The Game is more familiar with beef than A.1. Steak Sauce. The rapper has had tense situations with 50 Cent, Joe Budden, Memphis Bleek, JT Tha Bigga Figga and others but suddenly he’s got a new, unlikely adversary in Ras Kass, one of the West Coast’s lyrical legends.
The conflict stemmed from an apparent, albeit unattributed Ras rap line that seemed to reference The Game and his son: “…When you get merked, I’ma raise your son,” Ras said on a song called “Caution.” In February, Ras denied that the track was a Game dis, but the pair was still involved in a physical altercation that resulted in Ras getting punched in the eye and a potentially explosive situation for both men. Ras has been seen on various viral postings livid with anger and brandishing threats.
Such beef seems to be the norm for The Game. But, there is more to the Game’s life these days than handing out eye jammies. Case in point, The Game’s actively pushing his upcoming set, The Doctor’s Advocate. The blossoming legend discusses Dr. Dre, his life since his debut, The Documentary and his current beefy situations. Here is just one side of the story.
AllHipHop.com: The biggest question in peoples’ minds is, who is on the album?
The Game: The only person you need to worry about bein’ on it is me. I’m all over it —
AllHipHop.com: Does that mean Dr. Dre is not on it?
The Game: Dre don’t mean nothin’. You gonna know if Dre on it or not once you put the CD in on November 14th. You’ll also know if it matters or not if Dre’s on it once you get your autographed copy.
AllHipHop.com: [Laughs] I feel you. In terms of collabos and stuff, who’s on it?
The Game: Collabos, I did a track with me, one with myself, I was on one with I. Nah, I got Nas on a record. Busta’s back on the album. I did a song with Mary J. [Blige], Marsha from Floetry. I got Tha Dogg Pound on the album; I didn’t have Snoop on my first album, so I had to get him on this one. I got Kanye – Kanye rappin’ on this album too. We did “Dreams” last time and Kanye didn’t spit, so this time, I got Kanye spittin’ on this album. And we got production by Just Blaze, Kanye, Scott Storch, Will.I.Am; I worked with Swizz on this album. We went and seen Timbaland. I was in with Dre on this album!
AllHipHop.com: With who?
The Game: I was in with Dre on this album! I’m still not saying if Dre’s beat is on there or not, ’cause that seems to be what everybody’s focal point is. I’d like to keep it as a question mark, know what I’m sayin’? That’s what’s gonna get ’em to the stores at the end of the day.
AllHipHop.com: How was the process of doing this album different from the last one? It’s been a long year.
The Game: The process of recording this album was easy. I knew what I had to do. There was a lot of things said that I had help on the first album – with Dre’s beats, and 50 said he helped write things, and he didn’t. On this album, I made sure that nobody is gonna be able to take credit for my success on this album. That was the concept of the album – to go in and do an album that was executive produced by Game, it’s all Game, it’s all happenin’ by me. It’s not a Dre-influenced record, it’s not a 50-influenced record, it’s The Game. It’s raw and uncut.
AllHipHop.com: Just to clarify for folks, ’cause you went through different label situations, what is the setup of your deal as of right now?
The Game: Um, you know, [Jimmy] Henchmen, Interscope, Aftermath, Geffen, they all talkin’, tryin’ to get it worked out. I personally don’t involve myself with what goes on in the building with those blue-collars and tie-wearers. Me, I’m focused on Black Wall Street – that’s the label I’m runnin’ with, and I’m the CEO. It don’t matter what label I’m on, who’s gonna drop the album. That’s all it is, at the end of the day, is a logo on the back of the album. Everybody’s talkin’ ’bout that and worried about that, but I really don’t think that matter. That s**t is just a logo.
AllHipHop.com: It does matter in the sense of who’s getting money out of your pocket though?
The Game: It’s gonna be somebody. So at the end of the day, somebody’s gonna strip you down and put you on the streets and wanna be paid for their services. It’s all good, it don’t matter – it could be on AllHipHop.com Records to me, I’m still gonna sell 15 million records.
