The Game is kicking off 2026 the same way he ended 2025 — with a new Gangsta Grillz album. He revealed the project to Uproxx’s Elliott Wilson, who shared the news at the end of their interview.
The album, another DJ Drama and Mike & Keys production, drops Friday and features a star-studded lineup, including Conway The Machine, Benny The Butcher, Boosie Badazz, Dom Kennedy, Eric Bellinger and Swizz Beatz.
It follows last year’s Every Movie Needs a Trailer, which arrived Dec. 5 and was intentionally made to be a soulful record.
“Man, where I’m at in my life and my music — and where the world is — I just feel like people need more soul. Everybody needs a little more love and a little less hate,” The Game says. “That’s something that gets lost sometimes.”
“You can still get your point across as an MC, talk about what you’ve seen and been through, but you don’t always have to be harsh. There’s a way to make music that touches people without compromising your messages,” he adds, crediting Mike & Keys for producing beats that are soulful and hard-hitting, with an emotional layer that matches his vision.
As for teaming up with DJ Drama, The Game says the collaboration came from realizing they’d never done a Gangsta Grillz tape together. “I sent him joints that weekend. He thought I was playing. Then he heard them and was like, ‘Let me cook,’” The Game recalls. “Once Drama gets on it, it turns into something else. Gangsta Grillz makes good music feel classic, even subpar stuff sounds official. With this music? It was a wrap.”
He says he’s been “playing this tape nonstop” and hasn’t received negative feedback, noting, “Even the usual trolls are like, ‘Yeah … but this tape is fire.’”
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