The Game is rejuvenated. The Compton, CA emcee has taken a break since his last foray. During the time off, he’s gotten into a bit of trouble, but also managed to repair ties with family and foster younger, new lives. Additionally, he’s been a studio rap, recording an unprecedented number of songs for his new album, L.A.X., which has the whole Hip-Hop nation talking. Here, The Game discusses all the state of his personal life and throws some “ringtone rappers” for good measure. [Click here to read Part I on The Game: The AllHipHop Interview ]
AllHipHop.com: Now, you went through some life changes recently you know you had a baby and you got married right?
The Game: No, I didn’t get married.
AllHipHop.com: Oh, okay. So you pretty much generally go away between albums which usually isn’t the case, because most artists drop mixtapes and stuff like that. I know you did some stuff with Lil’ Wayne or whatever, but pretty much you go away and do your thing. What do you do in the meantime?
The Game: What I do, man. I’m a real family oriented cat man so when I be doin’ my albums I’m gone from the time it drops. I’m promoting the album, not even from the time it drops like the beginning of May ‘til Christmas. I’ll be gone promoting and touring from this record man so that’s a good seven months that I’m away from my family. From my girl, from my kids and when all that’s done I just want to come home and grab the TV remote and you look at it like, “I’m back.” Turn on BET or go on the Internet and see what been crackin’ while you been gone man and just relax.
“Like me, I came up, my parents wasn’t really there. Like I thought that they should have been and that affected me. It affected me as a child, it affected me as a grownup man and I don’t want my kids to grow up like that.”
AllHipHop.com: I can totally get what you mean, breaking it down like that.
The Game: Take your kids out, pick’em up from school, go to a basketball games, play with ‘em just enjoy your family time. That’s what I do when I’m not in the studio recording, man, because when you lose that time man your kids grow up and they never forget that. Like me, I came up, my parents wasn’t really there like I thought that they should have been and that affected me. It affected me as a child, it affected me as a grownup man and I don’t want my kids to grow up like that.
AllHipHop.com: You had mentioned you’re family oriented, you mentioned your Mom or your parents rather. Spider Loc of G-Unit was doing some funny stuff he was talking to your mom on the Internet or something. What was that all about?
The Game: Man, my Moms I heard…my engineer Jeff, he put it up for me on YouTube and I seen like my mom sent [Spider Loc] a message bangin’ on [Spider Loc] crazy. And I told the world that my Moms used to be a gangster from Hoover Crips. And she got a ‘bout it, ‘bout it attitude and if you even watch that or listen to the [voice mail message] she was going hard on the little homie [Spider Loc]. I’m Game man, I’m not about physically go out and do drive-by or ride up on your house or shoot you while you got your baby. I’m not doin’ none of that. I know cats that do all of that and that’s what they do. That’s what I used to do, I’m not that so all these cats talkin’ about they ‘gon do this, they ‘gon do that, man. That’s not a reality to me, I just got out of jail.
AllHipHop.com: That’s right.
The Game: I was in jail on a row full of cats who did that, that ain’t never coming home and that ain’t where they wanted to be. They were tellin’ me was that, man. “Game you ain’t supposed to be in here, You’re supposed to be gettin’ that money man we just saw you on TMZ getting arrested man. What you doing man like you gotta be out there.” And this came from Monster Cody, Robert Taylor, real bangers that the cops fear, these dudes is in chains 24 hours a day.
I was in jail man, I was locked down 23 hours and 45 minutes a day. I got 15 minutes out of my cell to either use the phone or take a shower, man. I wish I would just blow a n***a brains out today. That’d be the dumbest mistake I could make for me, my family, my fans, ever man but you disrespect my family or you put my family, my kids lives in jeopardy then you dealin’ with a different type of Game, you know what I’m saying? You’re f***in with my Moms, talking about my kids then I might go off the deep end and do something stupid that I’m gonna regret but you gonna regret it worse. You know what I’m sayin’ ‘cause that’s my family man and I got loyalty to my family, I got a heart and I’m a man, man. I’m from Compton, man. I’m from the jungle, man.
AllHipHop.com: What about them rumors…we couldn’t get a straight answer from anybody, but I heard you and your brother Big Fase 100 might have mended things a little bit.
“I’m always gonna love [Big Fase 100] but we just had some hard times. We bumped heads. but that’s goin’ to be my brother for the rest of my life and I ain’t ‘gon let nobody f**k over him or bring harm to him.”
The Game: Yeah, yeah Big Fase that’s my brother man and I knew time heals all things and the people who got in the middle of that and got everything with me and him misconstrued. They ain’t around now but what they didn’t understand is that’s my brother ,we blood, we bleed the same blood, we have the same everything. Me and him got the same father, we got the same parents. So it was only a matter of time before me and my brother linked back up. I think we both learned a hard lesson, but that’s my brother and that’s all I say about that. I love him, I’m always gonna love him but we just had some hard times. We bumped heads. We’ve been bumpin’ heads since we were little. We bumped heads over Hot Wheels we bumped heads over Transformers, we bumped heads over Hip-Hop, but that’s goin’ to be my brother for the rest of my life and I ain’t ‘gon let nobody f**k over him or bring harm to him.
