Trick Trick wasn’t kidding when he asked Em for the instrumental for the little homies in The D. 16 minutes of madness from Trick Trick, Dej Loaf, Guilty Simpson, Black Milk, Sino, Marv Won, Payroll, Hydro, Big Gov, Boldy James, Kid Vishis, Big Herk, Icewear Vezzo, Detroit Che, Calicoe, and Diezel. Bonus, Obie Trice does his own remix, using a new beat with a Walking Dead sample.

To celebrate his return, Obie Trice offers a free download of a brand new single titled “Loot” produced by Denaun Porter of d12. The single will be the first official release off his new album The Hangover which is now scheduled to drop at the end of January.

This comes from Obie’s Bottoms Up LP. Look out for his mixtape, The Hangover, up next.

Statik Selektah produced cut from Obie’s Bottom’s Up LP, dropping soon.

I told Apathy and Celph Titled they should have made an album together called Watch The Chrome. Oh well.

Obie Trice + DJ Whoo Kid – “Watch The Chrome”

The animated Obie Trice takes his turn at BossLady.tv x Convention Magazine’s themed freestyle series where rappers wax poetic on making it from nothing to something. Be sure to check out the album, Bottoms Up.
]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2012/01/18/obie-trice-a-minute-to-the-top-freestyle/feed/ 0 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2012/01/14/obie-trice-growing-up-in-the-hood-feat-game-coupe/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2012/01/14/obie-trice-growing-up-in-the-hood-feat-game-coupe/#comments Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:47:29 +0000 http://www.hiphopsite.com/?p=42617

Wake your punk ass up! Obie and Game cover CMW’s long lost classic…..Life ain’t nothing but WOMEN and money (clean version). Obie’s Bottoms Up hits February 28th, but neither will be included on the LP.

]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2012/01/14/obie-trice-growing-up-in-the-hood-feat-game-coupe/feed/ 3 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/10/19/dr-dre-eminem-to-collaborate-on-obie-trices-bottoms-up-lp/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/10/19/dr-dre-eminem-to-collaborate-on-obie-trices-bottoms-up-lp/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:11:22 +0000 http://www.hiphopsite.com/?p=39488

Obie Trice stopped by Karmaloop TV’s NYC studios to talk Eminem’s involvement on his new album “Bottoms Up”, what’s good with the Detroit hip-hop scene, and what artists he’s feeling right now.
]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/10/19/dr-dre-eminem-to-collaborate-on-obie-trices-bottoms-up-lp/feed/ 0 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2006/08/28/obie-trice-second-rounds-on-me/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2006/08/28/obie-trice-second-rounds-on-me/#comments Mon, 28 Aug 2006 07:00:00 +0000 http://0 [cont.]]]>     Obie Trice is a graduate of the late 90′s / early millennial independent hip-hop boom, debuting on wax as “The Well Known Asshole”. Fellow Detroit native, Eminem, noticed his talent after already validating Royce 5’9 and D12, making Obie the first new artist signed to Shady Records. His debut, Cheers, introduced the rest of the world to Obie to a lukewarm critical response, but nevertheless showed plenty of potential for the budding artist. Keeping the bar references on tap, Obie follows up with Second Rounds On Me. 

     Still fucking with Shady, Obie’s sophomore effort outshines his debut, as he has improved tremendously as a lyricist. Hanging around with Em for the past few years certainly has rubbed off on him, as it’s evident that Obie is challenging himself to rip every verse possible. For the most part, at least. The first half of his album finds Obie exercising his skill to the fullest extent, silencing the “haters like to yell it’s the whiteboy behind me”. Once the first skit ends, Obie is off and running, vividly describing his lifestyle on “Wake Up”, not sacrificing style or skill in the process. This leads directly into “Violent”, the second of these two gloomy, Eminem produced (and obviously influenced) tracks, as Obie gets his philosophical gangster on, flawlessly balancing street rap style with a backpack full of vocabulary groceries. While these two tracks sound pretty typical of the recent Shady Records sound, he throws a complete curve ball with “Wanna Know”, an ridiculoulsy raw, Emile produced banger, finding Obie tearing apart some bluesy rock guitars with breathless freestyles and never-ending rhyme schemes. He reverts back to thug on “Lay Down”, however his double-time flow is so on point here, even the most critical hip-hop fans will have to give it up. By the time the first single, “Snitch” re-enters your consciousness, you are open to Obie, and hanging off every word of his tale ? and that gimmicky Akon hook actually starts to sound pretty catchy.  And if you still aren’t sold, the follow-up single, “Cry Now”, further drives the point the home, as does the autobiographical “Ballad Of Obie Trice”, both of which feature Obie unleashing his talent, without holding back. 

