Tyga -- I Had It EASY Growing Up ... My Mom Drove a Range Rover

Rapper Tyga enjoyed a cushy upbringing in the Valley -- NOT Compton -- at least that's what the rapper said on a game show back in 2008 ... and TMZ has obtained the unaired footage.

The show was called "Bustas" -- where wannabe-rappers compete against each other to see who can embody ugly rap stereotypes the best ... playing borderline-offensive games like "Guess the Rapper By His Grill" and "Is This a Real Rolex?"

Tyga appeared on the show ... and immediately sacrificed any semblance of street cred in the process ... claiming he grew up in a well-to-do household in the Valley, and his parents drove a Range Rover.

But Tyga -- who has since claimed he grew up in Compton -- insisted, "I'm still street."

Thankfully for Tyga, the show was never picked up and the clip never made it to air ... until now.

The highlight: "Bustas" culminates with a freestyle rap, in which the contestants are asked to incorporate buzz words like "amoeba" into their raps, and Tyga's so bad ... he gets his ass boo'd off stage. (For the record, Tyga does not know how to pronounce the word "amoeba")