| "Tina" | |
|---|---|
| Promotional single bythe Game andKanye West featuringJim Jones | |
| from the album The Documentary 3 | |
| Released | February 25, 2025 |
| Recorded | February 17–24, 2025 |
| Length | 1:12 |
| Songwriters | |
| Producer | Kanye West |
"Tina" (stylized inall caps) is a song by American rappersthe Game andKanye West. It is intended to be featured on the Game's eleventh studio album,The Documentary 3, which wasexecutively produced by West during the time of its release. The song features additional vocals from American rapperJim Jones. Produced by West, it prominently samples the song "What's Love Got to Do with It" byTina Turner, as well asTina Knowles' appearance onThe Jefferson Hudson Show's Spirit Tunnel.
After making multipleInstagram posts about Knowles, including a photo of the Game sending her a bananaemoji, West posted the fullmusic video for "Tina" on February 25, 2025. The video features the Game, West, and Jones wearingbalaclavas andhigh-visibility jackets while the Game raps about his attempts to become intimate with Knowles. West periodically contributes lines during the Game's verses, with Jones appearing on the song's outro.
"Tina" received mixed reviews from publications. While some praised West's production on the track, others harshly criticized its subject matter, finding the Game's lines towards Knowles to be off-putting. Some critics simply found the song strange, unsure if its lyricism was intentionally disrespectful. Knowles later acknowledged the song, stating she was disinterested in dating men younger than her.
On February 17, while in the middle of a rant onTwitter,Kanye West revealed that he was currently recording a "feature" forthe Game;[1][2] this likely refers to "Tina".
Promotion for the song formally began on February 24, via a series ofInstagram posts made by West. He first uploaded a picture of a bananaemoji, captioned with "Tear that monkey down". Afterwards, West posted a photo of an exchange between the Game andTina Knowles, in which the Game had sent her the same emoji. West made a third post relating to Knowles before the song's release, uploading a video of her in the Spirit Tunnel with the caption "Game finna slide for the guys".[3][4] The final post by West was a video of the Game recording vocals for "Tina".[4]
"Tina" opens with a sample of Knowles' appearance on the Spirit Tunnel, a segment onThe Jennifer Hudson Show.[3] The song itself is mainly built from samples of theTina Turner song "What's Love Got to Do with It" (1984), which loop throughout the song.[5] The Game opens the song with lines regarding his attempt to contact Knowles: "I see myDestiny's Child / DMing was stressing me out / Nervous, my stomach in knots / So I took a couple ofshots."[5] West later chimes in, adding the lines "Then I took the whip off the lot / Then I put the whip on theyacht." West and Jones end the song, repeating the line "Just likethe Eagles we ballin'". Multiple music publications have theorized that the use of Turner's song will negatively impact its ability to be uploaded tostreaming, especially as West had been involved inmultiple recent lawsuits regarding sample clearance.[6][5]
"The world is controlled by those who give no f*cks. The heartless have always waged war against those with hearts. Life is chess & this time their kings & queens are the pawns. @Ye just gave me the vibe I needed to complete #TheDocumentary3 - Game Time ♟️"
West uploaded themusic video for "Tina" to his Instagram page on February 25, 2025, captioning the post "TINA BY GAME PRODUCED BY ME".[3] West was originally the executive producer ofThe Documentary 3, but later withdrew from the project after falling out with the Game due to the latter showing support for the Canadian rapper Top5; Top5 had allegedly threatened to kill West overcomments he made online.[8][9] The Game claimed that West had misinterpreted the situation, posting onTwitter that West had asked him to "reach out to him", but by the time the Game called West to say he talked to Top5, West had changed his phone number.[9]
On the podcastBillboard Unfiltered,Billboard staff writer Kyle Denis said that West and the Game were "too old" for their stunt, adding: "45 and 47, really? It's just so desperate and so pathetic and it's so clear you want their attention and they haven't given you it in recent years."[10] Trace Cowen ofComplex said that while he was thankful that "Tina" didn't reference West's tweets regardingNazism, he felt that "many are still left scratching their heads" in regards to the song's content.[4]
At the time of the song's release, Knowles did not make any comments regarding it.[6] However, when approached byTMZ days later, who asked her about her reaction to "Tina", Knowles stated that she wouldn't date anyone younger than her and isn't currently seeking a relationship.[11]
Themusic video for "Tina" features the Game, West, and Jones donningbalaclavas andhigh-visibility jackets.[12][5]Complex described the video as "impromptu,Blair Witch-esque".[4] At the end of the music video, a fourth, unnamed individual is prompted to explain the backstory behind the song's creation. They state that the song "started off as a joke" before evolving "into the basis of [the Game's] whole album, and then before we knew it,The Documentary 3".[4]
