'New' Album From the Game Unearths History
03/30/2005 11:47 AM, AP
The Game developed rap superstar aspirations as a young man in Compton, but he left the formative heart of his art in San Francisco.
That's where he connected with Bay Area rap entrepreneur Joseph Tom (b.k.a. JT The Bigga Figga) in 2002 and was paid to record songs — three years before his first album debuted at No. 1.
Much to Game's chagrin, nearly half of those 22 original songs are now compiled on "West Coast Resurrection," a "new" album released Tuesday on JT's Get Low Records.
Game's "real" album is "The Documentary," executive produced by Dr. Dre and 50 Cent for their Aftermath and G Unit labels and released in January. It sold more than 600,000 copies in its first week, and has moved more than 1 million units to date.
Which makes "West Coast Resurrection" a revealing look at the ideas that Game had before the legendary Dr. Dre groomed him into a pop star.
Game sounds angrier and scrappier on the old raps, without the pop hooks and shiny veneer provided by Dre. The production, by JT and other Bay Area musicians, is decent but lacking the melodic element that has made Dre perhaps the greatest rap producer ever.
On the old album, "they're gonna hear him in his raw form from a hungrier state, less censored," says JT, 31. "And it opens the doorway to the Bay Area rap lifestyle."
That lifestyle has earned a reputation for selling independent rap albums by the hundreds of thousands. With no big record company hogging most of the profits, independent success has translated into millions for rappers like MC Hammer, Too $hort, E-40 ... and JT, who remains one of the scene's most successful stars.
Though he's respected for his skills as a rapper and producer, he's also praised for his business savvy. Ironically, the biggest hit of his career to date is 1994's "Game Recognize Game."
Uninterested in the responsibilities of long-term artist development, Tom prefers to work with new or established artists on one-off projects. He's worked with artists like Juvenile, the Tupac-affiliated Outlawz and Snoop Dogg's cousin Daz Dillinger when they were between deals.
"It's like playing the stock market, that's what I'm known for," he says over eggs at the San Francisco diner Lucky Penny. Artists "know they can come talk to JT for a chance at a jump start."
It was Tom's release with Dillinger, "Long Beach 2 Fillmoe" (named after the Fillmore area of San Francisco where JT grew up), which caught the ear of fledgling MC Jayceon Taylor, now known as Game.
JT heard Game as an unsigned artist trying to get noticed at the 2002 Hip-Hop Summit in Los Angeles, and persuaded Game to fly up to San Francisco to work on original tracks. JT and Taylor agreed that it was a work-for-hire arrangement: Taylor was not technically signed to JT's label, but JT owned whatever songs were created in his studio.
Four months after the songs were recorded, Game was signed to Dre's Aftermath label. JT, sensing a promising business development, held onto the songs.
As Game's fame began to rise, JT's involvement in his development was often left out of the story. What's more, Game has set up his own independent record label called The Black Wall Street — the same record label name that Tom has used since 2001. The Game has also tattooed "The Black Wall Street" on his neck, which Tom finds a bit baffling. He says he gave Game permission to use the name, but would have liked to receive some credit.
After all, in 2003 JT wrote, produced and independently distributed "Black Wall Street: The C.E.O. Manual," his instructional guide to becoming an independent billionaire. Similar in format to a glossy magazine, it has sold nearly 2,200 copies at $100 a pop, Tom claims.
So for an instinctive businessman like JT, it was the obvious move to release Game's old material when his new blockbuster was in stores. Especially since he'd already released another album of old Game raps late last year.
"People know that's not my album. I don't even have to say it," Game told XXL magazine. He went on to say that he's receiving 75 percent of the profits, and flashed a message on his Sidekick to the reporter to prove that he was about to receive a high five figure check from Get Low Records.
JT says he's the one who owns 75 percent, and that he was sending Game a check for $75,000 as payment on 15 percent of the profits from the first CD.
Throughout it all, Tom has remained a fan of The Game.
"He emulates some of the greats and does it well, but he also brings his own freshness to the table too," JT says. "His voice is sick, he's punch-lining it up, he's doing all the different type of raps. But I think when you spend three or four million dollars making a record and investing in the marketing and promotion of a product, anyone can sell platinum if you're dope."
In the end, with money rolling in, JT is happy regardless of whether The Game acknowledges him or not. He doesn't want a battle; just recognition.
"I mean, come on," he says. "You could tell the truth, where you did your first demo at, who paid for it, who discovered you. You could be a man (and say), 'This guy seen me rapping, I don't (work) with him no mo' but he found me down there.'"
