though The Game is a new artist, he has already made some hip hop rivals: among them Suge Knight and Death Row Records, Memphis Bleek and Jay-Z of Roc-A-Fella Records, Yukmouth, Joe Budden, and even mentor 50 Cent. Game also now has beef with former mentor JT Tha Bigga Figga for releasing old Game material when he was signed to his Get Low imprint. JT has legal right to do so however and still is releasing music from the outraged musician.

Joe Budden
Although Joe Budden didn't really have a dispute with The Game, his disagreement with G-Unit was started through 50 Cent's comments of Joe Budden's debut album. He criticized Budden's album for "lacking street credibility". Joe Budden took offense and released various insults directed at G-Unit. In early 2004, a track on a mixtape had Budden attacking G-Unit on the same track that The Game was featured on. During 2004, The Game had exchanged several disrespectful records with Joe Budden. The Game made many death threats towards Joe Budden. Joe Budden said that The Game was on the TV show "Change of Heart" and had a tongue ring. The Game admitted to both allegations on his Web site. They mutually decided to stop making hostile records towards each other at a party in New York.

Yukmouth
A video surfaced on the Internet in early 2004 that had Yukmouth in a studio with rapper Domination, who happened to be making a disrespectful song aimed at G-Unit. At the end of the clip, Yukmouth makes comments about Game having a tongue ring. In October 2004, The Game released a record directed towards Yukmouth, using the same beat Yukmouth is most famous for, "I Got 5 On It". Yukmouth responded with two tracks and a music video for the second track, featuring an impersonator of The Game. Both songs claimed the same things Joe Budden had said but also said The Game was slapped by Suge Knight. That rumor was supposedly started by Daz Dillinger. The Game responded on his website, saying that if Suge Knight ever touched him, Knight would be "6 feet under". In February 2005, Yukmouth released a mixtape called "All Out War" with several tracks directed towards The Game. Yukmouth claimed on the mixtape that The Game used to be a male stripper and he has a video of it as proof to be released on United Ghettos Of America 3 DVD. Recently G-unit Member and former Crip Spider Loc got in an altercation with Yukmouth in which he punched his face and jacked his chain.

Roc-A-Fella and Jay-Z
Throughout the debut of The Game, he had a rivalry with Memphis Bleek. The origin of the competition emanates from JT the Bigga Figga's old label (Get Low) sounding very similar to Memphis Bleek's label (Dirty Get Low). The Game was on Get Low Records before signing to Aftermath. The Game bashed Memphis Bleek for the name situation on many tracks. Another rivalry is based on a line from The Game's "Westside Story" track where he says "And I don't do button up shirts or drive Maybachs", which Jay-Z took this as a direct insult to him. The result of this is a Jay-Z freestyle that The Game perceived was disrespecting him, with lines like "The Game's through." Memphis Bleek also challenged The Game to a rap battle for $50,000 that night on the same radio station that aired the freestyle.

The Game responded the next day at a concert in Amsterdam where he made several remarks about Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, and Roc-A-Fella Records in an impromptu song. Jay-Z insisted the "Game" references were just about the rap game itself, not the rapper. The Game also retreated when Tim Westwood asked questions about it on a radio station in the U.K. the same day. In his concert in Los Angeles he attacked everyone he had problems with in the past, which included Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella. Jay-Z recently responded on rapper Memphis Bleek's new album "534" on a song titled "Dear Summer". The song itself is mostly about the rap game, but also attacks the rapper The Game, for example in one line Jay-Z states "Like when niggas make subliminal records/if it ain't directed directly at me, I don't respect it" which is talking about when the game said "And I don't do button up shirts or drive Maybachs" in his song "Westside Story". Jay-Z didn't say Game's name in the song, but it is easy to tell that these insults were directed at him. The Game has not yet retaliated to this song.

