The Game (Rapper)

The Game was once engaged to actress Valeisha Butterfield, daughter of US Congressman GK Butterfield, but the engagement was called off in June 2006.

After the engagement was called off, he dated Tiffney Cambridge, a 6th-grade teacher. Despite the relationship lasting for eight years, no marriage plans materialized.

He has three children, who were shown on his VH1 show, ‘Marrying The Game’. One of his children is named Harlem Caron Taylor.

The Game, whose original name is Jayceon Terrell Taylor, was born on November 29, 1979, in Los Angeles, California, to George Taylor and Lynette Taylor.

He grew up in Compton, a small but notorious city in Los Angeles, known to be a crime-ridden place. He was a member of the Bloods, an African-American street gang.

He had a troubled childhood—his parents were drug addicts. His father reportedly molested his sisters, and Jayceon was placed in foster care at the age of seven. When he was 13, one of his older brothers was shot at, who died soon after.

At the age of 15, he was removed from the foster care, and reunited with his mother, but he had a troubled relationship with her.

He went to Compton High School, and was good in sports like basketball and track. He claimed that after he graduated, he attended Washington State University on a basketball scholarship, but was expelled shortly after as he was caught with drugs. The university, however, dispelled this claim.

The Game’s first mixtape ‘You Know What It Is Vol. 1’ was released in 2002 through The Black Wall Street Records that he had founded with his half-brother George, also known as Big Fase. He landed a record deal with Get Low Recordz. A few months later, he was discovered by Dr. Dre who signed him with his company Aftermath Entertainment in 2003.

In 2003, Interscope Records and Dr. Dre sent Game to work with 50 Cent and G-Unit to make him popular. Game’s first cameo appearance in a music video—‘In da Club’—for 50 Cent, was a hit. Since then, he has made many cameo appearances in music videos by 50 Cent, Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Fabolous.

While he was preparing for his first album, he did ads for Sean John clothing company, and endorsed Boost Mobile. He also guest-starred on mixtapes for G-Unit and Green Lantern.

In September 2004, his major label debut single ‘Westside Story’ was released, followed by the launch of ‘Untold Story’ in October, which was a hit and sold over 82,000 copies within the first three months.

His debut album ‘The Documentary,’ released in January 2005, was immensely successful. Originally he had titled the album ‘Nigga Wit An Attitude Volume 1’, but due to an injunction filed by a fellow rapper’s widow, he had to title it ‘The Documentary.’ It was produced by Dr. Dre and 50 Cent.

‘The Documentary’ is undoubtedly The Game’s best work so far. The album rose to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and was the 10th best selling album of 2005 in the US, and sold over 5 million copies worldwide. His second studio album ‘Doctor's Advocate’ is another one of his major works. His ‘The R.E.D. Album’, which reached No. 1 on Billboard 200, and sold 98,000 units in the first week, also earned him considerable success.