Throughout his career, rapper The Game has fearlessly taken shots at a slew of emcees, including his former G-Unit boss 50 Cent. In his most recent diss, “Uncle Otis,” Game even takes aim at rap icon Jay-Z. And while the West Coast emcee coolly says that his diss towards Hov shouldn’t be taken personally, he explains that one rapper he’ll never diss is fellow rap vet, Eminem.
On the Aug. 3 episode of MTV’s RapFix Live, Game talked to host Sway Calloway about “Uncle Otis,” a diss track released late last month which takes jabs at artists like Big Sean, Odd Future, Kreayshawn, 50 Cent and the Roc Nation chief.
“Here’s a dome shot to this n—a named Otis/ N—as think they the coldest, but n—a you just the oldest/ N—as just be chasin’ their youth, but it’s gone/ Yo ‘Ye this n—a ain’t even wanna put you on,” raps Game.
But according to the R.E.D. Album emcee, no one, especially Jay-Z, should take his disses personally.
” ‘Jay’ rhymes with a lot of words,” said Game. “So whenever you’re writing, it always pops in somehow or another. I shoot shots in the dark sometimes, but they ain’t to be taken personal.”
Back in 2006, Game took his first shots at Jay-Z on his single “It’s Okay (One Blood),” rapping, “You 38, and you’re still rappin’ ugh.” Though slight, the diss prompted Jay-Z to respond on his 2006 song, “The Prelude.”
“I used to think rapping at 38 was ill/But last year alone I grossed 38 mill’/I know I ain’t quite 38 but still/The flow so (special) got a (38) feel,” rapped Hov.
A pleased Game explained that he’s happy to trade blows with the Blueprint emcee
“Anytime that he takes time out of his day to say something like, ‘I used to think that rappin’ at 38 was ill, till last year I grossed $38 mil,’ … I think it’s cool.”
And while Game would welcome another response from Jay-Z, this time around, he thinks the rap vet will remain silent about the diss.
“Certain people you know that ain’t gonna respond: I don’t think Hov is gonna respond, and if he does, it’ll be another shot in the dark subliminally or indirect, and I think that’s cool because Hov is a legend,” he said.
While Game can confidently hurl disses at most of the world’s emcees, one rapper he says he dare not diss is Eminem.
“One thing that stuck with me is that Eminem is not to be f—ed with ever in hip-hop, ever,” said Game.
Em and Game once collaborated in 2005 on the West Coast emcees song, “We Ain’t,” off his debut album, The Documentary. But since cutting ties with 50 Cent, he and Eminem no longer speak.
Although the two are no longer on speaking terms, Game maintains his respect (and fear) for the emcee.
“If you notice out of everybody I take a shot at, that’s the only person that’s untouched. He’s in a bubble and you don’t even say nothing to Eminem. To anybody that ever does, God bless you. He’ll end your career.” – nicholas robinson
