The Game was one of the defining rappers of the early 2000s. Coming out of Compton, he was 50 Cent’s right-hand man and had most of his hits alongside Fiddy. It goes without saying; The Game had a highly successful run.
However, it didn’t last for a long time. From his former homie 50 Cent to numerous other artists, The Game has had beef with so many people, and his career took a fall as a result.
It wouldn’t take very long if we counted his platinum-selling albums. However, that’s not to say that his personal discography credits aren’t impressive. As well as a career in hip hop, The Game has had a successful career as an actor too.
The Game was the only West Coast rapper in G-Unit and, akin to 50 Cent, was a rapper who made and identified with the new school gangster rap movement of the early noughties. Along with artists such as Young Buck and Tony Yayo, The Game released his debut album on G-Unit records as a member of G-Unit. However, his tenure with G-Unit was short as things turned sour. Many say his affiliation feud with 50 Cent was responsible for his career failure.
Even though the trajectory of his career may have gone south quite fast, that’s not to say that The Game didn’t have hits or, for that matter, amazing albums, so for this article, in celebration of The Game’s 43rd birthday, we’re going to present the five greatest Game tracks of all time.
The five greatest Game tracks of all time:
5. ‘100’ ft Drake – The Documentary 2, (2015)
This song from The Game was the lead single from his sixth studio album, The Documentary 2. An extension of his 2005 debut album, The Documentary. This track featuring Canadian rapper Drake was produced by Cardo and samples the 1977 soul track ‘Feel the Fire’ by Peabo Bryson.
The track just managed to get into the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 82, and did not fare well internationally, failing to make it into the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart and similarly not in Canada. However, the track is still amazing.
4. ‘Dreams’ – The Documentary, (2005)
Produced by Kanye West, ‘Dreams’ was released as the fifth single for The Game’s debut album, The Documentary. The track samples ‘No Money Down’ by Jerry Butler and did exceptionally well, peaking within the top 10 on the UK Singles Charts, debuting at number eight.
At the end of the track, the Compton rapper discloses, “This song is dedicated to Yetunde Price / The sister of Venus and Serena Williams / Who was slain during a gang shootout in Compton / Sunday, September 14th, 2003, rest in peace.”
3. ‘Westside Story’ – The Documentary, (2005)
This track was the lead single for the album and was produced by both Dr Dre and Scott Storch in conjunction. The track talks about life growing up in Compton and makes lots of references to the most renowned West Coast artists of the 1990s.
The track cites ‘California Love’ by Tupac Shakur and Dr Dre, it talks about ‘213’, Snoop Dogg and others. A remix was also released featuring Snoop Dogg.
2. ‘How We Do’ ft 50 Cent – The Documentary, (2005)
This is undoubtedly one of The Game’s most popular songs. Although many may say the track was bolstered by the 50 Cent feature, the track produced by Dr Dre is undeniably catchy and simplistic. Released as the second single for the album, it was instantly a club anthem.
The track peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked within the top ten of other countries in Europe, including The Netherlands, Belgium, The UK, France and others.
‘How We Do’ was The Game’s first-ever top ten hit and has accumulated over 310 million streams on Spotify. The track was certified Platinum in the UK and Gold in the US. The music video is one of the rapper’s biggest, and has reached over 190 million on YouTube
1. ‘Hate It Or Love It’ – The Documentary, (2005)
‘Hate It Or Love It’ is The Game’s most successful track of all time. ‘Hate It Or Love It’ is a hip-hop classic and has been streamed approximately 410 million times on Spotify. The track was produced by the duo Cool & Dre. The instrumental for the track was released on an unofficial instrumental tape that was floating around L.A.
However, when The Game heard it, he knew it was a hit. ‘Hate It Or Love It’ samples the song ‘Rubber Band’ by the Trammps and received additional production from Dr Dre, who executively produced The Documentary. The track nearly reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 but peaked at number two, while 50 Cent’s single, ‘Candy Shop’ took the top spot.
The track was also remixed by Mary J Blige for her track ‘MJB Da MVP’. The original has been certified three times platinum in the US and the UK.
