Jayceon Taylor, a.k.a. The Game, has a gangster rap CV that’s longer than the California coastline he calls home.
As a former drug hustler who barely escaped his own chalk outline, The Game’s got prerequisite street credibility.
He’s also got friends in high places, whose musical contributions left his album, The Documentary, with a platinum sheen. The A-list roster included, among others, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kayne West, Timbaland, Busta Rhymes, Nate Dogg and Mary J. Blige. If you attended The Game’s show at the Point Depot, you’ve heard the rest.
Instead of dropping rhymes, the rapper dropped names. Eventually he dropped to the floor, after chasing a bottle of Cristal champagne with a 60-second swig of Hennessy cognac.
The songs that followed were short of breath, if not altogether sloppy, and he frequently deferred to his DJ or the audience for support.
On the bright side, there was enough eye-candy to keep everyone at least mildly entertained, from tricked-out cruisers and backup dancers’ midriffs to an onstage posse of higher-than-thou tokesters.
The Game, however, was less than pleased with his own view, berating a young woman in the front row for not lifting up her shirt at his command.
Later, he kicked an enthusiastic lad offstage, when his champagne-chugging prowess fell short of The Game’s lofty standards.
But his most savage vindication was reserved for 50 Cent, who fell out of The Game’s good graces after their collaborative single, ‘Hate It Or Love It’, topped the charts earlier this year.
Mockery was the least of it; when a 50 Cent shirt was tossed at his feet, The Game picked it up and tried to light it on fire.
Out on the lonely stage, an act can either sink or swim. With the weight of all those silver chains and diamond-encrusted medallions swinging from his neck, The Game never stood a chance.