The Game

Real Name: Jayceon Terrell Taylor
D.O.B.: November 29th, 1979 La Brea LA, California

Label: Interscope/Geffen Records

A.K.A. Chuck Taylor, The Game is credited with being the driving force behind the resurrection of the traditional west coast gangsta rap subgenre of hip-hop. Compton streets raised with strong gang ties to the Cedar Park Piru Bloods, Game is nothing more than a talented fan of Eazy-E and N.W.A. growing up on the same streets of Straight Outta Compton. His music pays homage to the origins of west coast hip-hop through every recording, movement, tattoo, tear and story. His first commercial record was to be named Nigga Witta Attitude giving props to the major influences in his career. The Game was taken in under Dr. Dre's guidance and signed as a joint venture for Intersope/Aftermath and slotted into G-Unit. In 2005 he rose to fame with his début album, The Documentary. Th success of this album lead to two Grammy nominations and multi-platinum unit sales. The Game is the only West Coast solo artist to release a multi-platinum album (The Documentary) since Dr. Dre's 1999 album, 2001. He would continue on to drop another album, both of which debuted at number one on the United World Chart and the Billboard 200.

The Early Life

Jayceon Taylor was born in Los Angeles, California to his mother Lynette Baker and his father George Taylor. He was raised in the district of La Brea before his family moved to Compton, California when he was four years old. He was brought up with three sisters, Teisha, Breahna and Sherita (aka B-Fly). After his older sister accused his father of sexual molestation when Taylor was five, his family split up and he was promptly put into foster care in Carson, a suburb of Los Angeles (located immediately southwest of Compton). He spent his later life living in a primarily Crip gang neighbourhood known as Santana Blocc, although he would grow up to become a member of the Bloods.

When Taylor was thirteen, Jayceon's older brother Jevon, 17 was shot at a gas station and died soon after. Two years later Jayceon, 15 moved out of his foster family prgram and reunited back with his mother, Lynette who was a Hoover Crip affiliate and father ran with Nutty Blocc Crips and was absent for most of his famous son's life. Taylor attended Compton High School but after graduation, his natural athletic abilities afforded him a spot on the basketball team as the point guard. He graduated in 1999 and received many scholarship offers from various colleges before finalising a scholarship with Washington State University. However, he was kicked out in his first semester because of drug allegations. Most of the students at his high school were Crip gang affiliated. Another older brother George Taylor, better known as Big Fase 100 claimed Cedar Block Piru Blood and attended Centennial High School. He would later rise to become a high-ranking soldier within the notorious Blood set. The Game's affiliation with Cedar Park was due in major part to his brother's influence.

After high-school, Game and Big Fase moved into an apartment complex on the outskirts of Compton in Bellflower. It was then that he started fully embracing street life and turned towards selling drugs. At the age of eighteen, Game and his brother had seized the local narcotics trade. Not long after young Jayceon Taylor reached a critical turning point in his life. On October 1, 2001 while at alone in the apartment, Jayceon received a visit at 2 a.m. from a regular customer. He opened the door who set him up. He brought two others with him and a fight ensued. Game reached for his pistol but was shot execution style by one of the assailants five times receiving bullet wounds to the heart, stomach, arms, and leg. After playing dead for several minutes, Game called an ambulance from his cell phone. The attack put him in a three day coma and while recovering in the hospital, decided to pursue a career in the rap industry. He had his brother go and buy all of the classic hip hop albums from B.I.G.’s “Ready To Die,” Snoop Dogg’s “Doggystyle,” Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic,” Jay-Z’s “Reasonable Doubt,” 2Pac’s “All Eyez On Me”, and albums by Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube. Over a five month period convalescing, he studied these albums from top to bottom. He harnessed elements from each artist and formulated his own style and persona.

With help from Big Fase, they founded The Black Wall Street Records. The label originally featured such artists as Glasses Malone, Vita, and Nu Jerzey Devil, along with The Game himself. The rapper's stage name was coined by his grandmother, who gave him the nickname because she claimed he was always "Game" for anything. The Game first gained prominence when he attended a hip-hop summit hosted by Russell Simmons and Louis Farrakhan, releasing his first mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 1 in 2002, followed by a record deal with the independent label, Get Low Recordz owned by JT the Bigga Figga. Originally Sean Combs of Bad Boy Records was going to sign him to his label, but The Game's mixtape found its way into the hands of famed producer Dr. Dre, who proceeded to sign him to Aftermath Entertainment. To capitalize on the growing buzz, The Game continued to release music. In October 2004, he released his first album Untold Story through Get Low Recordz, which sold over 82,000 copies within its first three months. The album featured artists like Sean T, Young Noble (of the Outlawz), and JT the Bigga Figga. The Game also appeared on various mixtapes hosted by DJ's such as DJ Kayslay, DJ Whoo Kid, and DJ Clue. The Game also released a second mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 2 through his own record label and appeared on the video game NBA Live 2004 on a song produced by Fredwreck called "Can't Stop Me".