The Game is reinventing himself - by dropping 'The' from his moniker.

The rapper - real name Jayceon Terrell Taylor - admits he was getting annoyed with the prefix to his name and thinks the change marks a new direction in his career.

He said: "I just kinda think that, after six or seven years, you've gotta keep reinventing yourself. I met Jay-Z one time at the 40/40 Club, and I asked him what was the key to longevity in hip-hop, and he just told me, 'Every album, you have to reinvent yourself.'

"And I never forgot that, so that's why every album, it's always something new with me. But that was minor, man, just to cut the 'T-H-E' off.

"Plus, sometimes in the streets, people always say, 'Yo, what's up, The Game?' It was getting on my nerves. I thought 'What up, Game?' would be easier, so I chopped the 'T-H-E.' My name got a haircut and we're ready to roll."

The star also believes that his music can only get better as he is becoming more focussed with age.

He added to DJBooth.net: "I'm older, I just had my 30th birthday, I'm a little bit more wise in life and my experiences in hip-hop, and I just elevated my whole game, man, on another level. And this car I drive has got seven gears, and other rappers they only got five."