The Game Featuring 50 Cent - Hate It Or Love It

The Game was originally signed as an artist on Aftermath Entertainment, but Interscope Records CEO Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre decided to have The Game also work with 50 Cent and G-Unit. The arrangement was to help build a growing buzz around The Game which would also fuel interest in G-Unit. Since then, he made numerous cameo appearances in music videos by 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, and Fabolous, first appearing on the music video of "In da Club", dancing with a girl. Even at this early stage in his career, he was embroiled in rap feuds associated with G-Unit, including those with Joe Budden, Ja Rule, and Memphis Bleek. His first appearance on a single was on Jim Jones' "Certified Gangstas", before his own single "Westside Story" was released in 2004.

The original title of the album was Nigga Wit' An Attitude Volume 1 (as heard in the lyrics to "Dreams"), but an injunction filed at the request of Eazy-E's widow prevented him from using N.W.A.'s name in the album title. Dr. Dre and 50 Cent were executive producers on The Game's major label debut album, The Documentary, which spawned the hit singles "How We Do" and "Hate It or Love It" (the latter receiving two Grammy nominations). The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was the tenth best selling album of 2005 in the United States. It also debuted at number seven in the United Kingdom and sold over five million copies worldwide.