AllHipHop.com: Let’s talk about you, besides this label…
The Game: Me? I’m going back to my roots. I’m going back to my afro-grow right now, I’m feelin’ real African out here right now, doin’ my thing, I’m going back to my roots [like] Nas in Belly “You goin’ back to Africa? You stopped smokin’ weed,” – but I ain’t stop smokin’ weed. But I am goin’ to Africa. Me, on the everyday tip, just doing this album, starting on my promo runs, “One Blood” taking over the radio right now, and it’s all over the TV. We’ve got MTV, TRL on a street single, that’s good. I’m happy. I’m grindin’.
AllHipHop.com: Have you reconciled with your brother [BigFase 100]? Did I seem him in the entourage?
The Game: You didn’t see him in the entourage, must be some Amanda Diva [confusion] you got goin’ on.
AllHipHop.com: Maybe that was the case. So what’s the deal with that?
The Game: Um, I ain’t got no brother – that’s how I feel right now. I’m just doin’ my thing. My number one focal point right now is just to secure the future of my son, and that’s what I’m doin’. I’m out here workin’ everyday and I’m grindin’ for him – that’s my motivation and that’s how I get the job done. I’m not worried about anybody else or they egos at this point, – or ever for that matter.
AllHipHop.com: How is Jayceeon different The Game?
The Game: The Game is a guy that just is crazy, man.
AllHipHop.com: ‘Cause you’re a smiling, laughing cat, but when it’s The Game, it’s “I’m gonna shoot ya, I’m gonna fight you.”
The Game: I mean, I do that when I’m me – when I’m just bein’ Jayceeon – but there’s gotta be a reason. The Game is my split personality. The Game is who I was my whole life. Jayceeon is the lil’ boy who never got to live his childhood. So you see me laughin’ and smilin’, I’m just catchin’ up on the times when I didn’t have reason to do all that. I got a lot of things to smile about, a lot of things to laugh at. The Game is a businessman and has to conduct business accordingly to make sure things are all right at the end of the day for me and my family.
AllHipHop.com: That’s good ’cause a lot of cats take themselves so seriously. What have you learned in the last year that you didn’t already know?
The Game: I learned one thing, this is the most important thing period in my existence in Hip-Hop, is that once you hot – everybody’s pickin’ up the phones and they ridin’ your d*ck, and when you got your back against the wall, when you crawl into the corner and [call them], nobody’s answering them s**ts, so you can’t make no friends in this business. All you got is yourself and the people you came in with and your friends and family that really love you. Outside of that, it’s just a job like anything else. I compare Hip-Hop to McDonalds – me and you could work at McDonalds together, I’m on the fries, you on the hamburgers, we make sure the mothaf**kin’ happy meal gets to the kid and we’re happy, but once McDonalds closes down, you’re going home to do your thing and I’m going home to do mine, and we ain’t gotta talk until the store opens back up.
AllHipHop.com: During the 50 situation, a lot of people were concerned that Dr. Dre didn’t speak on the issue. You say that phone calls weren’t being picked up, was that related to the outside community or was it that Dr. Dre’s silence was extending to you as well?
The Game: No, I think what Dre did during that whole… mix-up with me and 50 was the right thing for him to do. Why did he have to involve himself in problems to were growing too big for even myself and Curtis?
AllHipHop.com: But didn’t he bring you to the table to Curtis?
The Game: That’s what I’m sayin’, but at the end of the day, he’s just the manager of McDonalds. Why does he have to step – when shootin’s goin’ down and we talk about killin’ each other and all of that – why does that man, who has been through all that in the last 20 years of his career in Hip-Hop, why do we have to put him back in that situation? I’m pretty sure that he tired of all of that. He been through it with Eazy, and he been through it with Suge, and I didn’t feel that it was in his place to step between two grown men and try to fix it. He made a few phone calls, 50 didn’t take his advice and neither did I, but we grown men who make our own decisions and I think that at the end of the day, Dre and Em did the right thing by standing back and focusing on their lives and their families. Like I said, Hip-Hop is just a job. I love my job though. I’m tryin’ to own the McDonalds.
AllHipHop.com: What do you feel about the Ras Kass situation?
