California rapper adds myth to music
By Ryan Pearson
Associated Press via The Detroit News
Myth-making can be as important as musicianship in the rap world.
Tupac Shakur was known as the thoughtful son of a Black Panther activist. Eazy-E was a hustler who once sold tapes out of the trunk of his car. And so the Game, who carefully studied their careers, introduces himself with this tale:
Raised largely in foster care and beat up daily when he wore Blood red to Crip-dominated Compton High School, he still managed to nab a basketball scholarship to Washington State -- only to be kicked out for selling drugs on campus. Uninterested in music, he turned to stealing cars and other crimes, but was shot five times in 2001 whne thieves invaded his drug-selling spot. Twenty-three hours later, he says, "I woke up from a coma and I had the gift of rap."
Appearances on underground mixtapes rapidly led to a deal with super-producer Dr. Dre. He tutored th Game and oversaw his debut, "The Documentary". Released Tuesday, it's expected to be among the year's top sellers, and could move up to 600,000 copies in its first week.
A collaboration with 50 Cent, "How We Do", climbed to No. 6 on the most recet Billboard singles chart. Another song, "Westside Story", gives the short version of Game's life: "Sold crack, got jacked, got shot, came back, jumped on Dre's back, PAYBACK! Homie I'm bringing C-A back."
The C-A in question is California, where the seminal gangster rap scene slumped in popularity as Dre looked elsewhere for talent (finding Eminem in Detroit and 50 Cent in New York) while pioneers like Ice Cube eased slowly out of music altogether.
The calculating, heavily tattooed 25-year-old Game, always ready with a snarl for videos and publicity photos, says he pieced together his style and personaby listening to Cube's "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted", Tupac's "All Eyez On Me", and other rap landmarks.
"I tried to take everybody who I thought was legendary who I thought made classic material, and combine 'em all", He says during a break between filming an independent movie and meeting with Interscope Records chairman Jimmy Iovine.
"I took Jay-Z's cockiness and his swagger, I took Pac's ambition and his work ethic. I took (Notorious) B.I.G's wordplay and his metaphorical climate, I took Snoop Dogg's gang-banging and California's lifestyle. I took Kool G Rap and Ice Cube's flows."
But Game, Whose real name is Jayceon Taylor, doesn't even think of himself as a musician, primarily.
"I consider myself to be a businessman," he says. "Doing music is a branch on the tree. The other branches are filmmaking and endorsments.."
A Reebok sneaker deal is in the works, as is a movie, "Millionaire Boys Club." Michael K. Williams (Omar from HBO's "The Wire) and Shari Headley ("Coming To America") star alongside Game in the gangster tale and love story he describes as "a cross between 'Menace II Society' and 'Love Jones.'" the film is in production; Game plans to shop it to studios as a theatrical release.
Next up, the 6-foot-4 rapper -- nicknamed by his grandmother for being game to try anything as a child -- is trying to get back into basketball.
He went head-to-head with pros like Rafer Alston at last summer's Rucker Park tournament in New York. And as with his rap career, there are no plans to start small: He's aiming for a 10-day NBA contract.
"you ask anybody about my game, you'll see," he says.
In the beef-obsessed rap world, he's been just as outspoken -- taking shots and winning lyrical battles against New Yorker Joe Buddens and the Bay Area's Yukmouth. Such wars are a coming-of-age rite for rising rappers, and Game isn't ready to quit them quite yet.
"If nobody wants to be next ... That's what I do, start something for no apparent reason. I'll find the next victim."
He'll even stir up controversy within his own camp. After rapping alongside the voice of Eazy-E on a mixtape song, Game says he plans to use more unreleased Eazy lyrics in the future.
"What I won't do is abuse his legacy, as I think everybody's doing with Tupac," he says. Reminded that labelmate Eminem was executive producer of a album released in December, Game replies, "People in general are abusing Pac's legacy. I'm not saying no names because I don't have to, people know who I'm talking about. So, if the shoe fits, put it on, lace it up and get on the court."
What Game won't do is turn on Dre. He slows down and drops his voice when speaking of the legendary producer and rapper, who he idolized along with other members of the pioneering Compton-based group N.W.A. When he was 10, he watched group members including Dre, Eazy and Cube hand out turkey's in November and Christmas presents in December. Game says that one year the group performed a concert in an open field on the fourth of July. He also said he loved seeing them on TV and talking about Compton and how he was so proud to be from the city.
"It was just beautiful. Everybody was feeling them. How many artists that blow up like that actually go with no security guards to the place they grew up in? They didn't have to worry about security, they definately came equipped for drama by themselves and they knew that if anything went down, the people of the streets and neighborhoods they were in were their security," he says. "I just felt like Compton was all one big family and for a short time, that's exactly what we were. I really appreciated the things Dre and NWA did for us.
Now, having moved to a condominium in Beverly Hills, Game considers Dre both a musical mentor and a lifesaver, for pulling him out of his dangerous Compton life with a recording contract. As a matter of fact, Game admits that's about the only thing he and fellow rapper Eminem have in common.
"Em and I are cordial with each other, we're grown men we know business is business, we don't really mesh too well with each other but one thing I agree with him on is that Dre really is like a savior. If he likes what you do, your thoughts and ideas of what direction you want to take your music in, he will pull out all the stops to do whatever it takes to make you comfortable. He even tells you when you get in the studio with him, even though it's his room and equipment, he lets the artist know that he's working for them, not the other way around."
Game says that in the end, no matter what happens with him, as long as he lives he owes Dr. Dre his life.
"He brings the best outta me and he took me off of the streets and gave me a new life. I owe everything to Dre," he says. "If it wasn't for Dre, I'd be dead right now most likely."
By Ryan Pearson
Associated Press via The Detroit News
Myth-making can be as important as musicianship in the rap world.