50 Cent and G-Unit
The Game was the fifth member of the rap group G-Unit just a few months ago, until 50 Cent announced on the radio he was releasing The Game from G-Unit. 50 Cent claimed that the rapper was disloyal for not participating in his rap feud with Nas, Jadakiss, and Fat Joe and not giving him proper credit for The Game's album debut. 50 Cent claimed that The Game was not only a "hard head" but almost a risk for the whole G-Unit group because it caused strained relations with Lloyd Banks and 50 Cent. He felt that his album was being neglected for The Game and his jealousy was fueled by their constant arguing while on tour together. Also there were rumors that 50 Cent had a pushing match with The Game. After hearing of the interview in which 50 Cent was kicking Game out of G-Unit, The Game had gone to confront 50 Cent at the Hot 97 radio station since 50 had not previously talked to Game about his dismissal from the group. When they were not allowed entry to the building, the entourage of both 50 Cent and The Game were involved in a dispute leading to a member of Game's entourage getting shot and wounded. 50 Cent ended his interview while on air as he was rushed out of the building.

The rappers had officially put an end to the disagreement between one another and donated money to charitable causes. Although they rarely made eye contact, they both agreed that they were not risking their lives over this feud. Within a few weeks, 50 Cent and G-Unit were dissing The Game once again. In the XXL Magazine, 50 Cent was still dissing The Game, and claimed that without his support on the next album, The Game will not see multi-platinum sales. He also went on to say that Game is not a gangsta and he only says he has an AK47 to make people think he is a gangsta. Tony Yayo was on Power 105 in New York re-igniting the feud between G-Unit and The Game. Yayo was commenting about the street credibility about The Game and talking about his Change Of Heart appearance. 50 Cent filed a lawsuit against Jimmy Henchmen, the manager of The Game. The rapper sued Henchmen over the filming of the DVD the original "50 Cent" in Infamous Times. The movie chronicles the life of Kelvin "50 Cents" Martin and the rapper authorized footage for the DVD. Henchmen dismissed the lawsuit, stating that 50 Cent's jealousy of The Game was the reason for him suing him.

At New York radio station Hot 97's Summer Jam concert at Giant's Stadium in New Jersey on June 5th 2005, The Game's performance confirmed that his feud with G-Unit has not been squashed. During his performance The Game slandered G-Unit several times, at one point yelling out "G-g-g-g-u-not". The insults culminated in the appearance of a mascot dressed up as a rat sporting a G-Unit tank top on stage. The rat represented 50 Cent, who has been accused of snitching and placing others in jail by other rappers such as Fat Joe and Jadakiss. The mascot was then beaten down by members of The Black Wall Street. During the set, The Game challenged his former G-Unit members, and capped this off by tossing his G-Unit chain into the crowd, and yelling "Fuck this chain!" The outlashing at G-Unit received mixed crowd response.

He recently released "300 Bars and Runnin'", a 15 minute diss at G-unit attacking every single member of his former crew.

Benzino
Benzino and The Source recently attacked The Game over his comments from his album The Documentary. The Game stated on "Don't Need Your Love", his displeasure of The Source. Also The Game recorded a scathing freestyle rap with Malice, a white rapper from Compton to respond towards the situation between Benzino and Eminem. Benzino responded on the song "Check Mate". Benzino has had a long standing feud with Eminem and has disrespected several artists on Interscope Records, which Eminem is a part of, in the past. An affiliate of The Game was interviewed for The Source. The cover story will explain what happened between The Game and 50 Cent after the incident at Hot 97.

The Radio One incident
On January 25, 2005, while promoting his debut album, The Game was in Washington, D.C. alongside his manager Jimmy Henchmen. They were being interviewed for WKYS-FM by intern Kwasi Jones known as DJ Zxulu. A comment made by Zxulu about the earpiece Henchmen was wearing started a confrontation with 20 members of The Game's entourage. Jones suffered a physical assault which lead to him being admitted to the hospital. The incident at the radio station caused Radio One to remove all the singles from The Game off their play lists in some of their mainstream markets. It was soon lifted after The Game and his Black Wall Street group issued an apology to the radio station. Those same comments were also stated while filming his video for the single "Hate It Or Love It". The song original was featured on The Documentary, but the remix was on 50 Cent's The Massacre. The remix featured The Game stating remarks about the incident: "I’m rap’s MVP/Don’t make me remind ya'll what happened in D.C."

Alleged accounts from Jones prompted him file a lawsuit against The Game. Jones sued The Game for $280 million dollars and also named his mentors Dr. Dre and 50 Cent alongside Eminem in this lawsuit. Prince George's County Courts filed assault and battery charges against The Game. The lawsuit was thrown out. Representatives for The Game have had no comment on the situation.

