TDE Affiliates Claim The Game Is Lying About Wanting To Sign Kendrick Lamar

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares 2.8K Views
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TDE Affiliates The Game Lying Wanting Sign Kendrick Lamar Hip Hop News
Kendrick Lamar accepts Best Rap Album during the 60th Annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28, 2018. © Robert Deutsch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Kendrick Lamar and The Game's relationship has been under quite the scrutiny in the aftermath of the Drake battle.

During a recent interview on Big Boy's Neighborhood, The Game claimed he wanted to sign Kendrick Lamar. But his story caught some flack.

"First time I met Kendrick was a long time ago" the Compton rapper said, as caught by DJ Akademiks on Instagram. "I don't even know if he'll remember. He was going to the YET Center in Compton. As part of a probationary program, I had to go be a big brother at this YET Center... And I wasn't Kendrick's big brother, but he used to come in there. He was real young, always charismatic, always good with the words. Just a funny little guy... We grew up, like, across the street and around the corner from each other... He not affiliated but he Compton, he ain't no punk, either. [...] But I always knew. In the beginning of my career, I would be going by Top Dawg's house and helping him with Jay Rock stuff and lending my two cents.

"I was a little bit ahead of the curve than from where they were. I was always asking Top, I was like, 'Yo, let me get Dot.' He was like, 'No, no.' He knew what he was, I knew what he was. When I took Jay Rock on tour, Dot was the hype man. And I asked Top again at my house in Glendale... He was like, 'No.' But he was like, 'Yo, what if we piece up TDE? I was like, 'No, I got Black Wall Street, I'm good.' Let me get him as an artist. I knew what he was gon' be. And nobody didn't understand it yet except everybody that was around Top and TDE. They knew. And I knew."

Kendrick Lamar & The Game Collabs

In the comments section of a separate Instagram post covering this, TDE's head of security 2Teez claimed Jayceon Taylor is being facetious. "Blood faking he never wanted to sign Kendrick!!!!!" he claimed. Also, in the comments section of Akademiks' post covering this rebuttal, MixedByAli chimed in with some laughing emojis. The mixing engineer has worked very closely with TDE in the past.

The Game's relationship with Kendrick Lamar was one of many side narratives to the Drake battle. This is because of Game's collaborations with both and his teeters between both sides, at least according to fans. He and Kendrick boast tracks like "The City" and "On Me."

We'll see where that social media battle leads, as both rivals' fanbases continue to wage war. Whether or not this story from The Game is true, it's a very interesting dynamic to explore.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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