Obie Trice III (born November 14, 1977) is an American rapper. He signed with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem's Shady Records, an imprint of Interscope Records in 2000 to release his first two albums, Cheers (2003) and Second Round's on Me (2006). Both peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200, while the former was supported by the singles "Got Some Teeth" and the Dr. Dre-produced "The Set Up (You Don’t Know)" (featuring Nate Dogg). Upon leaving the label, Trice formed his own record label, Black Market Entertainment to release his following albums, Bottoms Up (2012), The Hangover (2015) and The Fifth (2019).
Biography
Obie Trice III was born and raised on the west side of
Detroit,
Michigan, by his mother Eleanor Trice, along with three brothers. He is of African American and
Germans descent. Trice was given a karaoke machine by his mother when he was 11 and he used it to rhyme over
from artists such as N.W.A. By the age of 14, he was attending rap battle gatherings around Detroit, including the Hip Hop Shop, where he and his friends would go on Saturday afternoons. The battles were hosted by Proof from D12. Positive response from watchers encouraged Trice to get into rap music seriously."
[Mark Binelli (September 10, 2003). Hot Rapper: Obie Trice. Rolling Stone. Accessed January 22, 2008.]
Trice was calling himself "Obi-Wan Kenobi" at that time, but before Proof introduced him at the Hip Hop Shop, he asked him his real name and introduced him as "Obie Trice", which remains his rap name.[ Hot Rapper: Obie Trice. Rolling Stone. Accessed January 22, 2008.] Later, Trice's manager arranged for him to have dinner and go to a Kid Rock party with Eminem.[Ruben Diaz (September 18, 2003). " Obie Trice: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Interview) ". BallerStatus.com. Accessed January 22, 2008.]
Career
Shady Records (2000–2002)
Trice signed to
Shady Records in 2000. He created a freestyle skit on the D12 album
Devil's Night, following up with an intro snippet in Eminem's
The Eminem Show lead single "Without Me", as well as the song "Drips". Later in 2002, Trice rapped on songs for the
8 Mile soundtrack, and also had a cameo appearance in the film as a rapper in a parking lot.
Cheers (2003–2004)
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. "Got Some Teeth” peaked at number 54 on the
Billboard Hot 100, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, "Got Some Teeth" debuted and peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart in October 2003. 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
Kon Artis. Artists featured on
Cheers include
Busta Rhymes,
Eminem, 50 Cent,
Lloyd Banks, Dr. Dre,
Nate Dogg, D12,
Tony Yayo, and
Timbaland. The album was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA.
[" 2003 Ends With a Bang! ". RIAA.com (December 18, 2003). Accessed September 23, 2007.]
Trice also featured on the track
Hennessey on
Tupac Shakur's posthumous album
Loyal To The Game.
Second Round's on Me and shooting (2005–2007)
In 2005, Trice began work on his second album, entitled
Second Round's on Me. The album was 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.
Shortly after his label-mate 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,[Christina Fuoco (August 9, 2006). " LiveDaily Interview: Obie Trice ". LiveDaily.com. Accessed January 22, 2008.] referenced with the following line, "Rock City is my voice / The white boy has stepped down / So I will accept the crown." Trice also addresses the shooting in the song "Pistol Pistol" from the album claiming he's after revenge, "I solemnly swear on my daughters tears/The nigga that got him in the head will feel it before the year ends / Hope you inconspicuous my friend / `Cause once the word get back ya in a world of sin / Bullets will hurtle at him for tryin to murder what been determined as the first solo African " and later "I'm so sincere you seein' a hearse this year / it's not a verse it's curse for burstin' what's on ya person". He has since given insight as to why he feels the shooting occurred, and has labeled it "Hatred", 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 than they think it is ... it's competition on a real vicious level."[Seth Berkman (July 2, 2007). " Obie Trice: Take a Ride (Interview) ". XXL. Accessed January 25, 2008.]
Departure from Shady Records (2008–2009)
In June 2008, Obie Trice departed from Shady Records due to concern that he was not being promoted properly. Contrary to public belief at the time of the announcement, Trice did not have a falling out with
Eminem or Dr. Dre. Both contributed vocals and production to Trice's upcoming album. A misunderstanding was made where it was believed he was attacking the label and
Eminem on a single titled "The Giant"; however, this was quickly dismissed.
