Free Game
E-40’s singular mission to put people on, from The Bay to the ends of the earth.
Required Listening
These days, GAME is a hot commodity. If you don’t know what I mean, you probably need it the most. For the unfamiliar, game is any piece of information that is somehow valuable, regardless of topic. Everybody wants to be put on game, but no one wants to put themselves out there and ask for it. Besides, game should never just be handed to someone.
Too many fools expect it to be presented to them on a golden platter, but that will never be the case. Game is never free (except on No Oldtimers — for now…). To wax link-and-build-pilled, game takes dedication, time, and sweat. If someone isn’t constantly proving their value, through their solid presence or their unwavering dedication to worldliness, they’ll never be the recipient of free game.
That said, some people are so experienced and worldly that spraying game doesn’t mean shit to them. They do it without even thinking, for the benefit of the world. They put the people on whenever they show face. Whenever this happens, everyone wins. The game progenitor solidifies their reputation, and everyone else becomes a little bit more with it.
Enter E-40 — birth name Earl Stevens, chosen name E-Pheezy, E-Bonics, 40 Fonzarelli, Mr. Flamboyant, The Ballatician, Lieutenant Roast-A-Botch, The Sole Narrator, or The Curb Commentator. See, E-40 is a generous genius. He might be the smartest man alive, and he finds profound joy in spreading game like a suburban mother spreads gossip at the school pick-up line. Matter of fact, they say that listening to E-40’s music is like being homeschooled. Well, he said that himself on “Facts Not Fiction,” but it’s true!
Despite lacking his wisdom teeth (per 2014’s “Programmin”), he has somehow managed to maintain his wisdom, and he’s not afraid to spread his gospel, preaching the good word throughout the world. In other words, he drops gems that glitter his songs like boogers in a Rolex’s bezel. He laces every song with so much fucking GAME that listeners are have no choice but to replay them in order to suck out every last drop.
Take“Bet You Didn’t Know” off his 2019 renaissance Practice Makes Paper for example. I absolutely rinsed this song when it came out, and I’m still rinsing this shit to this day. The premise of the track is simple: list common knowledge with stunning plainspoken-ness and replayability. The product is as dazzling as it is dizzying. In just under four minutes, E-40 puts listeners on game twenty four separate times. He covers everything from biblical mythos to corkage fees at fine dining establishments, and he makes it all sound like must-see TV.
In a way, every track from the 40 Water mogul is like “Bet You Didn’t Know.” He breaks the world down uniquely, whether his listeners are ready to receive or not. He himself would tell you the same thing: “Name a rapper with more slang than me / Name a rapper with more GAME than me / Name a rapper that taught you things like me.” You can’t! There’s no one like E-40. There never has been, and there may never be again. But, I’m about showing, not telling. Here are a few drops of game that you need to soak.
Seventeen Pieces of Free Game, Courtesy of E-40
“I ain’t never been a Fallopian tube, I ain’t never been a vagina / I’ll never be a pussy, bitch, I’ma always be a tiger” (“Up and Down”—2020)
A lot of guys couldn’t name a single part of the female anatomy. Here, E-40 puts listeners on to (almost) three.
“When the next man is winning, don't be concerned / You can hate or you can learn” (“Gamed Up,” 2015)
Be the change that you want to see in the world!
“It takes a fool to catch a fool, that’s what they say” (“Wake They Shit Up,” 2019)
“You are the company that you keep,” in modern parlance.
“I'm a boss about my shit, about the way I carry it / The way I wear my glasses low, the way I sport my toothpick / The way I pop it at a ho, the way I utilize my mouth / The way I keep my fuckin blow over ol' relative's house” (“They Might Be Tapin,” 2006)
How you carry yourself when it matters is all that matters.
“Ooh! Jesus Christ had dreads, so shake em / I ain't got none, but I'm planning on growing some” (“Tell Me When to Go,” 2006)
For most American bible-thumpers, this is an inconvenient truth. Open your eyes!