Tupac Shakur was known as the thoughtful son of a Black Panther activist. Eazy-E was a hustler who once sold tapes out of the trunk of his car. And so the Game, who carefully studied their careers, introduces himself with this tale:
Raised largely in foster care and beat up daily when he wore Blood red to Crip-dominated Compton High School, he still managed to nab a basketball scholarship to Washington State -- only to be kicked out for selling drugs on campus. Uninterested in music, he turned to stealing cars and other crimes, but was shot five times in 2001 whne thieves invaded his drug-selling spot. Twenty-three hours later, he says, "I woke up from a coma and I had the gift of rap."
Appearances on underground mixtapes rapidly led to a deal with super-producer Dr. Dre. He tutored th Game and oversaw his debut, "The Documentary". Released Tuesday, it's expected to be among the year's top sellers, and could move up to 600,000 copies in its first week.
A collaboration with 50 Cent, "How We Do", climbed to No. 6 on the most recet Billboard singles chart. Another song, "Westside Story", gives the short version of Game's life: "Sold crack, got jacked, got shot, came back, jumped on Dre's back, PAYBACK! Homie I'm bringing C-A back."
The C-A in question is California, where the seminal gangster rap scene slumped in popularity as Dre looked elsewhere for talent (finding Eminem in Detroit and 50 Cent in New York) while pioneers like Ice Cube eased slowly out of music altogether.
The calculating, heavily tattooed 25-year-old Game, always ready with a snarl for videos and publicity photos, says he pieced together his style and personaby listening to Cube's "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted", Tupac's "All Eyez On Me", and other rap landmarks.
"I tried to take everybody who I thought was legendary who I thought made classic material, and combine 'em all", He says during a break between filming an independent movie and meeting with Interscope Records chairman Jimmy Iovine.
"I took Jay-Z's cockiness and his swagger, I took Pac's ambition and his work ethic. I took (Notorious) B.I.G's wordplay and his metaphorical climate, I took Snoop Dogg's gang-banging and California's lifestyle. I took Kool G Rap and Ice Cube's flows."
But Game, Whose real name is Jayceon Taylor, doesn't even think of himself as a musician, primarily.
"I consider myself to be a businessman," he says. "Doing music is a branch on the tree. The other branches are filmmaking and endorsments.."
A Reebok sneaker deal is in the works, as is a movie, "Millionaire Boys Club." Michael K. Williams (Omar from HBO's "The Wire) and Shari Headley ("Coming To America") star alongside Game in the gangster tale and love story he describes as "a cross between 'Menace II Society' and 'Love Jones.'" the film is in production; Game plans to shop it to studios as a theatrical release.
Next up, the 6-foot-4 rapper -- nicknamed by his grandmother for being game to try anything as a child -- is trying to get back into basketball.
He went head-to-head with pros like Rafer Alston at last summer's Rucker Park tournament in New York. And as with his rap career, there are no plans to start small: He's aiming for a 10-day NBA contract.
"you ask anybody about my game, you'll see," he says.
In the beef-obsessed rap world, he's been just as outspoken -- taking shots and winning lyrical battles against New Yorker Joe Buddens and the Bay Area's Yukmouth. Such wars are a coming-of-age rite for rising rappers, and Game isn't ready to quit them quite yet.
"If nobody wants to be next ... That's what I do, start something for no apparent reason. I'll find the next victim."
He'll even stir up controversy within his own camp. After rapping alongside the voice of Eazy-E on a mixtape song, Game says he plans to use more unreleased Eazy lyrics in the future.
"What I won't do is abuse his legacy, as I think everybody's doing with Tupac," he says. Reminded that labelmate Eminem was executive producer of a album released in December, Game replies, "People in general are abusing Pac's legacy. I'm not saying no names because I don't have to, people know who I'm talking about. So, if the shoe fits, put it on, lace it up and get on the court."
What Game won't do is turn on Dre. He slows down and drops his voice when speaking of the legendary producer and rapper, who he idolized along with other members of the pioneering Compton-based group N.W.A. When he was 10, he watched group members including Dre, Eazy and Cube hand out turkey's in November and Christmas presents in December. Game says that one year the group performed a concert in an open field on the fourth of July. He also said he loved seeing them on TV and talking about Compton and how he was so proud to be from the city.
"It was just beautiful. Everybody was feeling them. How many artists that blow up like that actually go with no security guards to the place they grew up in? They didn't have to worry about security, they definately came equipped for drama by themselves and they knew that if anything went down, the people of the streets and neighborhoods they were in were their security," he says. "I just felt like Compton was all one big family and for a short time, that's exactly what we were. I really appreciated the things Dre and NWA did for us.
Now, having moved to a condominium in Beverly Hills, Game considers Dre both a musical mentor and a lifesaver, for pulling him out of his dangerous Compton life with a recording contract. As a matter of fact, Game admits that's about the only thing he and fellow rapper Eminem have in common.
"Em and I are cordial with each other, we're grown men we know business is business, we don't really mesh too well with each other but one thing I agree with him on is that Dre really is like a savior. If he likes what you do, your thoughts and ideas of what direction you want to take your music in, he will pull out all the stops to do whatever it takes to make you comfortable. He even tells you when you get in the studio with him, even though it's his room and equipment, he lets the artist know that he's working for them, not the other way around."
Game says that in the end, no matter what happens with him, as long as he lives he owes Dr. Dre his life.
"He brings the best outta me and he took me off of the streets and gave me a new life. I owe everything to Dre," he says. "If it wasn't for Dre, I'd be dead right now most likely."
. yea man thats why i love him so much
So anyone that denounced Yukmouth in his thread and gives props to game on this is a faggot dickrider for real :thumb:
