THE GAME  (November 2006) | Interview By: Lil Jay

The Game is currently making his strong media presence felt by doing a lot of appearances and interviews on radio, TV and other media outlets. He has been speaking his mind on various things, most notably his sophomore album "Doctor's Advocate". Everything has been said, so it's about time he lets the music do the talking! The new record is being released today in most countries in Europe, and next Tuesday, November 14th, in the United States. Make sure you go out and support this project by picking up your copy cause it's definitely worth it. We'll see how the first week turns out and if it meets Game's expectations...

Just in time for the album release, Game reached out to Dubcnn for a brief interview. He took a couple of minutes out to share a few words for his core audience here on Dubcnn to discuss the new album and other things going on.

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Interview was done in November 2006

Questions Asked By: Lil Jay

The Game Gave Dubcnn Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Interview Audio Here

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Dubcnn: Dubcnn is back in the buildings, today we got The Game in the house. What's good Game?

The Game: Just at the house banging out, smoking some weed!



Dubcnn: You're back with your folks on Dubcnn!

The Game: Oh man, you save the best for last man! For sure!



Dubcnn: Before you dropped "The Documentary" you were labeled a local rapper, but how do you see your role in West Coast rap today? Do you consider yourself global knowing that you got a strong fanbase all over the world now?

The Game: Man I don't give a fuck how global I become or how big I become, I'm West Coast and I bleed this Compton shit. I put the West Coast on the map and I did it at a time when nobody else could do it. When they said that the West Coast was done, it was gone, it was never coming back. When they said the Death Row dynasty fell after 2Pac died. When they said that the West Coast wasn't shit after the East/West beef. I resurrected all that and I did it by my motherfuckin' self.

I opened the door for a lot of these up and coming MC's today, and don't nobody give me props and don't nobody give me respect for what I did. But I don't give a fuck about that shit man, cause you know what? In my motherfuckin heart homebody, I bleed Compton. I'm from the West Coast. Every album, every lyric, every verse that I drop got Compton, West Coast, Crips, Bloods, Ese's in this shit. Homie I ride for the West Coast. At the end of the West Coast, if niggas don't wanna give me my respect then fuck 'em, cause I'm still gonna ride for the West Coast. And that's what I do.



Dubcnn: A while ago you said that you wanted to create a "The Documentary" Part 2. And it seems like there is a pattern on a couple of songs on the new album. Did you run with the same formula that you had on "The Documentary"?

The Game: Nah this ain't no "Documentary" Part 2. This is "The Doctor's Advocate". It's a totally different album. "The Documentary" was a feel good album. It let people know about me, it let people inside my life for a moment. I told people stories over classic beats. Dre was on the album, 50 was on the album. This ain't that album, "The Doctor's Advocate" is a new album. No Dr. Dre. Executive produced by The Game. No 50 Cent, no 50 Cent hooks, nobody writing shit, nobody can say that they wrote shit. None of that.



Dubcnn: It seems like your hooks have gotten better over time, especially the mixtape tracks. Is that something that you focused on?

The Game: I always knew how to do the hooks man. Don't let 50 brainwash you, fuck him! I can flat out rap. I can do a fucking hook. It ain't shit to do no hook. That ain't nothing but 8 bars, it's hard to write a 16! I'm a hundred times better than I used to be, in every aspect. I mean with time you grow, and that's what it is.



Dubcnn: The title track on "The Doctor's Advocate" with Busta has some very strong lyrics. Did it take a any courage to record it the way it came out and put something on the album that personal?

The Game: Man I just grab my nuts homie, get in there and write the shit down. And if y'all think it's a classic, if it's great, if it's garbage. That's for y'all to decide cause it's y'all opinion. Me, I just make the songs that I feel like making. I write what my heart tells me to write. As long as you follow your heart you can't go wrong as far as keeping it real.



Dubcnn: On the song you said that "you didn't mean to turn your back on Dre". Did Dre ever have a talk with you about how to handle the beef with G-Unit?

The Game: Yeah, but I don't wanna talk about that cause that's too personal.



Dubcnn: Was there ever a time before you started working on the new album when you had doubts about dropping a follow-up album that could live up to "The Documentary"?

The Game: I never had those worries, I always knew. It's only been a year and a half since "The Documentary" dropped. Do people think that I fell off after only a year? I can do this shit, I just learned how to do this shit. I'm a student of Hip Hop and Gangsta Rap, and I know how to put it down on this shit. I got this shit mastered now. And at this point I'm not to be fucked with. Can't nobody fuck with me so I wish motherfuckas would stop challenging my head, because I hate having to end motherfuckas careers and put they ass to rest. But I will do it if motherfuckas fuck with me or anything under my Black Wall Street imprint. We're holding it down and we're about to be the next biggest urban Hip Hop label in the world man. Niggas better watch! It ain't no formula to it, it's called staying alive in Hip Hop and I gotta do that for as long as I exist in this shit.



Dubcnn: Speaking of Black Wall Street, it seems that everytime someone leaves Black Wall Street, the artists kinda disappear from the scene. Eastwood and Tech had the MOB thing going, but after that they kinda disappeared?


The Game: Yeah man, they did. But I don't know about all that. I don't get too involved in nobody else's career. I'm just focused on my shit. I just keep doing me, if motherfuckas wanna hate, let them hate. I don't hate nobody. I just get out and get my money. People just gotta study the game and learn how to survive in this shit.



Dubcnn: How was the creative process for the new album? Are you comfortable with having more input and creative control this time?

The Game: I mean this album is executive produced by me. This album is a lot harder than "The Documentary". It takes you back to the real real way how classic albums are supposed to be made out here on the West Coast, the East Coast, the Dirty South. This album is Hip Hop. But most importantly, this album is The Game, this is my album.



Dubcnn: Long time Hip Hop heads have been requesting to bring lyricism back to the rap game. How much did you incorporate that into the new album?

The Game: On the new album I wasn't even worried about bringing something back and doing all that. I just went in the studio and recorded the hits that I recorded. Whatever is going through my head, I put that on a beat so it's always real. It's always 100% street, and that's why motherfuckas respect me and my music at the end of the day.



Dubcnn: One thing which kinda showed the quality of your last album is that even the leftovers were on a high quality level. There was this one leftover called "Hard Liquor" with Jelly Roll. That song was easy album material in my eyes, and would have probably been by far the best song on other peoples albums?

The Game: Yeah, I wrote that and Jelly Roll produced that track. But you know, that wasn't shit but some mixtape shit.



Dubcnn: How much do you think the production helped "The Documentary" succeed? Cause there is this misconception that the album was carried by the beats.

The Game: They did help, but I don't need nobody's help at the end of the day. I can do this shit by myself, I know how to do it. You know why? Because I grew up in Compton. I studied Eazy E do it, I studied N.W.A. do it, I studied Ice Cube do it. I got signed to Dre and I studied every fucking move. I know how to make a classic Hip Hop album.



Dubcnn: Who are some of the younger West Coast rappers that you think have the potential to walk in your shoes and do what you did?

The Game: You got Juice. Juice is the next big thing on the West Coast. You got Glasses Malone, you got Lil Eazy, you got Crooked I, you got Bishop Lamont, you got a lot of motherfuckas out here holding it down. You got the homie Mitchy Slick. It's a lot out here, niggas just gotta put their ear to the street!



Dubcnn: Speaking of Crooked, Glasses and them. Weren't they supposed to drop a verse on the "One Blood" remix?

The Game: Naw, you gotta listen to the West Coast remix! Glasses and Crooked I is both on the West Coast remix. It will be coming out this weekend. I drop the extended version with everybody on it and then I drop the regional remixes with the South, East, and West this weekend.