The Game Generates West Coast Buzz
Narrowly survive being shot by unknown assailants. While recuperating, dedicate your life to rap. When healed, jump on the mixtape circuit and establish a formidable underground presence. Win the support of hip-hop luminaries like Dr. Dre and Eminem. Produce an album that vividly recounts your hard-knock life. Strut your hard-won street credibility on MTV and BET.
Like 50 Cent before him, the rapper Game, Dr. Dre's newest protege, has followed this successful blueprint to the letter. But for all the similarities, Game, a 25-year-old from Compton who was born Jayceon Taylor, says he will not be measuring himself just against rappers when his debut album, ''The Documentary,'' arrives this week.
''I want to do Usher numbers,'' he said in an interview a few days ago, referring to the R&B crooner. ''I want to sell a million albums in my first week. And if I only sell one album the following week, I'm good.''
Whether his album will reach platinum status in the next few days remains to be seen. But not since Snoop Dogg's emergence more than a decade ago has a West Coast rapper generated so much buzz.
Game's first single, ''How We Do,'' featuring 50 Cent, is ubiquitous on urban radio. Game pitches Boost Mobile cellphones for Nextel alongside established artists like Ludacris and Kanye West. He grimaces from a Sean John fashion billboard overlooking Sunset Boulevard. Drive around Los Angeles and you see posters of the album's cover -- Game, shirtless in baggy black jeans and Converse sneakers, straddling tires with gleaming gold rims -- on walls and billboards. Placards dot bus benches from Santa Monica to the San Fernando Valley.
All this attention has as much to do with Game's music as it does with his industry affiliations -- Universal Music Group's Interscope Records is strongly backing the CD -- and his turbulent back story, which includes being placed in foster care when he was 8 and being nearly murdered four years ago in a botched robbery.
''The Documentary,'' as the title suggests, offers an unflinching look at this tumultuous life. ''I know everybody was expecting gang-bang, 40-ounce, low-rider music, but that's not what I gave them,'' Game said. ''I'm telling a real story, and maybe there are people out there who can relate to my experiences.''
It was the rapper's willingness to delve deeper than his gruff exterior that first intrigued Dr. Dre, who said that Game was a ''diamond in the rough'' when he signed him to his Aftermath label at Interscope.
''I really enjoy the way he puts his lyrics together, because they have emotion and feeling,'' said Dr. Dre, who has been grooming Game for the better part of two years. ''He's not just getting on the mike and bragging about how much money he has or how many people he's killed.''
A Dr. Dre endorsement goes a long way, according to Erik Parker, music editor at Vibe magazine, which put Game on its cover this month. ''Dr. Dre has had a hand in some of the most groundbreaking albums in hip-hop, and if he's co-signing Game, the music world has to take note,'' Mr. Parker said. ''Would he be getting this much attention if Dre or 50 wasn't involved? I doubt it.''
A few days before his album was due, Game admitted he felt nervous.
''Yeah, I've got some butterflies,'' he said, sitting in the parking lot of a car wash in Hollywood as his new black Range Rover was buffed spotless. ''I'm worried about my first-week numbers, and I'm worried about living up to the hype.''
He has done his best to stack the odds in his favor. Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop and 50 Cent all appear on ''The Documentary.'' Besides Dr. Dre, producers du jour like Kanye West, Scott Storch and Timbaland all contribute beats.
Other than providing for his year-old son, Harlem, Game says he has one goal in mind: to resurrect West Coast rap, which in recent years has been overshadowed by artists from the East and the South.
Death Row, the record label created by Suge Knight, ''was the strongest entity that we had on the West Coast, and when that fell apart everything else just withered away, and we haven't been able to claim our rightful spot in hip-hop since then,'' Game explained as an awkward teenager ambled over and asked for an autograph.
His mug flits from friendly to fearsome in milliseconds. In person, he is more handsome than he appears in advertisements and not nearly as menacing. He is covered in tattoos -- including, on his right forearm, an enormous illustration of his idol, Eazy-E, a founder of N.W.A.
''Because he died from AIDS, I think people shy away from giving him all the props he deserves,'' Game said. ''But I saw the things he did for Compton when I was growing up. He gave out gifts on Christmas and turkeys on Thanksgiving . He always put on concerts in the 'hood. He was a real role model.''