AllHipHop.com: Now you had just mentioned the jail stuff. There was like all this confusion about that, you got out early. What exactly happened with that?
The Game: That was me. I was just throwing everybody for a loop you know. Everybody’s thinking I got out on this day and while everybody was doin’ all of this I was at home, I was on AllHipHop just reading like I got the world in a frenzy man I told [manager] Jimmy [Henchman], “Man I just mixed everybody up.” I told Jimmy, “Nah man tell them I’m getting out later, I just don’t want to be in the media.” And then people start bitin’ on it like , ‘is he out’, ‘is he not out?’ Some people started getting mad, frustrated like “We gotta have the truth! Is he out?” I thought that s### was so funny, man. I just kept going so I didn’t even go outside. I just stayed on the computer, stayed at the house upstairs just laughing at y’all motherf***ers like “These motherf***ers is crazy. The media’s in a frenzy man about this s**t.”
AllHipHop.com: But you were using the media at one point though. You were on TMZ seemed like every week for a few.
The Game: Nah, ‘cause TMZ was kind of like stalking me. Like TMZ, the whole company had a crush on Game for a little while man, because everywhere I went TMZ was just on me man and I was getting my gangster Britney Spears s**t up. They were following me everywhere, man. I get Johnny Rockets [food, then] I run into Don Juan ,TMZ there. I’m coming out the court, I come out the house they was there but you know it’s all good to me.
AllHipHop.com: Did they bring Don Juan? Didn’t he have on sneakers or somethiing?
The Game: Nah, Don Juan just happened to be there rollin’ down Melrose in his car man, the big green joint you know and he did his thing, hopped out with his sneakers. They matched the car. This n***a got the kicks to match his car. It’s crazy man like those s**ts was nuts.
AllHipHop.com: He sold’em Ebay too I think.
The Game: Yeah.
“Man, I wish people would stop trying to figure me out. Ain’t no meaning, man. I might wake up one day and put a cloud [tattoo] on the other side [of my face] tomorrow, man. I don’t give a f**k man.”
AllHipHop.com: So what is the red star tattoo in your face. What is the symbolism? Is there something… a meaning behind it?
The Game: Man, I wish people would stop trying to figure me out. Ain’t no meaning, man. I might wake up one day and put a cloud on the other side tomorrow man I don’t give a f**k man. My Grandmom told me a long time ago man when I first got my first tattoo. It was a joint on my soldier with the dude with the two guns and she was like your body is only a costume that you borrow from God while you’re here on earth. I woke up one day and I just felt like I did a lot for my hood in L.A, all over the world even. In the army and all of that you got what you call a five star general so I just put a five star on my face, you know what I’m sayin’? And I grew up in Cedar Block, a Blood hood. That’s where I’m from. It’s my heritage so that’s why it’s red. It’s just a red star, and L.A that’s what I hold down. I mean it’s a little meaning, but it’s really a “I don’t give a f**k” tattoo. I just woke up like I don’t give a s**t, got it on my face s**t It hurt like a motherf***er, you write on your face you should try it, man. Just cry – f**k, that s**t hurt man.
AllHipHop.com: On the Cali note, there is a “Big Dreams remix” right or something?
The Game: Nah, ain’t no remix to “Big Dreams.” man.
AllHipHop.com: Oh it ain’t official?
The Game: No “Big Dreams” is just “Big Dreams”. You know this is the Internet age where everybody got a g####### M-box with Final Cut Pro and all that s**t. N***as can remix whatever they wanna remix, man.
AllHipHop.com: I thought it was official.
The Game: If Elton John come out tomorrow n***ga with a single and I just on the s** like, “It’s the remix! It’s me – Game with Elton John!” n***as think it’s official, it ain’t nothin’ man. “Big Dreams” is what I threw out there to feed the people when I got out of jail because I’ve been away for so long so I just want to throw that out there. Cool & Dre did it – them’s is my homies. We said it was going to be a Frisbee and that motherf***er gettin’ like crazy spins on the net, on the radio out here it’s like number 2 behind Usher’s joint and it is what it is man.
AllHipHop.com: Last question, what’s your take on the status of Hip-Hop these days, I mean, it’s always a discussion.
The Game: I don’t have a take. I just love Hip-Hop and whenever it changes face I’ma change with it for as long as I can, man. I’m not complaining’ about nothin’ all the Souljah Boys, you know, the Flo Ridas and all the radio songs and all that stuff that people say is killin’ Hip-Hop, man. That’s just what’s Hip-Hop is right now and I love Hip-Hop and I love every face that it makes [it]. You know when Hip-Hop smiles at me, it might smile with a tricky eye or it might smile with Nas’s N***er album the next day but I love Hip-Hop for what it is on whatever day that it’s staring me in my face.