Rick Ross Tried To Compliment The Game, But Nobody Believed Him

The Game and Rick Ross might have beef again.

A couple of days ago, Rick Ross made some comments about The Game’s new album, The Documentary III, and a lot of people took them as a backhanded compliment. Honestly, it was hard not to.

Ross acknowledged The Game’s album and basically said the West Coast still needs him. But in the same breath, he pointed out that his own album, Set In Stone, sold more first-week units. He also mentioned all the heavyweight features Game had on the project, including Drake, Ye, Snoop Dogg, E-40, Marsha Ambrosius, PARTYNEXTDOOR and the late Drakeo The Ruler. Ross referred to that collection of guests as a “stimulus package.”

Then he told Game to keep going and not let sales dictate how he moves or creates.

Come on, Rozay.

We all knew that was not going to land as purely motivational. Or maybe it landed exactly the way it was supposed to land.

Set In Stone reportedly moved about 19,200 album-equivalent units in its first week and debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard 200. The Documentary III came in at No. 68 with roughly 14,800 units. There is some important context here. Game basically surprise-dropped his album with only a short window of advance notice, while Ross had a more traditional promotional runway.

Nevertheless, Ross had his numbers and decided to use them.

The Game has now responded, and he went off. But it also seems like Game is willing to have some fun with this. He cracked jokes, made references to Ross eating and did what Game does. But the part that caught my attention was essentially this: “Let’s rap.”

YES!

That is where I am with it.

Far too many rappers are podcasting, streaming live, posting videos, typing paragraphs and talking back and forth through their phones. Everybody has become a commentator. Everybody has a livestream. Everybody has a microphone, but somehow fewer people are actually getting in the booth and RAPPING.

The Game and Rick Ross are both veteran MCs who can still rap at a very high level. So if there is an issue, rap.

I would not be mad at a couple of diss records. I would actually prefer a collaboration, because these guys have more in common than they probably want to admit. They are from the same generation, they have overlapping enemies and they both came through an era where being able to rap actually mattered.

And this is not completely new.

Back in 2024, The Game released “Freeway’s Revenge,” a full Rick Ross diss record after inserting himself into the chaos surrounding Ross, Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Ross never really gave Game the lyrical response he wanted. Game later accused him of avoiding the smoke and not wanting to go “bar for bar.”

So there is history here.

That makes Ross bringing up Game’s sales in 2026 a little more interesting. Maybe this was simply Ross defending himself after people, especially 50 Cent, clowned the numbers for Set In Stone. Or maybe Rozay remembered exactly what Game said about him two years ago and decided it was finally time for a little get-back.

Either way, I denounce this beef!

Well, sort of.

If they want to make records, I support that completely. If they want to exchange a few lyrical shots and remind everybody that veteran MCs can still get busy, I am here for it. What I do not need is another forever war conducted through Instagram videos.

Rick Ross and 50 Cent have been going at each other since around 2009, and that rivalry has survived lawsuits, diss records, interviews, social media, business shots and seemingly every technological advancement known to mankind. At this point, they are giving me 50 Cent and Ja Rule vibes. That conflict started even earlier and somehow still finds ways to reappear decades later.

We do not need every rap beef to become a lifetime subscription.

And since I mentioned Ja Rule, I am still waiting on that new Ja. He still operates at a high level on the low, and I want to hear what he has coming.

There is also something bigger happening here with veteran Hip-Hop artists and album sales. Streaming has completely changed what commercial success looks like, particularly for artists whose core audiences were built during the CD era. The original Documentary arrived in 2005 at a completely different moment, when major-label promotion, physical sales, radio and MTV could turn an album release into a massive cultural event. Ross emerged nationally shortly afterward and built his own empire through albums, mixtapes and Maybach Music Group. Twenty years later, both men remain relevant enough for people to debate their numbers. That longevity may ultimately matter more than whether one veteran rapper sold a few thousand more units than another.

So Game and Ross can talk their talk. Just keep it on wax.

Or better yet, make a record together.

Hip-Hop could use a little less permanent beef and a little more actual rapping.

What do you think? Is Rick Ross really trolling The Game? Should Game respond on wax? Or should these two veterans forget the beef and collaborate?

Ready to comment? Drop your thoughts below.