It is the tattoo of a teardrop under Game's left eye that he is most uncomfortable discussing. ''They say when you've got a teardrop you've either murdered someone or done a long stretch in jail,'' he said. ''Let's just say I've never been to jail.''
He allowed the weight of his statement to sink in before continuing.
''I'm not trying to glorify the things that I've done in the past,'' Game said. ''I think that they were wrong, and now that I'm grown up and have a son, I look at things differently.'' He declined to answer questions about the matter.
By his early teens, Game said, he was dealing drugs and joined the Cedar Block Piru, a local chapter of the Bloods gang. In 2001, while at his ''business'' headquarters, he was ambushed by three rival gang members looking to rob him. He was shot seven times and left for dead.
Like in the movies, he said, his life flashed before his eyes. ''I saw everything that had ever happened to me, from my mom teaching me how to ride a bicycle when I was 5 years old to graduating from high school and my grandmother's funeral.''
While recovering, he began listening intently to music by N.W.A. and Kool G Rap and to classic hip-hop albums like Biggie Smalls's ''Ready to Die,'' Jay-Z's ''Reasonable Doubt,'' Snoop's ''Doggystyle'' and Tupac Shakur's ''All Eyez on Me.'' And he taught himself to rap. ''I studied those albums like someone who was studying for the bar,'' he said.
Still, the hip-hop industry was slow to embrace Game; Def Jam, Murder Inc., Bad Boy and other labels snubbed him, he said. But nothing was more difficult than working with Dr. Dre, a notorious perfectionist.
''It was easier recovering from gunshot wounds,'' he said, only half jokingly. ''To Dre, 99.999 is no good. If it's not 100 percent, it's wack.''
Two songs into writing his next album, Game is eager to pounce on opportunities outside music. ''Rap is the tree stump, and I'm definitely branching out,'' he said. He is working on a clothing line and fielding scripts. He has purchased several homes and a liquor store in Compton and is looking for more property.
''I've been buying up real estate like crazy,'' Game said. ''Forty acres and a mule. I'm going to get mine now, and I'm going to pay for it. No handouts.''
Narrowly survive being shot by unknown assailants. While recuperating, dedicate your life to rap. When healed, jump on the mixtape circuit and establish a formidable underground presence. Win the support of hip-hop luminaries like Dr. Dre and Eminem. Produce an album that vividly recounts your hard-knock life. Strut your hard-won street credibility on MTV and BET.
Like 50 Cent before him, the rapper Game, Dr. Dre's newest protege, has followed this successful blueprint to the letter. But for all the similarities, Game, a 25-year-old from Compton who was born Jayceon Taylor, says he will not be measuring himself just against rappers when his debut album, ''The Documentary,'' arrives this week.
''I want to do Usher numbers,'' he said in an interview a few days ago, referring to the R&B crooner. ''I want to sell a million albums in my first week. And if I only sell one album the following week, I'm good.''
Whether his album will reach platinum status in the next few days remains to be seen. But not since Snoop Dogg's emergence more than a decade ago has a West Coast rapper generated so much buzz.
Game's first single, ''How We Do,'' featuring 50 Cent, is ubiquitous on urban radio. Game pitches Boost Mobile cellphones for Nextel alongside established artists like Ludacris and Kanye West. He grimaces from a Sean John fashion billboard overlooking Sunset Boulevard. Drive around Los Angeles and you see posters of the album's cover -- Game, shirtless in baggy black jeans and Converse sneakers, straddling tires with gleaming gold rims -- on walls and billboards. Placards dot bus benches from Santa Monica to the San Fernando Valley.
All this attention has as much to do with Game's music as it does with his industry affiliations -- Universal Music Group's Interscope Records is strongly backing the CD -- and his turbulent back story, which includes being placed in foster care when he was 8 and being nearly murdered four years ago in a botched robbery.
''The Documentary,'' as the title suggests, offers an unflinching look at this tumultuous life. ''I know everybody was expecting gang-bang, 40-ounce, low-rider music, but that's not what I gave them,'' Game said. ''I'm telling a real story, and maybe there are people out there who can relate to my experiences.''