03/30/2005 11:47 AM, AP
The Game developed rap superstar aspirations as a young man in Compton, but he left the formative heart of his art in San Francisco.
That's where he connected with Bay Area rap entrepreneur Joseph Tom (b.k.a. JT The Bigga Figga) in 2002 and was paid to record songs — three years before his first album debuted at No. 1.
Much to Game's chagrin, nearly half of those 22 original songs are now compiled on "West Coast Resurrection," a "new" album released Tuesday on JT's Get Low Records.
Game's "real" album is "The Documentary," executive produced by Dr. Dre and 50 Cent for their Aftermath and G Unit labels and released in January. It sold more than 600,000 copies in its first week, and has moved more than 1 million units to date.
Which makes "West Coast Resurrection" a revealing look at the ideas that Game had before the legendary Dr. Dre groomed him into a pop star.
Game sounds angrier and scrappier on the old raps, without the pop hooks and shiny veneer provided by Dre. The production, by JT and other Bay Area musicians, is decent but lacking the melodic element that has made Dre perhaps the greatest rap producer ever.
On the old album, "they're gonna hear him in his raw form from a hungrier state, less censored," says JT, 31. "And it opens the doorway to the Bay Area rap lifestyle."
That lifestyle has earned a reputation for selling independent rap albums by the hundreds of thousands. With no big record company hogging most of the profits, independent success has translated into millions for rappers like MC Hammer, Too $hort, E-40 ... and JT, who remains one of the scene's most successful stars.
Though he's respected for his skills as a rapper and producer, he's also praised for his business savvy. Ironically, the biggest hit of his career to date is 1994's "Game Recognize Game."
Uninterested in the responsibilities of long-term artist development, Tom prefers to work with new or established artists on one-off projects. He's worked with artists like Juvenile, the Tupac-affiliated Outlawz and Snoop Dogg's cousin Daz Dillinger when they were between deals.
"It's like playing the stock market, that's what I'm known for," he says over eggs at the San Francisco diner Lucky Penny. Artists "know they can come talk to JT for a chance at a jump start."
It was Tom's release with Dillinger, "Long Beach 2 Fillmoe" (named after the Fillmore area of San Francisco where JT grew up), which caught the ear of fledgling MC Jayceon Taylor, now known as Game.
JT heard Game as an unsigned artist trying to get noticed at the 2002 Hip-Hop Summit in Los Angeles, and persuaded Game to fly up to San Francisco to work on original tracks. JT and Taylor agreed that it was a work-for-hire arrangement: Taylor was not technically signed to JT's label, but JT owned whatever songs were created in his studio.
Four months after the songs were recorded, Game was signed to Dre's Aftermath label. JT, sensing a promising business development, held onto the songs.
As Game's fame began to rise, JT's involvement in his development was often left out of the story. What's more, Game has set up his own independent record label called The Black Wall Street — the same record label name that Tom has used since 2001. The Game has also tattooed "The Black Wall Street" on his neck, which Tom finds a bit baffling. He says he gave Game permission to use the name, but would have liked to receive some credit.
After all, in 2003 JT wrote, produced and independently distributed "Black Wall Street: The C.E.O. Manual," his instructional guide to becoming an independent billionaire. Similar in format to a glossy magazine, it has sold nearly 2,200 copies at $100 a pop, Tom claims.
So for an instinctive businessman like JT, it was the obvious move to release Game's old material when his new blockbuster was in stores. Especially since he'd already released another album of old Game raps late last year.
"People know that's not my album. I don't even have to say it," Game told XXL magazine. He went on to say that he's receiving 75 percent of the profits, and flashed a message on his Sidekick to the reporter to prove that he was about to receive a high five figure check from Get Low Records.
JT says he's the one who owns 75 percent, and that he was sending Game a check for $75,000 as payment on 15 percent of the profits from the first CD.
Throughout it all, Tom has remained a fan of The Game.
"He emulates some of the greats and does it well, but he also brings his own freshness to the table too," JT says. "His voice is sick, he's punch-lining it up, he's doing all the different type of raps. But I think when you spend three or four million dollars making a record and investing in the marketing and promotion of a product, anyone can sell platinum if you're dope."
In the end, with money rolling in, JT is happy regardless of whether The Game acknowledges him or not. He doesn't want a battle; just recognition.
"I mean, come on," he says. "You could tell the truth, where you did your first demo at, who paid for it, who discovered you. You could be a man (and say), 'This guy seen me rapping, I don't (work) with him no mo' but he found me down there.'"
