Jayceon Taylor, better known by his stage name The Game, saw virtually instant success in the music industry after being discovered by fellow Compton-based rapper Dr.Dre. Before this milestone in his life, he had paid his dues on the streets of Compton. Taylor was placed into foster care at the age of seven largely due to his parents frequent use of illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine.
Taylor grew up idolizing performers and spent his childhood watching his older brother Jevon work toward his goal of becoming a rapper.
In 1989, Taylor had an opportunity to meet N.W.A legend Eazy-E, which he considered a life defining moment. Then tragedy struck at the age of 13; having just been signed by a label, Jevon was shot at a gas station and later died at the hospital at just 17 years old.
In 2001, Taylor had fully embraced street life, and with the help of his half-brother Big Fase held a monopoly on the local drug trade.
Alone at his apartment one evening he was assaulted by three men, shot five times, and left for dead. It was after surviving this attempt at his life that he truly decided to pursue his music career.
It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since the release of The Game’s major label debut album The Documentary; an album that sold over 587,000 copies the first week, and has since gone quadruple platinum.
The legacy of The Game is one of instant success, and the revitalization of the west coast hip-hop scene. Announced August 28, 2014, The Documentary 2 is a long awaited two disk sequel to his debut album.
Released in two parts, the first disk was dropped on October 8, 2015, while the second disk was held until October 16, 2015.
The album features hip-hop powerhouses, including Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Kanye West, Nas, Lil Wayne, Will.i.am, and many more.
The features, as well as the length of the album, allows the sound to swing between the unintentional hilarity of “Standing on Ferraris” feat. Diddy, to the serious message of loyalty in “Dedicated” feat. Future & Sonyae.
The album in its entirety is old school West Coast OG style worship that has been crafted with the beautifully full detailed sound of new age hip-hop.
It is a perfect combination of the intensity you would expect from The Game, and the masterfully mixed instrumentals you know producers like Dr. Dre and Will.I.Am bring to the table. The album opens up with a skit titled “Intro” in which an interaction between The Game, and an aggressive stranger ends in a gunshot which pretty much sets the tone of the entire album. This skit leads into the track “On Me” featuring Kendrick Lamar which is four and a half minutes of energetic crowd pleasing gangster rap.
The Documentary 2, selling 83,000 copies the first week, is definitely an instant hip-hop classic despite not being as instantly successful as its precursor.
It has earned The Game his seventh Number 1 hip-hop record title and was only beat out by Selena Gomez’ Revival on Billboard’s top 200.
It seems it could potentially stand as the beginning of the end of the barrier that stands between old school rap, and new aged production quality.