The Game: I’ll say it like this, man: all that stuff that he’s doin’ on the Internet, tryin’ to promote himself – I did that, I gave him that promotion. I was in this man’s face – I was about as close as you are – I looked in this man’s face, asked him about three questions, and he said something wrong, and I knocked his ass out. He said 30 n***as jumped him – there wasn’t even 30 people with me! Matter of fact, first of all, it was an industry party, you can’t get 30 n***as from Compton into that s**t. It was me, about five of my cats, and not all the cats were with me were street n***as. One of ’em was my lil’ cousin and his friend, so it was me and my two homies. Nobody put hands on Ras Kass except me. It wasn’t no fight. It wasn’t no scuffle. It was one punch, the floor, drag-out, and a car, and I was at home. He talk about people jumped him, bottles, nobody took his chain – if you see his chain, you’d wonder – we don’t want that f**kin’ raggedy-ass chain, we don’t want none of your money, any of that. I came for respect.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, this is getting ugly.
The Game: You put my son’s name in a song, talkin’ ’bout my son, and I punched him in the eye. And he fell out. He went out. That’s one of them nights where I didn’t have my cameraman, ’cause I usually bring my cameraman ’cause s**t like that be happenin’. Dude is goin’ cockin’ bullets, spittin’ out [bullets], what are you doin’, man? Ras Kass has never been the type of Hip-Hop artist to be no controversial artist. He never had a fight in his whole life. That dude, I sat right in his face, looked in his eyes – he was runnin’ from me the whole night. It was my man’s birthday party, so I didn’t wanna f**k the party up in the mix. ‘Cause you know, you f**k the party up, the party closes down, the cute chicks get to runnin’ and all that s**t, then you out of a good f**kin’ night. The party was poppin’, so I said I’ll while ’til after the party to go talk to him – not to go beat him up or nothin’.
AllHipHop.com: But, obviously it didn’t go down like that.
The Game: When I got to him, I asked him what was up with disrespecting my son. N***a say that I’m a stripper, I’m a fake Blood, I’ve got a tongue-ring, blonde hair, I can’t rap, I’m this and I’m that – they say all that s**t. Say whatever you want about The Game, say whatever you want about Jayceeon Terrell Taylor, but don’t put the reason that I breathe, the reason that I’m even livin’ life out here in your records – and that’s my son. He’s three-years-old, he can barely talk, barely finish a sentence, he just growin’ up. That’s my life. When I had that kid, when I looked in his eyes, that’s a little me and I love that lil’ dude, don’t put my son in your records. That’s all I was sayin’ to the dude. He was sayin’ he did that and he can’t take nothin’ back and said, “I’m Ras Kass and I’m out here.” Before he finished the “E” the “R” and the “E” on “here”, he was layin’ flat on the f**kin’ ground. And I ain’t gotta c### no bullets out, I ain’t gotta make no diss song or do none of that. Dude got knocked out.
AllHipHop.com: Right, Right.
The Game: AllHipHop can be the forum for the rematch. We can just get in gloves and really do it. [Editor’s Note: AllHipHop won’t sanction a boxing match between The Game and Ras Kass.] It’s all good. If you can reach out, tell him let’s do it, I’ll bring the camera, bring the gloves, ain’t nobody gonna have no guns or any of that – and you gonna see a replay of the same thing. Then let’s reach out to ESPN and get that cut we talkin’ ’bout. That dude is a clown, man. Even today, I’m on a different page. I’m headed to do my thing, promote my album, and I’m not even thinkin’ about that cat. I’m not gonna respond to his mediocre diss records; I do the beef s**t all day.
I done almost took down one of the biggest rap labels, rap moguls in 50 Cent and the G-Unit camp down by myself, single-handedly. You see what to Mobb Deep, Tony Yayo, what’s ’bout to happen to Lloyd Banks – the only person 50 can save at this point is his self. And I’d sign him to Black Wall Street if we could sit down and come to some terms. After doin’ all that – beefin’ with Buddens and Bleek and all these other cats out here, man, Ras Kass? Come on, man. That’s no fun for me at the end of the day. That’s all it was – one punch, and it was heard around the world. It’s crazy to me that I punched that dude in the face and he started cockin’ bullets on camera. He tryin’ to save face. If I was him, I’d go get a lawyer and sue me, ’cause that’s the only way you gonna get somethin’ out of it, man. If you watchin’ man, just sue me. I got about 15 grand to give you and help you out with your situation, so the next time, somebody might actually wanna take his chain.
