Former G-Unit rapper Game held a crowd of students captive Friday night, making the audience wait an hour after the show's appointed start time but delivering all the hits they wanted to hear.
Game made a stop at the Carolina Coliseum as part of EA Games' "Battlefield 3" tour and played a short set for a small crowd.
Game, formerly known as The Game, received national attention with the release of his 2005 album "The Documentary" and a giant marketing boost from 50 Cent. Despite a public falling out with 50 Cent and G-Unit, Game has remained in the spotlight.
Friday night's concert got off to a late start — the wait time was longer than the actual concert.
The show was scheduled to start at 8 p.m., but the performer didn't arrive at the venue until that time. Game took the stage at 9:07 p.m. and performed until 9:43 p.m. The members of the crowd were not happy with the delayed start and showed their true feelings by booing instead of chanting "'Battlefield 3'" when Xbox representatives took the stage. Xbox gave a new, black Xbox gaming system away to one lucky audience member.
Students could play "Battlefield 3" for free on the second floor of Russell House from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday. The video game will be released on Oct. 25.
Game took the stage in a gray Carolina Gamecocks hoodie. He brought the crowd to their feet with a call-and-response of "Everybody tell 'em where I'm from — West Side."
After finishing his first song, Game told the crowd he was "gonna rock like Lattimore," which was greeted with enthusiastic cheers.
"That man (Marcus) Lattimore is a beast," Game said.
Later in the show, Game invited all the ladies in the audience to join him on stage.
"Who love me? If you love me, come here. Any ladies that wanna be on stage, come on," Game said.
The stage was filled in a matter of minutes.
The show included Game's hits "Hate It or Love It" and "How We Do," but every mention of G-Unit was accompanied by a gunshot sound effect. It was clear to the crowd that Game's feud with 50 Cent has not ended.
Game has played several college shows over the past five years, but Friday night's show took the artist on his first trip to South Carolina. Game joined the "Battlefield 3" tour because he is an avid video gamer. He said he's one of the first artists asked to join video game tours because companies "know it'll be real easy and chill."
"I've been playing video games my entire life. I have a good relationship with EA," Game said to The Daily Gamecock while devouring a preshow dinner, which consisted of a grilled chicken leg. He also commented on a Daily Gamecock's reporter's press badge, saying: "What's that say? The Game's c---?"
Game got his start rapping in the streets of Compton, Calif. He made a demo tape and distributed it himself until people started to recognize him.
"I kinda just grinded in the streets until a lot of people took notice. That's the best way to do it," Game said.
The rapper's grandmother gave him the name "Game" because he enjoyed playing sports as a child.
"She told me I was game for anything," Game said.
Game has worked with a number of popular artists including Dr. Dre, Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg and Diddy, but he said Jesus is his favorite collaborator.
"He's always good to work with. When you work with Jesus, everything works out," Game said.
Game only had two words of advice for students interested in breaking into the music business: "Get money."
Carolina Productions sponsored Friday night's concert. The organization announced the concert at Monday night's Kevin Lyman event, so students had less than a week's notice of Game's show. CP had 4,000 tickets available for the show, but the crowd at the concert was far from a full house.