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— by Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes, Hillary Crosley and Sway Calloway
Artist: The Game, presented by JT the Bigga Figga
Representing: Cali
Mixtape: West Coast Resurrection
411: JT the Bigga Figga is thanking Interscope for being such die-hard supporters of the Game. You see, as Interscope keeps pumping up Game and his album The Documentary, JT is trying to piggyback some of the sales with his own Game album, West Coast Resurrection.
JT started making records with a very green Game in 2002 and put out the rapper's first mixtape. Game made so many songs with JT that the Bigga Figga had enough material to put together an album of old, unreleased Game recordings called Untold Story in November, and JT has now released the next to last Game record he has in his stash, West Coast Resurrection.
"If Dr. Dre and them had an album now and it was the other way around, I think they'd do the same thing," JT said. "Any smart businessman that owns product that is currently being marketed and promoted at the highest level through the biggest company ... to put it out now is prime time. I put one out two months before Aftermath put out [The Documentary], and we sold over 100,000 records. The orders for [West Coast Resurrection] are double. I don't know a better time to put it out."
For the record, Game says he doesn't want to discuss JT in depth, but did say he was a "swindler." Young Buck, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have any problem with JT the Bigga Figga putting out a street DVD called "The Road to Cashville," which centers around Buck when he was down with U.T.P. in 2001, up to 2003, when he was on the Roc the Mic Tour.
Joints To Check For
- "Promised Land." The voice sounds only vaguely like the Game we know today — in fact, he sounds a little like Shyne. He obviously hadn't come into his own and is struggling a little with his flow, but this Game and the one we know now have something in common: their thoughts. On this track, he's trying to rise up out of some very serious jeopardy that he's going through.
- "Untold Story." Even back then, Game was no Mr. Friendly. Lines like "Trust me dog, ain't sh-- you put in your rap that'll make you a gangsta/ You'se a bitch and that's that."
- "Put It in the Air." OK, this sounds a little bit more like the Game we know now. "I'm doing this for Eazy like it or not/ I wouldn't even be rapping if Eric Wright didn't drop/ I'm poised to go platinum, that's what the magazine saying/ F--- The Source, I got my own magazines, man."
Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week
- B.G. & Chopper City's Play It How It Go
- Keith Murray's Kickin' Ass Inc. Mixtape Vol. 1
- DJ LT's Dan's It's Going Down, hosted by Paul Wall
- Clinton Sparks' Maybe You Been Brainwashed
- DJ E. Nyce's Nothing But Freestyles Volume 1
'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar
- "Get It Poppin' " and "Listen Baby" by Fat Joe
- "Broken Bottles" by Aasim featuring Black Rob and Wise G
- "The Way" by 112 featuring Jermaine Dupri
- "Make Her Feel Good" by Tierra Marie featuring Jay-Z
Celebrity Favs
You heard it here first, ladies and gents: New York Knicks shooting guard Jamal Crawford guarantees that his team is going to the playoffs. The Knickerbockers are still a few games out of the final playoff position, but Crawford, who has been known to throw the rock off of the backboard and dunk in game situations, is confident.
You may have also seen Crawford in the new commercial for the S. Carter sneakers, so it is no big mystery who he listens to in the locker room.
"Jay-Z. Anything by him: his old stuff, his new stuff. He's amazing. If you ever been to the studio with him, you see he doesn't write anything down. It's something you can't even explain; it's just something you have to see. I been in the studio with him, and I couldn't believe it. He hears the beat a few times and goes in the booth. One-take Hov!"
The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground
Peedi Crakk has hooked up with DJ Big Mike and will be releasing his mixtape, Peedi Crakk for President, any day now. Crakk, who is on his way to Miami to finish up his solo debut for Jay-Z's new Roc-A-Fella Records, said there may be some harsh words for the former Roc-A-Fella CEO among his new verses.
Last summer, the two were rolling real tight, with Dame Dash labeling Peedi the "Roc Star." Peedi even lived at Dame's crib for about a month. But the two have since fallen out (see "State Property Members Stress Independence, Don't Take Orders"), and while Dame isn't talking about P.C., Crakk doesn't have anything positive to say about his former boss.
"We was all right," Crakk explained. "But he's a di--head. He didn't want to go in my [musical] direction. He don't know the new wave of hip-hop. I'm the future of rap — me plus a couple of cats that are the future of hip-hop. He's just an investor; he don't know how to dance, rap or sing. His talent is using other people's talent. His gift is to use your gift."
Despite his blatant disdain for Dash, Crakk said he does have love for Kareem "Biggs" Burke, who is still Dame's business partner.
"Biggs is a thorough mother------," Crakk explained. "He reminds me of one of my old heads: calm, cool, collected. You can go talk to him. He's a good person. He never lied to me. Dame is the total opposite. Dame is a loser. If Dame feels I owe him something, I don't owe him nothing. I'm with Hova; the show is over!" ...
Dame Dash continues to laugh at the notion that he's done. In fact, Damon says he's on the fast track to get even more cheddar. He is in the process of bringing the indie Black Hand Entertainment over to his Dame Dash Music Group, and after three rewrites over the past couple of years, he finally has a script he feels is right for the biopic he's producing on 50 Cent's former manager and current Black Hand Entertainment CEO Chaz Williams.
"When I was first getting into the music business, he was one of the guys that was supportive of our music," Dame explained. "He's a stand-up dude. I've been watching him and what he's doing with [Black Hand artist] Grahf. He has that independent spirit, but the story he has — we'd be talking, and I'd be like, "This is a movie right here.' "
Dash said the film will be titled "Inside Out," and is based around Williams' life of crime as youth.
"We're about to shoot a movie where he was younger, and he went to jail for robbing banks," Dame said. "He was young, so he was in a situation where he was in work release, where he could go to school in the day and jail at night. Instead of going to school, he was still robbing banks. It's like an urban 'Heat,' a very exciting story."
For more on the role of mixtapes in the music industry, check out the feature "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."
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Photo: MTV News
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