It’s been 25 years since The Game released his debut album, The Documentary, and the most memorable part of that process was his eldest son.
“The thing I remember most about the album process was the photoshoot,” he tells ABC Audio. “My son [Harlem] was 1 year old and he cried the whole photoshoot until I drove all the way to the Valley to get this SpongeBob, the stuffed SpongeBob animal, and had to bring it all the way back to the photoshoot just to get him to take the album photo.”
Game says Harlem stopped for crying for about three minutes, during which photographer Jonathan Mannion captured the photos now seen on alternate covers of the album.
“That is probably my most notable memory because when I think about it … I just see, you know, my baby and then I see him requesting a Zelle today at 22 years old,” he says. “So it’s one of those things where you really just can look at life and say, damn, you really got to just like hold fast to everything because life goes so fast.”
Harlem is seen on different covers of the album: one shows him in his father’s hands, while another sees him sitting down with nothing but a diaper, black Converse sneakers and an NWA chain. He recently graduated from the University of Oregon, resulting in a tribute from his dad.
“It’s official….My 1st born has completed his 4 years @uoregon & it’s time to walk that stage,” he wrote. “Every step I’ve taken as his father has been preparation for this day.”
Game previously told ABC Audio Harlem was “the motivating force” that pushed him to hip-hop.
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