     At this point, you are eight tracks deep into the LP, and things are sounding really consistent, and surprisingly raw - especially for a major label hip-hop record in today’s day and age. However, it almost feels like a bait and switch, because the second “side” of “Second Rounds On Me” is less appealing than the first (or maybe more appealing, depending on how you like it). The club-floor aimed “Jamaican Girl” is a bit too self-referencing to be a hit, as Em does his best Scott Storch impression on the beat, while Geffen recording duo Brick and Lace add the requisite - and lousy – R&B hook (just as they did on J5′s album). The west-coast bounce of  “All My Life” (made by Detroit newcomer Trell) also aims for the club, with a breezy hook from Nate Dogg, but again misses the mark. He tries the double time flow on for size twice again on both “Out of State” and “24′s”, but neither captures the rawness like the earlier “Lay Down”. Local crooner Trey Songz chimes in for a decent pair of introspective joints on “Ghetto” and “Mama”, respectively. However the token Eminem and 50 Cent cuts, “There They Go” and “Everywhere I Go” (yes, these are different songs), don’t break much new ground, sounding like lazy filler from the otherwise groundbreaking guest artists. 

     But you’ve got to hand it to Obie for shining on his own, this time around. Cheers drew its strengths from its collaborators (Eminem, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, G-Unit), while this LP truly finds Obie carrying the weight on his own shoulders, hence the title. He still has trouble completely blurring the lines between underground and commercial hip-hop, and fans will be divided as to which half of the album the like better, he’s definitely improved tenfold, maturing into one of the best emcees signed to a major label today. Second Round’s on Obie, third time has got to be a charm.

HHS:  You’re the infamous Mr. “Real Name, No Gimmicks”.  You ever have a rap name before deciding to stick with your real name?

Obie Trice:  Yeah, I used to be called “Obie-Wan” back in the day.  Proof was the host of the Hip-Hop Shop and one day he asked me my real name and I said, “Obie Trice”, so he gave me the name I already had.  He started introducing me as Obie Trice at the Hip-Hop Shop.

Any thoughts on the regime change down at The Source?

(laughing) Ay boy….he’s [Benzino] on the job hunt, ‘nahmean? He was doing some fucked up shit I guess….

(sarcastically)  Yeah, what happened there?

(sarcastically) Yeah, I don’t know what’s up with that, know what I’m saying?  All that shit was bad karma anyway, they was some really fucked up individuals.  It’s an unfortunate thing, but they got what they deserved.

How’d you first hook up with the D12 guys and Eminem?

I hooked up with Eminem through Bizarre of D12.  Bizarre wanted to do a song, so we did a song called “Detroit Boys”.  He told Em about me and he just called me one day like, “Come spit for Marshall”, so I shot up there and I spit for him and it’s just been smiles and handshakes from then on, nahmean?

You’ve had a crazy [few] years: the success of “Cheers”, the shooting that happened to you, and the passing of Proof.  What kind of stuff have you learned since we last heard you on “Cheers”?

Man, I just learned that life is precious.  Life is very, very, very precious.  At any moment, it can be taken away from you.  But just live the best life you can.  George Clinton told me, “Do the best you can do and fuck everything else after that.”  So I’m just happy to be still here and be able to do my music and do what I love to do.

What’s something that people don’t know about DeShaun?

Everybody knows a lot of stuff (about Proof).  He was a funny dude, he was very creative, he was intelligent, and he had a real, real good sense of humor.  He was just a cool bruh’.

What do you think of the state of hip-hop right now?

I ain’t mad at hip-hop, know what I’m sayin’.  I’d love to see hip-hop grow and continue to grow.  That’s all I’m interested in.

What’d your mom think about “Don’t Come Down”?

She appreciated it.  She thought it was interesting and she liked it.  Yeah, she really liked that song.

What’s different about “Second Round’s On Me”?

“Second Round’s On Me” just shows a lot of growth as an artist.  I’m doing different things lyrically that I didn’t do on “Cheers”, talking about really deep things, conscious things, you know?  It just shows growth.

You stuck to a theme for your first two album names, so any ideas what your next one’s gonna be called?

“Bottoms Up”.

You working any other projects right now?

We’re reading a few movie scripts right now, but basically [we're focusing on] just getting this album out and waiting for the release date and our tour.

Any other artists coming out (from Shady/Aftermath) that we should know about?

Yeah, Stat Quo’s got his deal [coming soon], Bobby Creekwater, and Cashis.

