Jayceon Terrell Taylor (born November 29, 1979), better known by his
stage name Game, formerly
The Game, is an American
rapper. As a member of
G-Unit, he rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album,
The Documentary, and his two
Grammy nominations. Since then, he is considered to be a driving force in bringing back the
West Coast hip hop scene into the mainstream and competing with many of his
East Coast counterparts.
Aside from releasing two albums that debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200, Game has gained notoriety for involvement in feuds with other rappers. His music falls under the
gangsta rap sub genre, a style of hip hop popularized in
Compton, California.
Early life
Game was born Jayceon Terrell Taylor in
Los Angeles, California to Lynette Baker and George Taylor Jr. He grew up in
Compton,
California in a primarily
Crip gang neighborhood known as Santana Blocc,
although he grew up to become a member of the
Bloods.
In an October 2006 interview with
MTV News correspondent
Sway Calloway, Game described his family as "
dysfunctional" and claimed that his father
molested one of his sisters.
After graduating from
Compton High School in 1999,
Taylor claimed to have attended
Washington State University on a basketball scholarship before being suspended in his first semester because of drug allegations. However, the university's athletic department refutes these claims.
It was then that he started fully embracing street life and turned towards selling drugs and running with gangs.
At the age of 18, he began to follow his older half brother, George Taylor III, known as Big Fase 100, who was the leader of the Cedar Block
Pirus.
