Hate It Or Love It

Lore & Background

The song first began to be conceived during the middle period of the recording process for The Documentary in early 2004. The Game was staying in New York while frequently being driven to 50 Cent's mansion in Connecticut, listening and writing to beats along the way. When the Game first heard the beat for "Hate It or Love It", he was looking for a harder-hitting track but the second time he was inspired to write his verse. The chorus is rapped and written by 50 Cent, who helped with the rest of the writing process and recording for the song along with the Game.

The song was even suggested for 50 Cent's album The Massacre (2005), due to 50 Cent's large artistic input. When the Game arrived at the mansion on the day of recording, 50 Cent presented him with several already part-completed records, with variously placed verses and choruses. The Game wrote his final verse first and worked backward, to avoid tiredness affecting his later verses. After 50 Cent heard the final version of the song after the recording process had finished, he was excited by its potential and felt the song would have to be one of the album's singles.

It was later released as the album's third, after "Westside Story" and "How We Do", both of which also featured 50 Cent. The original production for "Hate It or Love It" first surfaced on a compilation CD, put together by Cool & Dre (who had been in contact with the Game since early 2002), and released unofficially to the local rap community. After G-Unit Records producer Sha Money XL received a copy of this disc, he requested a meeting with the duo, feeling that the song had much potential to be a hit.

After Dr. Dre heard the original production, he made sonic alterations and, according to Aftermath Entertainment A&R Mike Lynn, "made it sound like a record", a process he carried out on all of the other tracks on The Documentary. When Interscope Records chairman Jimmy Iovine later requested to hear the original production, he admitted could not tell the difference. Cool & Dre later praised the quality of Dr. Dre's mix, stating that "Dre brought it to life... [As a mixer is what] I think is his best quality... his ear for instrument placement is amazing".

Reader's Guide

The song was produced by Cool & Dre with additional production from Dr. Dre. It features a music sample of "Rubber Band" by the Trammps from their album The Legendary Zing Album (1975). Built around that sample, "Hate It or Love It" is a hip hop song that is backed by a soul-orientated production, which contains a "smoothed out R&B funk vibe".

Did You Know?

• "Hate It or Love It" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks, becoming the Game's second top ten song on the chart as a lead artist and 50 Cent's eighth.
• The song was kept from the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 by another 50 Cent single, "Candy Shop".
• "Hate It or Love It" reached the number one spot on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, making it yet again another top ten hit on the chart alongside "How We Do" which also featured 50 Cent.
• The music video was directed by the Saline Project and has received over 355 million views on YouTube as of June 2024.