The Game's getting schooled by the criminal justice system.
Los Angeles authorities on Monday charged the Grammy-nominated gangsta rapper with making a criminal threat and possession of a firearm in a school zone stemming from an arrest last month following a dispute that arose during a pickup basketball game.
The Game as also rung up on an additional count of exhibiting a firearm in the presence of an officer. All three charges are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
The 27-year-old Game, whose real name is Jayceon Terrell Taylor, was playing hoops on Feb. 24 at the Rita Walters Educational Learning Complex in his old Compton stomping grounds when, according to prosecutors, he got into a fight with a player from the opposing team, punched him, then retrieved a pistol from his Escalade and threatened to end more than just the man's playing career.
The rapper wasn't arrested until May 11, when police descended on his home in the suburb of Glendale. After he was handcuffed, Game stuck out his tongue and yelled to a camera crew, "I want to say I'm not guilty."
The chart-topping emcee spent several hours in the pokey before posting $50,000 bail. All the while, investigators executed a search warrant on his 5,000 square-foot home.
A publicist for the rapper could not immediately be reached for comment.
The rapper is due in a New York court next week for a November arrest for allegedly impersonating an officer and ordering a cab driver to run red lights.
Best known for his multiplatinum 2005 disc Documentary and long-running feud with former G-Unit cohort 50 Cent, the Game has been finishing up work on his upcoming yet-to-be-titled third album, which he also has hinted could be his last.
"I think three classic albums are good for me, you know?" he told allhiphop.com. "I got my point across. I was a prominent figure on the West Coast and a bigger figure in hip-hop as a whole. I think I made my impact enough for my name to be said and remembered.
"Right now I'm taking a break from hip-hop and enjoying time with my family and my friends."
And lawyers.