Obie Trice – Special Reserve video (The 411)

Returning with his first LP since his departure from Shady Records (where he was one of the label’s top selling artists), Obie Trice readies a new street LP, Special Reserve, which finds him collaborating solely with rising producer MoSS.

Obie Trice’s Special Reserve will be released on 12-15-09.

DL Link to Obie Trice’s “Got Hungry” (produced by MoSS)

Obie Trice And MoSS Form New Dynamic Duo & Team Up For Special Reserve LP

OBIE TRICE’S SPECIAL RESERVE TO BE RELEASED ON 12-15-09

Returning with his first LP since his departure from Shady Records (where he was one of the label’s top selling artists), Obie Trice readies a new street LP, Special Reserve, which finds him collaborating solely with rising producer MoSS.

With a very strong fanbase, a strong presence on commercial radio and having sold in excess of 1.5 million albums to date (including the certified Platinum Cheers), Special Reserve is a departure from Obie’s typical sound, as a wide range of gritty audio mosaics are provided by MoSS, as he continues to not only raise his profile, but the bar he’s set from his previous work with Raekwon, Ghostface, Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, AZ, Slum Village, Havoc, Kool G Rap, KRS-One/Buckshot etc. MoSS is also the first producer signed to the legendary DJ Premier’s “Works of Mart” production company.

Obie Trice’s Special Reserve will be released on 12-15-09.

Tracklisting and credits for Obie Trice’s Special Reserve:

1.) Welcome

2.) Got Hungry

3.) You’ve Been Slain

4.) On & On

5.) I Am

6.) 4 Stories

7.) Roughnecks f/Deuce Wonder

8.) Cool Cat

9.) What You Want

10.) Jack My Dick

11.) Dope, Jobs, Homeless (alternate take / Bonus Song)

***All Tracks Produced by MoSS

Obie Trice – I Need You video

Obie Trice – Krazy video featuring Tuki

In a remembrance of the classic from 2 Pac, Obie Trice felt Pac’s vibe so much just having a conversation in the studio with his homeboy Tuki (who sounds like Pac), that Obie decided to put it on a record. With all respect due to the realest whoever done it, Tupac Shakur, here is Obie Trice featuring Tuki on the hook, in “Krazy”

Directed by Junebug The Decipher.

written by Low Key

“Obie Trice, real name, no gimmick”. Ever since those words were introduced on Eminem’s mainstream hit “Without Me” the Hip-Hop community has patiently waited for Obie Trice’s debut. The Detroit native is Eminem’s latest artist to be released on the newly incorporated Shady Records, and is an emcee that brings an intense street presence to the label. Obie is a gritty, hard-core emcee who represents the slums of Detroit he was raised in. And while Em has tried to push Obie into the mainstream light, Obie is not an emcee with a lot of superstar qualities and this is never more evident than on his debut album “Cheers”.

Obie Trice is an emcee with talent; however, it is not the type of talent that translates into mainstream or commercial appeal. Obie is an emcee for the streets and when he sticks to that persona on his debut “Cheers” the results end up positive. However, it is when Obie sways away from that when he runs into trouble, as he is not an emcee that can really produce catchy or superstar like quality tracks. Proof of this comes from a variety of the missteps featured on “Cheers”. The lead single “Got Some Teeth” is a forced attempt to recreate your usual catchy pop hit that Eminem produces as his first single for every album. However, this time around the formula fails miserably, as the cookie cutter production by Eminem sounds all too misplaced with Obie’s rugged flow and street persona. The song’s concept is also questionable, as it comes off as immature, corny and bland.

Another weak attempt at a big hit is the Timbaland produced “Bad Bitch” which unfortunately continues the streak of horrendously produced Timbo tracks given to outside artists. Speaking of lurid production, D-12’s Kon Artis continues to be one of the industries worst producers as he once again proves on the generic bounce sounds of “Spread Yo Shit”. Why the Shady/Aftermath camp continues to allow Denaun Porter to produce for every album released is still a mystery. Other tracks that falter due to lackluster production are the Eminem produced “Hands On You” and your typical groupie tales of “Hoodrats”, which is co-produced by Emile & Eminem.

While a good portion of “Cheers” is filled with your typical filler material such as “Never Forget Ya”, “Follow My Life” & “Cheers”, there are some outstanding moments that actually show the talent and potential Obie possess. The most notable of these is the amazingly produced “Don’t Come Down”, which is an epic tale of Obie’s relationship with his mother, as well as his struggles surviving the rough streets of Detroit. The powerful vocal sample will instantly engulf the listener and is sure to send chills down their spine. Lyrically Obie delivers one of his best performances, as he paints a vivid picture of struggle, pain and resiliency.

While no other tracks mirror the power of “Don’t Come Down”, there are a handful of standout songs in which great production carries Obie over the top. A majority of the good production on the album comes from the doctor Andre Young himself, who easily outshines Eminem’s production efforts on the album. “OH” featuring Busta Rhymes, is a sure fire hit for Obie with a vintage Dre & Mike Elizondo keyboard melody and haunting g funk sound. The weak storytelling tales of “The Set Up” is another solid Dre effort, no matter Obie’s lackluster ability to paint a captivating story. “Look Into My Eyes” is another haunting West Coast beat from Dre that stands out due to a very catchy Nate Dogg hook. The most controversial track on the album is the Murda Inc diss track “Shit Hits The Fan”, which features Dr. Dre & Eminem. The hardest punches thrown in the fiery diss track come from Dre’s ghostwriter, as the doctors’ verse takes some hard shots at Ja Rule.

