By Tai Saint Louis
Contrary to the impression created by a recent radio interview, The Game says he has no desire to engage in a battle of words with Jay-Z.
This comes after the Cali rapper’s comments with Phoenix radio personality Chino of 104.7 KISS FM, during which he broached the subject of beefing with Jay, making statements that appeared to be batting the former Def Jam president.
But Game clarifies that the statements were made in response to an alleged incident of which he has no proof.
“I heard that Jay sorta said something about me at the Wimbledon tennis match,” The Game told AllHipHop.com exclusively. “I didn’t see him say it, I didn’t hear no audio so I don’t really know if he was dissing me, if he said something about me.”
Rumors of animosity between the two artists surfaced in 2005, following the release of a Jay-Z freestyle verse that seemed to be taking aim at the then G-Unit member.
Still, while Game says he recognizes Jay-Z’s ability to subliminally attack an opponent, something which he says he’s incorporated into his own style, the rapper maintains he has no desire to fuel the rumor mill.
“What people don’t know about Jay is Jay is probably the most witty rapper that ever walked the face of the earth,” Game explained. “He’s witty, he’s clever. His metaphors will be sitting right next to you and then hit you in the face so hard that you don’t know what happened. That’s the type of rapper Jay is. I was molded by that part of him and added that to my own persona and my own marksmanship as an emcee.
“Jay-Z’s a legend, man. I respect his music, [but that] doesn’t really mean I have to respect him if he’s disrespecting me. The Jay that was talking about me at Wimbeldon under his breath, or says anything about me, is the Jay that I’ll go at, and that’s just it. Jay the rap artist, Jay the legend, Jay from Marcy Projects; that hustler turned dope artist, turned probably best lyricist that ever lived: I have respect for. I’m not gonna add wood to a fire that’s already burning out.”
LAX, which Game has said will be his last offering as an artist, is due in stores on August 26.
The star-studded opus features appearances by Lil’ Wayne, Nas, Common, Ludacris, Raekwon and Ice Cube, as well as R&B inflections courtesy of Bilal, Chrisette Michelle, Raheem DeVaughn, Ne-Yo, and Keyshia Cole, who appears on the album’s lead single “Game’s Pain.”
The album also serves as a springboard for Game’s renewed focus on building his Black Wall Street imprint.
“I have a slew of producers and I’m starting to develop artists and getting more focused,” he says. “This my third album, and it’s time to focus on my folks. And my label. The camp’s on the album. So we’re just learning each other, growing as a family, and we’re gonna do big things in 2009 and the years to come.”
LAX features productions by two of BWS’s producers: Tre Beatz and E.P., contributed three tracks and served as the album’s executive producer.