In an interview with The Daily Caller, Grammy Award-winning Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae cleared up the circumstances of his dispute with Interscope Records rapper Game this winter.
“It didn’t go down like [Game] said it went down, but it’s love,” Lecrae told TheDC.
Game released his fifth studio album, “Jesus Piece,” on Dec. 11. It debuted at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top 200, selling 86,000 copies. Controversy swirled around its explicit lyrics and the depiction of Jesus on the album cover.
Two days after the album’s release, the Los Angeles-born artist told HipHopDX that Lecrae texted him “out of the blue.”
“I don’t even know where [Lecrae] got my number from,” Game said. “I know of him, just never met him. And he was sort of concerned with the way that some of the lyrics were coming across, and the portrayal of Jesus on the cover. But, after we finished having an in-depth text conversation, I explained my vision and what I was doing. And at the end of the text, we didn’t necessarily agree, but I told him good luck on his path, and he wished me good luck on mine.”
Lecrae claimed in an interview with Noisey in January that Game didn’t accurately explain the exchange. He clarified that he in no way sought Game out to criticize him.
He opened up even more about the conversation in an interview The Daily Caller, alleging that he had attempted to contact Game well before “Jesus Piece” hit the shelves, apparently to talk with him about comments he made to a radio station.
“Last year in August I got baptized and so I’ve been going to church, but I still been kinda doing me out here,” Game said in a September interview with Hot 93.7. “I still love the strip club, and I still smoke and drink. I’m faithful to my family, so I wanted to make an album where you could love God and be of God, but still get it poppin’ in your life.”
Lecrae left him a text message explaining how he got his number and that he wanted to talk about Game’s religious awakening, but he didn’t hear back from the Dr. Dre protégé after trying to call him.
The release of Game’s “Jesus Piece” cover prompted the second attempt.
“‘Jesus Piece’ promo stuff starts coming out, and I’m like, ‘Woah,’” said Lecrae. “So I just sent him a message saying, ‘Hey bro, I’m not quite sure what you’re trying to do here. Here’s my concerns, here’s my thoughts, let’s talk about it.”
According to Lecrae, Game didn’t like being analyzed by the lesser-known artist.
“Initially he perceived it as, ‘Who do you think you are to come at me like this?’ So I smoothed that over, and we talked through that,” Lecrae said.
He made it clear that there’s currently no tension between the two, saying they’ve talked multiple times since then, including at SXSW 2013.