Obie Trice III
(born November 14 1977 as stated in the song "Follow My Life") is an American musician. He began rapping at the age of 11, and had a number of underground hits such as "Respect", "My Club", "Dope Jobs Homeless", and "The Well Known Asshole" before he signed to Shady Records in 2000.
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OBIE TRICE TICKETS
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Biography
Obie Trice was raised on
Detroit's West Side on Schoolcraft Avenue by his mother, along with three brothers. He was given a karaoke machine by his mother when he was eleven and he used it to rhyme over
instrumentals from artists such as
N.W.A. By the age of fourteen, he was attending rap battle spots around Detroit, notably including the Hip Hop Shop, on which Obie commented,
“
| There was a place called the Hip-hop Shop. We'd go up there on Saturday afternoons for the battles. They were hosted by Proof (rapper)
| ”
|
Obie Trice went by the name of Obie 1 during this time, but when he first met Proof, who was about to introduce him at the Hip Hop Shop, Proof asked him, "What's your name? Your real name, no gimmicks." He was then introduced as Obie Trice, and has kept his real name as his rap name.
[2] Obie Trice was introduced to
Eminem through D12 member
Bizarre. Eminem was impressed when Obie freestyled for him in a car park through a window, whilst Eminem was in a car.
Later, Obie received a call from his manager informing him that he would be having dinner with Eminem, and later that night they went to a
Kid Rock party.
[3]
Trice was officially signed in 2000. He first received public attention via a freestyle skit on the
Devil's Night
album, followed by the deliverance of the opening line "Obie Trice-real name, no gimmicks", off Eminem's
The Eminem Show
lead single, "
Without Me", as well as the song "Drips".
[4] Later in 2002, Obie rapped on songs for the
8 Mile
soundtrack, and also got a cameo appearance in
the film as a rapper in a parking-lot.
Trice's debut album,
Cheers
, was released on
September 23 2003 with its first single "
Got Some Teeth" being well received on radio in a number of countries. He also released the singles "
The Set Up" and "
Don't Come Down". The album consists of 17 tracks with production from Eminem,
Dr. Dre,
Timbaland,
Mike Elizondo,
Emile,
Fredwreck and
Mr. Porter. Artists featuring on
Cheers
include
Busta Rhymes,
Eminem,
50 Cent,
Lloyd Banks, Dr. Dre,
Nate Dogg and D12. The album was eventually certified platinum by the
RIAA [5].
In 2005, he began work on his second album, entitled
Second Round's on Me
. The album was finally released on
August 15 2006. Following the release of
Second Round's on Me
, he released a mixtape called
Bar Shots
with
G-Unit's
DJ Whoo Kid.
In June 2008, Obie Trice departed from Shady Records. A misunderstanding was made where it was believed he was attacking the label and Eminem on a single titled "The Giant" but they were quickly dismissed.
[6]
Shooting
On
December 31 2005, Trice was shot twice while driving on the
Lodge Expressway by Wyoming Avenue in Detroit. One of the bullets entered his head. Trice was able to drive off the expressway, where his girlfriend waved down the police.
[7] He was taken to Providence Hospital and released later that day. Doctors are still contemplating whether or not to remove the bullet, as it may be too dangerous to operate.
Shortly after his label-mate, and cousin,
Proof was shot to death in a Detroit nightclub, a song emerged on the mixtape circuit called "Ride Wit Me". The song was dedicated to Proof. Trice made a speech at Proof's funeral, addressing the problem of black-on-black violence:
In the single "
Cry Now" from his second album, Trice addresses his shooting, as well as Eminem's rumored retirement,
[9] referenced with the following line, "Rock City is my voice / The white boy has stepped down / So I will accept the crown." Obie Trice has since given insight as to why he feels the shooting occurred, and has labeled it "
haterism", as well as a bad mind state by saying, "it’s a lot of do-or-die type individuals. They want to get that plug and there’s really more to the game then they think it is [...] it’s competition on a real vicious level."
[10] As of July 2007, the bullet is still lodged in Obie's skull.
Leaving Shady Records
Obie Trice left Shady Records on June 26, 2008, because of a dispute stemming from Interscope's claim that they would not fund another Obie Trice album. This news was first put into circulation by Hip-Hop blog Urban Lookout; a few days after they broke the news, a track (Giants) leaked confirming the rumor. Even though Obie has left Shady Records, Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg says that Eminem and Obie are still close friends, and that Eminem will still work with Obie Trice on future projects.
[11]
Discography
Album
| Year
|
Cheers
| 2003
|
Second Round's on Me
| 2006
|
Bottom's Up
| 2009
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References
- Mark Binelli (September 10, 2003). "Hot Rapper: Obie Trice". Rolling Stone. Accessed January 22, 2008.
- Anthony Bozza (May 21 2006). "Proof positive". The Observer. Accessed January 22 2008.
- Ruben Diaz (September 18, 2003). "Obie Trice: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Interview)". BallerStatus.com. Accessed January 22, 2008.
- "Shady Ltd. Joins Obie Debut Album Promotion on Urban and Top 40 U.S. Radio Stations". Business Wire (September 30, 2003). Accessed January 22, 2008.
- "2003 Ends With a Bang!". RIAA.com (18 December 2003). Accessed 23 September 2007.
- Tai Saint-Louis (30 June 2008). "Shady Records Issues Statement On Obie's Departure". AllHipHop.com. Accessed 1 July 2008.
- "Rapper Obie Trice Shot In Detroit". Billboard (2 January 2006). Accessed 23 September 2007.
- Eminem, Obie Trice Speak At Packed Funeral For Proof MTV News (19 April 2006). Accessed 23 September 2007.
- Christina Fuoco (9 August 2006). "LiveDaily Interview: Obie Trice". LiveDaily.com. Accessed 22 January 2008.
- Seth Berkman (2 July 2007). "Obie Trice: Take a Ride (Interview)". XXL. Accessed 25 January 2008.
- Obie Trice Dropped From Shady/Interscope "Obie Trice (signed to Shady/Interscope) has been dropped off of the label for unknown reasons. Since he left, Obie has dropped 2 videos, "Krazy" and "I Need You".", ''Urban Lookout'', 2008-06-26. Retrieved on 2008-07-02.