The Game

Entering the gangsta rap scene when the West Coast was losing the dominance it had enjoyed in the early '90s, The Game revived his South Central L.A. 'hood—and proved that it is absolutely possible to become commercially successful without sacrificing an ounce of street cred. Born Jayceon Terrell Taylor in Compton in 1979, he spent a chunk of his youth in foster care and made a community for himself in the city's gangs. He and his brother, Big Fase, studied the work of their rap forebears—Nas, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z—and a mixtape they released in 2002 found its way to Dre himself, who signed The Game to Aftermath Entertainment in 2003 and slotted him with 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. The Game's 2005 debut, The Documentary, proudly extolled West Coast gang culture while showcasing chameleonic flows influenced by rap greats. A deeply felt feud with 50 Cent led to his exit from Aftermath, and Game then launched a barrage of snarling diss tracks aimed at his former mentors before his 2006 second LP, Doctor's Advocate. He was just fine on his own, thanks to his nothing-to-prove attitude and impressive songwriting, spitting bars of brash vulnerability and vivid imagery of his gritty roots over the production of both A-list and up-and-coming beatmakers. His intensity never flagged all the way up through 2019, when he released what he said would be his final album, the reflective Born 2 Rap. Dr. Dre's protegé took his bow as a West Coast OG, the head of his own label (Prolific), a collaborator with Ed Sheeran and an improbable advocate for rappers laying beefs and judgment aside. And by cosigning L.A.’s newcomers while pausing his career to devote himself to his family, he still carries the torch for the coast.