Compton Rap star Game is gearing up for his fourth major label, R.E.D. Now due on June 29, the Interscope/Aftermath/Star Trak release is executive produced by Dr. Dre and Pharrell Williams. With two of the biggest music producers of all time working on the same album, HipHopDX recently asked Game how he achieved a sonic balance between the N.W.A. alum and The Neptunes heatmaker.
“It’s hard to say,” answered Game on how R.E.D. juggles Dre’s signature melodies with Skateboard P’s explosive percussion style. “With this album, number one, I want to let everybody know that I’ve been totally blessed by the Rap gods: Biggie [Smalls], 2Pac, [Jam Master Jay], Guru and whoever.” The Black Wall Street Records founder elaborated on what exactly he meant, “They’ve made sure that this album is goin’ to be successful by putting me in the studio with Pharrell, who I hadn’t worked with, but wanted to work with every day in my life [leading up] to this album, and then reuniting me with [Dr.] Dre and the Aftermath camp – and then, to be able to create an album with those guys and [have them] both coexist without any problems, steppin’ on any toes and both liking what the other guy is doing and just the collaborative effort, it’s been real, real big to me. I think on the date when people get my album, it’s gonna make sense. It’s gonna make a lot of sense.”
Dr. Dre and Pharrell have previously worked on the same album, such as Snoop Dogg’s The Blue Carpet Treatment and Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come, both released four years ago in 2006.
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Additionally, Game was asked about his relationship with Def Jam rapper Shyne. While Game rose to fame since his appearances leading up to 2004’s official debut, The Documentary, Shyne had been incarcerated until late last year. “Me and Shyne, man, we ain’t never even shook hands in real life. But through phone conversations while he was locked up, and through the lines of California to Belize, we’ve sort of formed a brotherhood over the last several years – just me callin’ him on the check-up, or him havin’ my cell [phone number] and hittin’ me, congratulating me on my success and him tellin’ me which moves he thought I should make, and which mistakes I should [avoid] – just guidin’ me.”
At one point, during Shyne’s incarceration, it was rumored that the former Bad Boy star may even sign with Game’s imprint. Beyond business and music, Game emphasized the two’s deep friendship. “I think we became brothers, so to speak, and we ain’t never even touched hands. That’s the power of music and Hip Hop and the craft that we share, and it does that sometimes.”
As both rappers have, for different reasons, spoken out against 50 Cent, they share a loyalty within the confines of Rap. “Again, I ain’t never met Shyne in real life, but I swear to God, I’ll go toe-to-toe, back-to-back with this nigga in a war, man. It’s his heart and how we vibe on the phone and the things we talk about. It never starts off, and never ends about music. It’s always about the check-up.”
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R.E.D. is presently due June 29 on Interscope/Aftermath/Star Trak Records.
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