[Tai Saint-Louis (June 30, 2008). " Shady Records Issues Statement On Obie's Departure ". AllHipHop.com. Accessed July 1, 2008.]
Special Reserve (2009–2010)
On December 15, 2009, a compilation album,
Special Reserve, by Obie Trice and
MoSS, the first producer of
DJ Premier's "Works of Mart" production company, was released. The album is a collection of eleven of Trice's tracks recorded with MoSS from 1997 to 2000. The album served as a preface to his next album, "Bottoms Up".
Move to Black Market Entertainment, Bottoms Up, The Hangover and The Fifth (2010–present)
In 2010,
Rap Basement reported that Obie Trice would launch his own independent music label, Black Market Entertainment.
The label would be owned by Universal.
[Jason (April 22, 2010). " Obie Launches New Label ". Rapbasement.com. Accessed March 11, 2011.][Jason (May 4, 2010). ] On May 4, he confirmed that
Eminem would be a featured guest artist on his upcoming album,
Bottoms Up.
On August 24, 2010, he released the single "My Time 2011" via
Myspace; the track was produced by Geno XO.
The music video was released on March 22, 2011; footage for the video was filmed at the Black Market Ent. Launch Party.
In April 2011, Trice released another single called "Learn to Love". It was a remixed version of the song "Haters" from his Bar Shots mixtape.[ iTunes – Music – Battle Cry – Single by Obie Trice. Itunes.apple.com (August 23, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-12-09.]
On April 3, 2012, Bottoms Up was released. On May 7, Trice released a new song from his upcoming mixtape The Hangover titled "Get Rich Die Tryin" featuring Bilal.
In a 2016 interview with Mr. Wavvy, Trice announced that he was already working on his fifth studio album, which he planned to releasing later in the year. Additionally, he revealed plans of a box set that included all four of his previous studio albums, along with previously unreleased tour footage.[ Archive.is] On August 23, 2019, his fifth album aptly named The Fifth was released. It includes guest appearances from Magnedo7, Directorkasper, Xzibit, and others.
On December 10, 2019, Obie Trice released a diss track called "Spanky Hayes" against Nick Cannon after Cannon released two diss tracks against Eminem. In the track, Trice was rapping over the instrumental of "30 Something" by Jay-Z.
Personal life
Trice's first child, a daughter, was born in 1998. He has credited her birth as motivation for him to get serious with music.
Shootings
On December 31, 2005, Trice's car was shot six times and while driving on the Lodge Expressway by Wyoming Avenue in Detroit; one of the bullets penetrated his head. Trice was able to drive off the expressway, where his girlfriend waved down the police.
[" Rapper Obie Trice Shot In Detroit". Billboard (January 2, 2006). Accessed September 23, 2007.] He was taken to Providence Hospital and released later that day. Doctors contemplated whether or not to remove the bullet. As it was too dangerous to operate, the bullet is still lodged in his skull.
TMZ reported on December 6, 2019, that Trice was arrested for shooting his girlfriend's son.[ "Obie Trice Sentenced To 90 Days In Jail Behind December Shooting"]
Meeting with Michigan State Senator
On April 22, 2011, Trice met with Michigan State Senator Virgil Smith Jr. to discuss providing local artists with entertainment venues.
Michigan arrest
On June 16, 2022, Trice was arrested and jailed after an arraignment in District Court in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, on a charge of using a telephone to harass or threaten someone. Soon after, he posted the $10,000 bond in the case.
Discography
- Studio albums
-
Cheers (2003)
-
Second Round's on Me (2006)
-
Bottoms Up (2012)
-
The Hangover (2015)
-
The Fifth (2019)
- Mixtapes
-
The Bar Is Open (with DJ Green Lantern) (2003)
-
Bar Shots (hosted by DJ Whoo Kid) (2006)
-
The Most Under Rated (hosted by DJ Whoo Kid) (2007)
-
Watch the Chrome (hosted by DJ Whoo Kid) (2012)
- Compilation albums
-
Special Reserve (with MoSS) (2009)
- Collaboration albums
External links
