Jayceon Terrell Taylor (born
November 29, 1979), better known by his
stage name The Game, is an
American rapper. 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 and competing with many of his
East Coast counterparts.
Aside from releasing two albums that debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200, The Game has gained notoriety for involvement in feuds with other rappers. His music falls under the
gangsta rap subgenre, a style of hip hop popularized in his hometown of
Compton, California.
Life and career
Early life
The Game was born Jayceon Terrell Taylor in
Los Angeles, California and grew up in
Compton,
California.
He spent his later life living 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, The 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 briefly attended
Washington State University on a basketball scholarship but was expelled during his first semester because of drug allegations.
It was then that he started fully embracing street life and turned towards selling drugs and gang banging.
At the age of eighteen, he began to follow his older half brother, "Big Fase 100", who was the leader of the Cedar Block Pirus.