It was the rapper's willingness to delve deeper than his gruff exterior that first intrigued Dr. Dre, who said that Game was a ''diamond in the rough'' when he signed him to his Aftermath label at Interscope.
''I really enjoy the way he puts his lyrics together, because they have emotion and feeling,'' said Dr. Dre, who has been grooming Game for the better part of two years. ''He's not just getting on the mike and bragging about how much money he has or how many people he's killed.''
A Dr. Dre endorsement goes a long way, according to Erik Parker, music editor at Vibe magazine, which put Game on its cover this month. ''Dr. Dre has had a hand in some of the most groundbreaking albums in hip-hop, and if he's co-signing Game, the music world has to take note,'' Mr. Parker said. ''Would he be getting this much attention if Dre or 50 wasn't involved? I doubt it.''
A few days before his album was due, Game admitted he felt nervous.
''Yeah, I've got some butterflies,'' he said, sitting in the parking lot of a car wash in Hollywood as his new black Range Rover was buffed spotless. ''I'm worried about my first-week numbers, and I'm worried about living up to the hype.''
He has done his best to stack the odds in his favor. Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop and 50 Cent all appear on ''The Documentary.'' Besides Dr. Dre, producers du jour like Kanye West, Scott Storch and Timbaland all contribute beats.
Other than providing for his year-old son, Harlem, Game says he has one goal in mind: to resurrect West Coast rap, which in recent years has been overshadowed by artists from the East and the South.
Death Row, the record label created by Suge Knight, ''was the strongest entity that we had on the West Coast, and when that fell apart everything else just withered away, and we haven't been able to claim our rightful spot in hip-hop since then,'' Game explained as an awkward teenager ambled over and asked for an autograph.
His mug flits from friendly to fearsome in milliseconds. In person, he is more handsome than he appears in advertisements and not nearly as menacing. He is covered in tattoos -- including, on his right forearm, an enormous illustration of his idol, Eazy-E, a founder of N.W.A.
''Because he died from AIDS, I think people shy away from giving him all the props he deserves,'' Game said. ''But I saw the things he did for Compton when I was growing up. He gave out gifts on Christmas and turkeys on Thanksgiving . He always put on concerts in the 'hood. He was a real role model.''
It is the tattoo of a teardrop under Game's left eye that he is most uncomfortable discussing. ''They say when you've got a teardrop you've either murdered someone or done a long stretch in jail,'' he said. ''Let's just say I've never been to jail.''
He allowed the weight of his statement to sink in before continuing.
''I'm not trying to glorify the things that I've done in the past,'' Game said. ''I think that they were wrong, and now that I'm grown up and have a son, I look at things differently.'' He declined to answer questions about the matter.
By his early teens, Game said, he was dealing drugs and joined the Cedar Block Piru, a local chapter of the Bloods gang. In 2001, while at his ''business'' headquarters, he was ambushed by three rival gang members looking to rob him. He was shot seven times and left for dead.
Like in the movies, he said, his life flashed before his eyes. ''I saw everything that had ever happened to me, from my mom teaching me how to ride a bicycle when I was 5 years old to graduating from high school and my grandmother's funeral.''
While recovering, he began listening intently to music by N.W.A. and Kool G Rap and to classic hip-hop albums like Biggie Smalls's ''Ready to Die,'' Jay-Z's ''Reasonable Doubt,'' Snoop's ''Doggystyle'' and Tupac Shakur's ''All Eyez on Me.'' And he taught himself to rap. ''I studied those albums like someone who was studying for the bar,'' he said.
Still, the hip-hop industry was slow to embrace Game; Def Jam, Murder Inc., Bad Boy and other labels snubbed him, he said. But nothing was more difficult than working with Dr. Dre, a notorious perfectionist.
''It was easier recovering from gunshot wounds,'' he said, only half jokingly. ''To Dre, 99.999 is no good. If it's not 100 percent, it's wack.''
Two songs into writing his next album, Game is eager to pounce on opportunities outside music. ''Rap is the tree stump, and I'm definitely branching out,'' he said. He is working on a clothing line and fielding scripts. He has purchased several homes and a liquor store in Compton and is looking for more property.
''I've been buying up real estate like crazy,'' Game said. ''Forty acres and a mule. I'm going to get mine now, and I'm going to pay for it. No handouts.''