“They desperate these days, do anything for money / Eight times out of ten, it don't be your friends, it be they company / That'll leave a door unlocked and set you up for the take / Leave a window cracked, let 'em enter your escape!” (“Quit Hatin’,” 2014)
Sad, but true. Stay vigilant.
“When your past come back and haunt you, it’s karma, it’s Murphy’s law” (“No Choice,” 2019)
Murphy’s Law? And karma? Used in the same bar? This might be a false application of Murphy’s law, but it’s still some real shit!
“That's gravel rule number 1 / If you ain't intending on using it, never pull a gun” (“Programmin,” 2014)
He makes this gem dropping shit look easy!
“Gotta stand for something or you gon fall for anything / That’s what I be tryna tell my offspring” (“Don’t @ Me,” 2019)
Consider all of us his offspring!
“We can learn from they mistakes before it's too late / Communication is everything, conversation's abandoned / People die every day because of misunderstandings” (“Born in the Struggle,” 2011)
Words to live by, for real! And he starts the song with an excerpt from the formerly-Honorable Doctor Cornel West.
“When it come to communication, you gotta be smart / Put your pride to the side and have a heart-to-heart / With your family and folks, your friends and your foes” (“Blessed by the Game,” 2016)
In the same vein as the previous bit of game, you need to be smart with what you say, and you need to know when to say it!
“Used to keep the bacon fat up in a can of Folger’s / And if the heater ain’t workin and it’s freezing’ cold / We open up the oven and turn on the stove” (“Blossom,” 2019)
Fonzarelli was trad-con before TikTok made it cute, and he didn’t even want to be!
“I'm a barbarian, a savage, fully and semi automatic / A mannish hustler with the package, rock like Lenny Kravitz” (“Barbarian,” 2011)
No game here; this shit just rocks, man. Shoutout Lenny Kravitz for popping his crotch live on-stage. Without you, this bar wouldn’t exist.
“Should I buy it off the lot or should I lease and write it off? / Or pay cash like a rapper and watch the value decrease?” (“In the Struggle,” 2019)
Having just purchased a vehicle myself, E could’ve been my guiding light. Damn shame he wasn’t.
“I tell all my solid dudes / Don’t fuck up your shoe steppin on these n***** / Step over em, man” (“In the Struggle,” 2019)
Be the bigger person. These peons aren’t worth it.
“Never hustle backwards, always hustle forward / Never live above your means, buy things you can't afford” (“Money on My Mind,” 2013)
Money management is one of the most important things in life, and it isn’t taught in schools. Thank god for Mr. Flamboyant!
“One word that means two things is a double entendre / Two words that mean one thing is a synonym” (“Bet You Didn’t Know,” 2019)
This is ACKSHUAL knowledge that needs to be covered in the classroom. I’ve done my part.
Bonus Game:
“If you don't drink no water, my ninja, you might faint” (“40 Water,” 2008)
Sometimes, it really is that simple.
“Never put your right foot in your left shoe” (“Surroundings,” 2019)
This should be common sense, but as they say, common sense just isn’t common anymore.
“Rossi wine, Carlos Rossi wine is what I drink / Not all the time but most of the time it helps a playa think” (“It’s All Gravity,” 2002)
Sometimes, a foggy head provides the greatest clarity. It’s okay to be a piece of shit. It’s a salve to the soul.
“Oooooh - the definition of Gouda / What's the definition? / Chalupa, scrilla, scratch, paper, Yaper, capital / The definition: Gouda means cheese and cheese means ‘yaper,’ you squares!” (“Gouda,” 2006)
If you don’t understand this shit now, you never will!
“I can drink in moderation, but sometimes I drink in ignoration.” (Interview with First We Feast, 2013)
Not a song, but this pearl of wisdom still counts.
“I’ll have a bitch all in her emotions and choked up like Latrell Sprewell did his coach” (“19 Dolla Lapdance”—2020)
E-40 understands what it means to love a woman and he knows incredible basketball lore? Please, Mr. Simmons, tell us more.
This is my source for free game although I still gotta earn it occasionally