The Game and Kanye West’s latest collaborative single “Eazy” is continuing to make waves on streaming platforms. The song has given The Game a milestone to celebrate, with it becoming his highest-charting track in almost 15 years.
“Eazy,” which sampled Eazy-E’s 1988 hit single “Eazy-Duz-It,” debuted at Number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100, and while Kanye West has had more successful chartings recently, The Game’s last single to chart higher was in 2008, with “My Life” featuring Lil Wayne. The track appeared on the Compton rapper’s “LAX” album and also made waves during its time.
“Eazy” also charted in the top 40 in countries around the world, such as Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and Ireland. But it is projected that the single, which was released less than two weeks ago (on January 14), has more strides to make, given that it rapidly gained traction upon its release for various reasons.
Kanye West’s infamous line threatening his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian’s new boyfriend, Pete Davidson, pulled the attention of many fans, social media users, and followers of the rap game.
“God saved me from that crash, just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s a**” Kanye raps in his verse, alluding to his famous 2002 car crash that left his jaw shattered. Reports are that after the song’s release, Pete Davidson hired extra security. The rapper had also alluded to his new love interest Julia Fox; “And my new b##ch bad/I know Illuminati mad,” sparking even more conversations around the track.
In addition, “Eazy” strived in the midst of controversy for its graphic cover art displaying a skinned monkey from 1997. PETA, an animal rights organization, did not let the graphic display slide and blasted the rappers for the photo. In a statement, PETA’s president Ingrid Newkirk said, “The photo is reminiscent of the monkeys PETA has found, sometimes heads, sometimes hands, sometimes the whole body, in meat markets around the world.” He added, “It makes it clear that when you remove the fur you can’t miss that there’s a person in there, that they are fellow primates, and do not belong to us to abuse for any purpose, not in laboratories, roadside zoos, movies, or meat markets.”
But despite PETA’s slamming, Eazy E’s daughter, Ebie Wright gave the track her approval, noting that she thinks it is “an incredible record.” During an interview with TMZ, Ebie said she was a huge fan of both Kanye and The Game and was excited that the track was produced by “my buddy Hit-boy.”
“So shout out to all my guys,” she said.
Along with Hit-Boy, DJ Premier, Mike Dean, Big Duke, and Cash Jones are also credited for their part in the production of the track. “Eazy” should appear on The Game’s Hit-Boy produced upcoming album, which will hopefully also set new records.
Billboard Hot 100: #49(new) EAZY, @thegame & @kanyewest.
— chart data (@chartdata) January 24, 2022
Listen Kanye West and The Game’s collaboration “Eazy” below.
