The Game got nostalgic during his VERZUZ face-off with YG, recalling long-ago encounters with the late Nipsey Hussle before performing their collaboration “They Roll.”
During the show on Thursday (June 23), the Compton rapper said that his Blood affiliations never got in the way of his friendship with Hussle.
“A n***a love for the [C]rips, though,” he said onstage. “RIP Nip.” He then recalled his first meeting with Hussle.
“I pulled up on Crenshaw and Slauson,” he began. “I saw a n***a with a Jheri curl selling incense. That n***a said, ‘I’mma see you.’”
“A year later, I pulled back up on him,” The Game continued. “The n***a had braids and a mixtape. He threw it to me. He said, ‘Don’t throw my shit away, Chuck.’ I said, ‘You know what? Your number on it?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Come to the studio.’ And we did this shit.”
The rapper then performed “They Roll,” his duet with Nipsey from the late rapper’s 2008 mixtape Bullets Ain’t Got No Name, Vol II.
Earlier in the evening, YG had paid his own tribute to Nipsey, performing their duet “FDT.”
The "Compton Forever" VERZUZ face-off between YG and The Game kicked off at 6:30 p.m. PT, streaming live on Apple Music. Fans can vote to decide each round's winner at complex.com/verzuz/yg-vs-the-game.
The VERZUZ series, relaunched by Complex in October 2025 after originating as a pandemic-era Instagram Live creation from Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, is now a live two-round showcase with 10 songs per round. Recent editions have featured Cash Money Records vs. No Limit Records, French Montana vs. Rick Ross, and B2K vs. Pretty Ricky.
Thursday’s pairing kept it West Coast. The Game, a Dr. Dre protégé, built his catalog on 2005's The Documentary and anthems like "How We Do" and "Hate It or Love It." YG, who helped shape the sound of a generation alongside DJ Mustard, brings records ranging from "Toot It and Boot It" to "Why You Always Hatin?" YG's The Gentlemen's Club, out last month via 4Hunnid and 10K Projects, gives him fresh ammunition for the night.
