The Game and 50 Cent have a checkered past, to say the least. Recently, the Cali rapper is telling his side of things.
The Game goes all the way back
Compton native The Game has had a very vocal past few months. From social commentary to music, the 42-year-old is clearly outspoken. Earlier this week (Apr 7) during an Instagram live convo with Fat Joe, Game walked down the G-Unit memory lane.
G-Unit was a rap group created by 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo in 2002. During its 12 year run, G-Unit amassed a dedicated fanbase, and some impressive sales metrics to match. Their debut album Beg For Mercy initially sold a respectable 377,000 copies within its first week. now, it’s certified platinum with over 6 million copies sold worldwide. In addition to being an instrumental element of New York rap history, G-Unit is also where The Game got his big break. Even so, it seems the ‘All Eyez’ rapper wants to distance himself from his past.
“I was in a group with those n-ggas, but I wasn’t breaking peanut butter jelly sandwiches in half with them” he said to Fat Joe. “I didn’t see them n-ggs until it was time to work. A lot of people like, ‘N-gga, 50 put you on.’ No, 50 did not put me on.”
He continued, “People don’t understand that. At that time in L.A., I was it. I was the n-gga. That’s why Jimmy (Iovine) took me and told 50 he was putting me in G-Unit. And 50 accepted it because my name was ringing bells in the streets of Hip Hop.”
How to hold a grudge
The Game’s time in G-Unit certainly had its ups and downs. Some of his biggest hits were during his time in the group. Tracks like ‘How We Do’ and ‘Hate it or Love it’ have lasted the test of time. However, Game and 50 have consistently bumped heads. Their battle first began in 2005 when 50 publicly fired Game from G-Unit during a Hot 97 radio interview. “he’s gone” he stated simply. That’s already bad enough, but things got really ugly later in the day when The Game tried to enter the Hot 97 station. The struggle between entourage and security quickly got hectic. One of the men accompanying Game was shot in the leg while 50 quietly snuck out the backdoor.
Since that altercation, it’s been nothing but diss tracks and social media jabs between the two. ‘300 bars and runnin’ by Game and ‘So Disrespectful’ by 50 are just two examples. ‘Play The Game’, ‘Mr. Potato Head’, ‘I’m Not Rich’, ‘I’m Still Lyin’, ‘240 Bars’, ‘Stop Cryin’, ‘100 Bars’, ‘Rap City Freestyle’, ‘Show Time’, and ‘Love, Hate, Love’ are all tracks birthed from this beef. And that’s still just scratching the surface.
A 17 year-long battle
Most recently, the pair came to blows on Instagram over a shady snub at a Lakers game. Back in March, the Queens emcee mocked Game for getting ignored by Jimmy Iovine in an awkward video.
“LOL The man didn’t even look at him,” he typed. “Get this guy out of here 50 wrote the records. LMFAO.”
Of course, the Doctors Advocate rapper didn’t take this lying down. He fired back, claiming he didn’t notice Iovine. He also took shots at 50’s departure from the music scene. “ N-gga, I ain’t even see Mr. Burns, If you wrote my records … write you one today and put it out n-gga!” He responded.
“Your rap career died wit them loli pop strap tank tops … you a actor, [and] that’s why you ran to tv […] leave this rap shit to n-ggas who can spell correctly and actually got bars, goofy n-gga!”
From 2005 to 2022, this just might be the longest beef in rap history. Frankly, it doesn’t seem like there’s an end in sight for this duo.
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Dreema Carrington|IG @dr3amgirl79|Twitter @notdreema
