The Game Talks Nipsey Hussle, Wack 100 Comments, Why Trump Represents ‘America as a Whole’

Following the release of his final album Born 2 Rap, the Game stopped by Big Boy TV to discuss everything from Donald Trump to Nipsey Hussle. Around the 10-minute mark of the interview, the Compton rapper explained that JAY-Z did, in fact, help convince Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine keep him on Aftermath Entertainment after he heard “Hate It or Love It.”

“That’s a real thing,” he answered when asked about the situation. “There was a few artists that were amazing that it was just time to cut. Jimmy Iovine was like, ‘Cut this, cut this, cut that.’ And 50, as much as I hated him like eight months ago⁠—we more than cool now⁠—was like, ‘Let me get Game. Don’t cut Game, we going to take Game on tour.’ … Dre was always in tune, but [he] had so much going on that time.”

JAY-Z later heard “Hate It or Love It” when he was on a yacht with Dr. Dre, and he reportedly told the legendary producer that the song was going to be a hit.

Later in the interview, Game said he’s been keeping his ears on emerging talent. “My favorite artist of today is DaBaby,” he said at 17:35. “He raw, he gutter. Women like him but he still hood. … And the music is good.” In a reflective mood, Game added that he didn’t like giving props to rappers earlier in his career but he’s far more comfortable with it now. In fact, he gave a shoutout to the late XXXTentacion on Born 2 Rap. “It was important for me to show him love because he gave his life. … He didn’t die when he wasn’t a hip-hop artist he died after he was a hip-hop artist,” he said when asked about the shoutout. “That dude was, like, so talented.”

Following the talk of X, the topic shifted to Nipsey Hussle. After the Victory Lap rapper was killed earlier this year, Game has spent a lot of time paying tribute to Nip. At around 20 minutes into the interview, the rapper talked about how they met. Nip and his crew approached Game as he was in his car, and simply passed him a demo CD. “Nip would never let me forget that, man,” he said.

He also addressed how tired he is of people approaching him to ask about Wack 100’s thoughts on Nip. Recently, Wack said he didn’t think Nip was quite at legend status just yet, prompting some heated words from T.I. among others. “What Wack says or what he wants to say is really his own opinion,” he said at 29:10.

As the interview came to a close, Game directed his attention to Donald Trump. “I don’t support Donald Trump,” he said. “You know what it is, though? I understand Donald Trump, and I know that Donald Trump is a direct representation of America as a whole. We are on so much bull every day, we lie to ourselves every day. … Dude has so many things wrong with him being president it’s ridiculous, but it’s understandable to me because walking around every day I see it on the streets.”

Watch the full interview with the Game above.