Jayceon Taylor, better known as The Game, was born on November 29, 1979, in Compton, California. Growing up, he was surrounded by gang life and hustling, with both his parents being involved in the drug trade. His father was a Nutty Block Crip, and his mother was a Hoover Crippelette.
As a child, Taylor witnessed his parents preparing to engage in drive-bys and was often exposed to drugs and violence. When he was just 6 years old, a friend of his was murdered in the neighborhood for his clothes and shoes. Taylor was eventually taken into foster care at the age of 7, where he was teased by other children.
Despite his difficult upbringing, Taylor's intelligence and natural leadership skills were recognized by his caretakers, who noted that he often helped his foster brothers and sisters with their homework. In 1989, Taylor met his idol, Eric Wright, also known as Eazy-E, founder of NWA, which was a defining moment in his life.
As a teenager, Taylor's life was marked by many hardships. At the age of 13, one of his older brothers, Jevon, was shot at a gas station just after receiving a record deal. Taylor felt that his father's absence played a role in this incident and that if he had been there, his brother would not have been shot. Jevon died the next day, and Taylor was left feeling lost and alone.
Two years later, Taylor was removed from foster care and returned to his mother's home, where he struggled to connect with her. He attended Compton High School, where most of the students were affiliated with the Crips, and his older brother, Big Fase 100, was a Cedar Block Piru Blood. Taylor followed in his brother's footsteps and became affiliated with the Piru Bloods.
Taylor's natural athletic abilities led him to become a point guard on the basketball team and to participate in other sports. He graduated in 1999 and received many scholarship offers from various colleges, but he chose to attend Washington State University to play basketball. However, his scholarship was revoked after he was found with drugs in his possession.
After leaving college, Taylor and his brother moved to an apartment in Bellflower, where they quickly established a monopoly on the drug trade. However, this was short-lived, and on October 1, 2001, Taylor was shot five times execution-style by one of his customers. He was left in a coma for two days before recovering and using his cell phone to call an ambulance.
During his recovery, Taylor studied classic hip-hop albums, including those by Biggie, Snoop, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and others. He took elements from his favorite rappers and formulated his own style, which he used to create a mixtape with his brother. The mixtape reached the hands of Sean Combs, aka P. Diddy, and Dr. Dre, who signed Taylor to his label.
Taylor chose the alias The Game because his grandmother used to call him Game, saying he was game for anything. He released his debut album, "The Documentary," in 2005, which debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and sold over 586,000 units in its first week.
The Game's head for business made him a fixture on TV and radio, and he frequently did interviews and appeared at award shows and other events. Despite his success, he remained true to his Compton roots and continued to hang around with his entourage, known as The Black Wallstreet.
However, The Game's career was not without controversy. He had beefs with other artists, including 50 Cent, and was known for his "name-dropping" in his songs. He and 50 Cent eventually made a truce, but not before a man in The Game's entourage was shot in the leg during a confrontation.
In 2005, The Game was involved in several other controversies, including a $280 million lawsuit filed against him and a altercation with a Washington D.C. radio DJ. He also headlined the "How The West Was Won" tour with Snoop Dogg, but their concert in Auburn, Washington was shortened after a man was beaten onstage by The Game and Snoop's entourage.
Despite the controversy surrounding him, The Game seems to have substance and is currently working on his sophomore album.