Unity among rivals
The Game along with Steve Harvey, Snoop Dogg and various members that represent California's rap inner circles all came together to form a west coast "peace treaty". The peace treaty ended the rivalry between Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Suge Knight. Although neither person was in attendance, The Game was there on behalf of Dr. Dre and Harvey was on behalf of Suge Knight. The rivalry between Dr. Dre and Suge Knight has been ongoing since Dre's departure from Death Row Records.

While on tour
The Game and Snoop Dogg joined together to promote the "How The West Was Won Tour". They made a stop in Seattle and performed at the Auburn White River Amphitheatre. Richard Monroe, an apparent fan, had went onstage and got too close to Snoop Dogg. The incident sparred a brawl with 12 members of Snoop Dogg and The Game's bodyguards. The incident was filmed on home video showing Snoop Dogg performing his song "Gin and Juice" and Monroe happened to lean his arm on the rappers shoulder. The bodyguards grabbed Monroe and tossed him to ground and repeatedly punched and kicked the fan. Conflicting reports state that Snoop Dogg invited fans onstage to perform with him. The Auburn staff refuted the claim stating the incident between the fan and the bodyguards. They maintained that the safety of all performers was mandatory and the fan had no business being onstage in the first place. Fans also seen The Game punching and kicking Monroe while the incident took place. The representatives of the label Interscope, has comment on Snoop Dogg or The Game. Local investigators are looking into the situation seeking if charges will be filed.

300 Bars and Runnin'
In mid-June 2005, The Game released a 15-minute-long diss song entitled 300 Bars and Runnin' (the title an homage to NWA's 100 Miles and Runnin' EP), addressing various enemies of his, including Memphis Bleek, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Olivia, and Tony Yayo, among others. Notably, The Game explicitly quells rumours of a growing beef between himself and Jay-Z ("That wasn't no subliminal, Jay"), though whether or not the beef will stay squashed is another issue. The track's instrumental is comprised of several famous hip-hop beats, including Jay-Z's Dead Presidents, The Blueprint 2, Eazy-E's Real Muthaphuckkin' G's, Mobb Deep's Shook Ones, 50 Cent's In Da Club, Kanye West's Diamonds (From Sierra Leone) (the first single from his sophomore LP, Late Registration) and more.

The Black Wall Street
The Black Wall Street Records is a label started by the rapper The Game and his half brother Big Fase 100. The label features artists Vita (formerly of Murder, Inc), 4Bent (known as Billboard), Black Friday, Glasses Malone (a Crip), Life and Producer Nu Jerzy Devil. The Game is also appointed as an artist although he is also signed to Aftermath Entertainment and G-Unit Records. The labels are distributed through Interscope. The Black Wall Street Records is not affiliated with G-Unit. Recently it has been rumoured the Black Wall Street Records are preparing to sign Mobb Deep to their record company. It is sad to note though that, in June 2004, The Billboard was murdered in Compton by still yet unknown killers. Game has said to the public he will not retaliate in his movement to end all gang violence in the Los Angeles County area.

Other ventures
After the release of The Documentary, The Game teamed with Kanye West and Ludacris to release the Where You At? Boost Mobile Phone Campaign. Most recently The Game has partnered up with hat-maker New Era in the design of his Capture the Flag 59FIFTY fitted hats. Also the rapper has endorsed his own clothing line. The Game and The Black Wall Street created The Frank Pace Collection. This clothing is dedicated to upscale men's fashion and will be released in spring of 2006. The Game is also promised an endorsement with Reebok to create his own trademark shoes, the Hurricane ("Hurricane Game" is an alias that Taylor often uses). The Game has also shot a movie that is having an upcoming release in the summer in which he is featured in a very explicit and raunchy sex scene.

His appearance on Punk'd
The Game went into the studio to make his new album, but the constuction workers moved into the driveway and start repaving the driveway. The Game didn't know that the parking lot was going to be closed for couple of days, until he came out from the studio. The Game threw two benches and a chair so he could go over the concrete. They were asked to remove the benches and a chair, but one man tried to escape with a Cadillac until his car was stuck inside the concrete. The Game talked to the construction guys until Ashton Kutcher pulled the plug off from this incident.

* * * *

No comments: