50 Cent, Game call a truce

By Luis Perez STAFF WRITER

March 9, 2005, 8:19 PM EST

Rappers 50 Cent and The Game made nice Wednesday during an appearance at a renowned Harlem charity, signaling a thaw in their headline-grabbing feud.

"We are here to show that people can rise above even the most difficult of circumstances, and together we can put negativity behind us," said 50 Cent, whose name is Curtis Jackson.

"I'm almost ashamed to have participated in the thing that went on in the last couple of weeks," said The Game, whose name is Jayceon Taylor, referring to last week's shooting outside Hot 97 that hurt a member of his posse. "I'm here, and I'm apologetic."

The pair also announced a mutual beef: not giving back to the community.

The rappers held up oversized cardboard checks. 50 Cent, who grew up in Jamaica, Queens, donated $150,000 to the Harlem Boys Choir, while The Game, of Compton, Calif., gave $103,500 to the Compton Unified School District Music Program.

Outside and inside the auditorium, dozens of city police officers and private security guards kept a watchful eye. The truce follows last week's shooting outside Hot 97 in Greenwich Village. Police said a member of The Game's posse was shot three times outside the studio after a confrontation over 50 Cent's decision to kick The Game out of his entourage, G-Unit. The rappers themselves were not involved in the melee.

The rappers' truce also came as 50 Cent's new album, "The Massacre," released days after the shooting, sold an estimated million copies this week.

On Monday, 50 Cent had hinted at a truce, saying during an appearance on Hot 97 that he was "looking to have a conversation" with The Game. "The situation is definitely unfortunate," he added. "It's something we can get past." Yesterday, 50 Cent noted the anniversary of the shooting death of rapper Biggie Smalls, among the high-profile, violent incidents in the hip-hop world.

Also yesterday, an attorney for the owner of 395 Hudson St., which houses the radio station, announced that tenants there "are basically in fear of their lives."

"It's the fault of the station," said the attorney, Brian O'Dwyer. "They have done things to create controversy by inviting sworn enemies to be there at the same time. The natural result is what happened a couple of days ago."

The building was the scene of a February 2001 brouhaha between the crews of rapper Lil'Kim and the duo Capone- N-Noreaga, as well as a 2002 incident in which a popular DJ at the station, Funkmaster Flex, was arrested on assault charges after allegedly choking a rival DJ.