The One Line Random Eleven

#1:  What did you want to be when you were growing up?

A mortician.

#2:  What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

Weed-whippin’.

#3:  If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would you pick?

Biggie, ‘Pac, and James Dean.

#4:  What kind of shoes are you wearing right now?

I got on some Air Jordan II’s.

#5:  What’s your favorite tour stop?

I like Amsterdam.

What’s your favorite stop in the U.S.?

My favorite stop in the U.S. has to be Cali.

#6:  Finish this sentence:  “I can die a happy man when…”

I can die a happy man when I went down in history as one of the greatest emcees who ever done it.

#7:  What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen to you on tour?

The weirdest thing I’ve ever seen on tour was this old lady, she had to be in her late 50s, with this big-ass “Eminem face” tattoo on her back (laughs).

(laughing) How did that even come up?  Did she just decide to show it to you?

(laughing) Yeah, she really wanted to show me.  Man, that’s crazy, right?  That’s somebody’s grandmother. (laughs) I’m talkin’ ’bout….his face was SO huge!  Fans are crazy bruh. (laughing) You’re about have some fans like, if you don’t already.  You’re gonna have your profile tattooed to someone’s butt. (laughs)

You tell Em that story?  I’m sure he gets that a lot, right?

Oh yeah, he already know.  He gets so much crazy shit.

#8:  What’s your favorite movie?

At this moment, it’s “Running Scared”.

#9:  Name an artist you’d like to collaborate with.

I’d like to do a song with Damien Marley.

#10:  What food do you hate the most?

I think it’s call “goulash”.  I think it’s Arabic food.  Yeah, my man my DJ eats a pack a day and shit…

And you tried it one time?

Yeah, that shit nasty (laughs)

#11:  What’s your favorite album of all-time?

I got a few of them, but I’m gonna say Illmatic.

Aight, you take care man.  Good luck with the album, the tour.  You gonna do “Jimmy (Kimmel Live)” again?  The first time I ever saw you, it was on Jimmy Kimmel, you gotta go back on that show man.

Oh yeah. He asked me what country that I been to that I liked the most or some shit and I said, “London”. (laughs)

    Obie Trice hasn’t failed at defining himself with his debut, Cheers, and with his own style he doesn’t come off sounding like another rapper trying to catch Em’s fanbase by spitting the same shock value rhymes that we’ve all heard too many times before. However as a signee to Shady Records, with Em’s production behind him, at times, Obie does begin to sound like an understudy, especially on similar themed tracks like “Got Some Teeth”, which packs the same bouncy style that “Without Me” did, or “Don’t Come Down”, where Obie gives his own version of “Cleaning Out My Closet”. All respect due, both are dope tracks, and we should almost have come to expect this, but at the same time this keeps Obie from developing his own sound.    

    But while Obie is still a rookie, people are still tuning into the Eminem show, and it’s evident that this album’s strongest moments lie in the collaborations. On “Lady” and “Hands On You”, Em and Obie deliver two sides to relationships, however Em’s flow is so ridiculous here and any other moment on this album, that it drowns everything (and everyone else out). Case in point is the previously released “We All Die One Day”, which for some reason is heavy on the Soul Assassins shout outs (whoops, wrong album?!?), but Em gets retarded in the last verse: “We are not killers / my vato will have your ass shot though / drag through the barrio / and fucked like Kim Osario’s / lil’ hoe ass / go ask B-Real / we burn Source covers like fuckin’ Cypress Hill / did in the 90′s / when you were in diapers still / Shady Records / better believe the hype is real!!”. Meanwhile, further beefs are brewed on “Shit Hits The Fan”, propelled by an infectious Dr. Dre track where the good Doc lets loose on Ja Rule, and Obie follows behind him. 

      But while this album’s greatest moments lie in the collaborations, Obie still can hold his own, as the aforementioned “Don’t Come Down” and “Got Some Teeth” show. While on “Average Man” he tends to spit half-convincing gun-clap talk like an extra member of the G Unit, he’s at his best on tracks like “The Set Up” or “Spread Yo Shit”, where he’s railing off shit-talk freestyle rhymes over simpler, minimalist production.

     All in all, as an emcee, Obie Trice is more defined than anyone in D12 (minus Em), but is cursed with their same dilemma, living in the shadow of one of the greatest emcees of all time. It’s cool that he has the backing of Eminem, Dr. Dre, Timbaland, and G-Unit, which makes this a wonderfully produced album with lots of memorable moments; however its strongest moments aren’t his own. A worthy debut, but it may take another two or three solid LP’s before Obie positions himself as better than the average man.