The Game Salutes Drake's Commercial Dominance With "ICEMAN" Trilogy

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
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The Game Salutes Drake Commercial Dominance ICEMAN Trilogy
IRVINE, CA - JULY 18: Rapper The Game performs onstage at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on July 18, 2015 in Irvine, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
Despite his best efforts, The Game has been one of the most polarizing background characters in the Drake and Kendrick Lamar saga.

The Game may have a Compton connection to Kendrick Lamar, but that doesn't mean he turned his back on his collaborator Drake. Quite the opposite: He's celebrating their camaraderie. Amid the massive projected sales for the Toronto superstar's new album trilogy, the Los Angeles rapper took to his Instagram Story to show his support and praise.

As caught by Viral Drizzy on Twitter, he shared the most recent first week sales projections for the ICEMAN trilogy. That album is leading the way with 460K album-equivalent units, whereas HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR followed with 114K and 109K respectively.

"I remember who said what about who when they thought it was what it wasn't," Jayceon Taylor captioned his IG Story post. This seems to refer to folks who criticized Drizzy over the years (especially in the past two) and allude to those critics having a different tone these days.

This ruffled feathers for a few reasons. Some will just hate on anything OVO-related on general principle, but other folks had more specific criticisms regarding West Coast loyalty. As it turns out, this is a little more complicated.

The Game Speaks On Drake & Kendrick Lamar

The Game explained supporting Drake amid Kendrick Lamar's battle during a recent Complex interview. "When the whole thing popped off, everybody was like, 'You supposed to be with the West Side!'" he said. "I was like, 'We are the most segregated culture in hip-hop.' Y'all want to say we supposed to be so West Side. But before you drive by the opps' hood with your window down and yell out, 'Where y'all from, cuz?', is it about the West Side then? [...] Let me do me on my type of time, and I'ma let you know how you should walk accordingly when you have camaraderies or real friendships."

The Game's competitive dynamic with Kendrick Lamar is par the course for hip-hop, though. While some folks believe there's genuine beef there, Game's comments don't really indicate much beyond a mutual respect and just being on different paths with different circles. So maybe folks criticizing this 6ix God allegiance should engage with more nuance in their assessments.

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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