The Game is putting the album on hold to help Los Angeles firefighters

When the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out in Los Angeles on January 7, The game he knew that he needed to help his hometown in some way.

The 45-year-old rapper, who was born and raised in Compton, California, tells exclusively Us Weekly that he felt “compelled” to help firefighters as they battled the Los Angeles wildfires, which have claimed at least 27 lives and destroyed or damaged more than 12,300 structures, according to NBC News. To do this, he decided to push the release of his upcoming album, Documentary 3from Jan. 18-Feb.

“I just couldn’t release an album. Even in this interview, it seems selfish to talk to you about the album, right?” The game says.

Geim was at home with his family in the San Fernando Valley when the Pacific Palisade wildfires started. The family was forced to evacuate and stay with a friend in town, where they saw the devastation on the local news.

“I sat on my hands for a few hours and then I thought to myself, ‘I really need to do something and I don’t know what to do.’ So I just went outside,” says The Game. “I went to the Pacific Palisades fire. There were a lot of abandoned cars on the streets, and we couldn’t get there. I talked to some firefighters and asked them what they needed. I gave them coffee; I knew it was going to be a long night. And then, from there, I thought, “I’ve got to do this more.”

The Game then made it their mission to help firefighters and displaced people across the city. He and his friends brought tents, blankets, food, water and other essentials to firefighters battling the Eaton fire. They woke up at 4 a.m. and stayed overnight to help firefighters in Altadena, a historically black neighborhood in Los Angeles that was hit hard.

“We saw the night shift come back in the morning. They were covered in soot and ash and you could barely see their uniforms,” explains The Game. “Being there and seeing that, I felt so compelled to just be there every day. This was not what we planned. We just went and helped as much as we could. I began to admire the sense of de-stressing these firefighters felt.”

The desire to help was so strong that The Game delayed the release of his new album so he could focus on fighting fires and helping the city of Los Angeles.

On the subject: Beyoncé postponed the announcement amid the fires in Los Angeles

Alex Slitz/Getty Images Beyoncé is delaying her long-awaited announcement due to the wildfires in Los Angeles. “The January 14th announcement will be pushed back to a later date due to the devastation caused by the ongoing wildfires around Los Angeles,” the 43-year-old pop superstar shared on Instagram on Monday, January 13. She continued: “I (…)

“I’m 100 percent committed to getting Los Angeles and California and the cities within California back to peace before I do any promotions or anything else,” he says. “Just seeing the smiles on people’s faces and the relief of getting help is all I really need in the end.”

The game hopes the wildfires still raging in Pacific Palisades and Altadena will soon be fully contained. Until then, he plans to help everyone he can.

“I have a new respect and love for firefighters,” he says. “I want people to pay attention to the people who lost literally everything when their houses burned down. The people in the Altadena area, all of these historically black-owned businesses and homes have been there for over 100 years. Let’s spread the love and distribute equally; and make sure that as a city, as a state, as a nation, we give everyone support and love, and we restore the same.”

Check it out LAFD website for local forest fire alerts and click here resources on how to help victims.