The Game is reopening one of the most surreal chapters of his early career, recounting the moment Michael Jackson called him at the height of the G-Unit fallout.
During his new appearance on Club Shay Shay, he told Shannon Sharpe that the King of Pop reached out in 2005 to praise “How We Do,” salute his chemistry with 50 Cent, and float a truce that could have rewritten rap history. The call caught him mid-tour in Vancouver, delivered by his manager with the kind of shock only Jackson’s name could trigger. The Game said the moment felt unreal from the start, especially after Jackson’s team asked him to hold for nearly half an hour.
When Jackson finally came on the line, The Game heard the unmistakable soft, high voice recognized worldwide. He said Jackson sounded excited about what he was hearing from Compton’s rising star.
Jackson called “How We Do” “magical,” repeating the word as he tried to explain why the collaboration between The Game and 50 Cent worked so well. Even in the middle of a raging feud, that praise hit The Game with unexpected force. Jackson’s approval carried a level of validation few artists ever encounter.
But the call took a sharp turn. According to The Game, Jackson soon asked why he and 50 Cent were at odds, then proposed a reconciliation track for his next album.
The Game Hung Up On Michael Jackson Over MJ Trying To End Beef With 50 Cent
For Jackson, the idea made perfect sense. For The Game, it felt impossible. He claims he hung up not to slight Jackson but because the feud had consumed him.
At that moment, he believed the animosity with 50 defined his identity. The year marked one of rap’s most volatile splits, with diss tracks, public clashes, and industry tension pushing both artists into opposite corners. Fresh off the success of The Documentary, The Game watched his relationship with G-Unit collapse in real time.
Looking back, The Game calls the hang-up young and impulsive. At twenty-four, he was too deep in the battle to imagine unity, even with Jackson acting as mediator. The retelling arrives during a wave of nostalgia for early-2000s rap, when mixtape wars shaped careers and unexpected celebrity crossovers fueled myth-making. Jackson’s ties to hip-hop have also resurfaced, reminding fans that the pop icon often reached out to emerging voices who shaped the culture.
The Game’s story taps into that collective memory. It raises the “what if” questions fans still debate. And it showcases how ego, momentum, and timing can shift the trajectory of an entire era.
Two decades later, the legend still expands, keeping mid-2000s hip-hop alive through stories that continue to ripple across generations.
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