Besides Dre’s influence on the album, the overwhelming amount of guest appearances is the only other shining moment. Obie is an emcee that definitely needs guest appearances cluttered throughout his albums, as he can clearly not hold down an entire joint by himself. Eminem makes a whopping 5 appearances on the album, delivering standout verses each time. One of the better offerings comes on “Lady”, where Em and Obie poke fun at the opposite sex. Eminem especially steals the show with such comedic lines as “you’ll be stuck with me for the rest of your life. Cause if I get attached to you, we’ll be joined at the hip. I’ll be so latched to you you’ll be walkin’ out the house and I’ll run up and tackle you. Chain your ass up to the bed and shackle you. You don’t think you’re leaving’ this house in that, do you? Not till I brand my name in your ass and tattoo you. And have you walking’ out this bitch in turtleneck sweaters, scarves and full leathers in 90 degree weather”. The other notable guest appearances come from the mixtape hit “We All Die Someday”, which is another effort in a long line of diss tracks. The kid Lloyd Banks spits his usual fire, as does Em, who amazes the listener with his sick wordplay and flow. But the biggest surprise is 50’s verse, which is reminiscent of his earlier days.

With “Cheers” Obie proves that with some help he can be an entertaining emcee who can provide memorable experiences. However, he also proves that without that help he is nothing more than an above average emcee. Obie doesn’t posses a standout quality that will enable him to succeed for years to come. His affiliations with other great rappers and producers is enough for him to get by now, but in the future hardly anyone will be talking about Obie’s own performance on his debut album.

Obie Trice – Cheers review

Obie Trice Interview July 2005

After releasing the severely under-rated “Cheers,” Obie Trice is well on his way to release his sophomore album “Second Round’s On Me” through Shady Records/Aftermath.

Originally scheduled from Summer 2005, the album looks likely to see its release in ‘06.

These are the transcripts of an interview with Obie Trice, conducted July 24th, 2005 on DJ Hyphen & J. Moore’s “Sunday Night Sound Session” on Seattle’s KUBE 93.3 FM.

MVRemix: How long have you been out here? A couple of days?

Obie Trice: Yeah, I’ve been here about two days. I went out to “Mr. Lucky’s” the first night then… Where’d we go last night? We went to “Down Under.”

MVRemix: I know there was a big bus accident. Were you involved with that in any way?

Obie Trice: That was my bus, but I just happened to catch a flight from Denver to Chicago. That’s my bus but I didn’t wanna ride that 17 hour ride on a bus so I flew. It’s just by the grace of God that I wasn’t on there. If more people were on it would have probably been a tragedy, you know what I’m sayin’? So it was not as packed. I took two other people with me to fly, so the bus wasn’t as packed as it would usually be. It’s just a blessing, and a blessing that nobody got killed. You know dude broke his neck, Alchemist, his ribs – he punctured his lung.

MVRemix: Big shouts to Alchemist, I really was looking forward to seeing him on stage but of course first and foremost health is the most important thing. Speakin’ of Alch[emist], does he have any production on your up and coming album “Second Round’s On Me”?

Obie Trice: Yeah, we did a couple of songs. He did a song that I did with Jaguar Wright. Doin’ with Al that’s the direction you gon’ go in, he been in the game for years. He is true Hip Hop; the definition of Hip Hop is Alchemist.

MVRemix: Is that kind of funny to you? Because I’m not trying to get into Alchemist’s business but I know he’s from a nice kind of area in L.A., but obviously he’s gotten the respect from everybody he’s worked with. But he just seems like a real dude, I met him once and he was a real cool dude, he just seems real.

Obie Trice: Yeah, Alchemist is just a regular person like me or you. We all just regular real cats and it’s just a occupation, you know what I’m sayin’? So we just tryin’ to get this paper up and do big things.

MVRemix: Does the album have a date? I know there’s rumours flying around about in the fall, in the winter…

Obie Trice: We tryin’ to get it out the end of the summer, that’s what we wanna do. Like late August, somethin’ like that. That’s what I’m tryin’ to do, that’s what I’m pushin’ for. We just mixin’ with this tour goin’ on, we gotta sit down when we get home – we’ve got like two or three weeks at home before we go overseas. So we want to get it together then and set up a master.

MVRemix: That’s hot. You were telling me a minute ago that you’ve got a single with Stat Quo, can you talk about that for a second?

Obie Trice: Yeah, Stat came to Detroit. Denaun Porter from D-12, he made the beat and we just got in the studio and knocked it out. It’s a wrap for that song, it’s my first collaboration with Stat Quo and it turned out to be a hit. So I just feel good about it, it’s goin’ down.

Original Obie Trice 2005 Interview

Obie Trice featuring Saigon – Wanna Know (Remix)