The Brag

Obie Trice
A Shady Past
By Andrew ‘Hazard’ Hickey

“Real name, no gimmicks,” he said in one of hip hop’s great opening salvos – and with that, Obie Trice announced himself to the world. Of course having his introduction facilitated by a titan, in the form of Eminem, didn’t hurt either; his emergence on Shady Records coincided with the release of the blockbuster 8 Mile and the unleashing of 50 Cent. Bolstered by the megastar associations, and featuring the catchy hits ‘Got Some Teeth’ and ‘The Set Up’, 2003’s Cheers went gold on the Billboard chart in the USA, debuting at #5.

“I’m very family oriented,” Obie Trice says from chilly Detroit, as we talk holiday plans. “There’s a little something missing with the passing of my mother recently, but we’re trying to stay in the spirit around here.” Some artists wait until further in their career before they get introspective, but since Cheers, Trice has been an open book. On album cut ‘Don’t Come Down’, he speaks of the sometimes rocky relationship he had during his formative years with his recently-departed mother. For him, though, the sharing is just part of who he is. “It’s something I don’t even really think about it,” he says. “It just comes to me. If the music moves me in that direction, I’m gonna express myself in that way. I don’t mind sharing that stuff with the public. I’m a sociable kind of guy anyway.” Sociable indeed; Obie’s penchant for mischief is reflected in the liquor-soaked titles of his LPs.

Heading to Australia for the upcoming Heatwave festival, Obie Trice joins a loaded lineup that features Kid Cudi, Tech N9ne, D12 and Chamillionaire – but his first visit to our shores was way back in the glory days of Shady. “They gave us this ritual thing at the hotel; the Aborigines did this ritual dance where they had spears, they were chucking the spears at our crew. It was real cool – I got my first taste of Australia.” The picture of Obie, D12, G-Unit and co. being greeted by Aboriginals is quite a trip, but that particular Aussie jaunt was the site of another milestone. “I got a gold plaque [for the single ‘Got Some Teeth’], I went Gold over there. I really enjoyed Australia.” Following what in hindsight was quite a landmark release in Cheers, and its 2006 sequel Second Round’s On Me, Obie exited from the spotlight – while it’s not heavily publicised, he has a bullet still lodged in his skull from a 2005 shooting incident. It was only until the 2009 release of Special Reserves, a collection of unreleased, pre-Shady recordings, that his name was brought back to prominence.

A city with a rich musical history, you could think of no better breeding ground for musicians than Detroit. “Being in Detroit, being in the hip hop scene around the city, being able to be a local and then being able to take my talents international – that was a blessing for me.” It would be understandable to lose your hunger after your big moment, but that’s not the case for Obie. “I’ve calmed down a lot over the years,” he says. “A lot of different things have changed for me personally and career-wise, but I still have that determination to create music, and a talent to create good music – great music, actually. It’s still there. I don’t think I’ll ever lose that.”

These days, Obie Trice is getting set to release Bottoms Up, his third studio effort which has been led by the single ‘Battle Cry’. While he’s no longer with Shady Records, the album will still be released under the Universal Music umbrella, on his own Black Market Entertainment imprint. “I just turned the album in, actually. It’s scheduled for release February 28.” In addition to maintaining the major label backing, Obie has kept ties with his heavyweight mentors. “I’ve got Dr. Dre doing production on the album, and Eminem is doing production on the album and performing also. We’ve got a song together on the record. I’ve got the late, great MC Breed on my album; luckily before he passed we did a record together, and I decided to keep that for [my] record.” He sounds equally passionate about his work with some newcomers. “I’ve also got a lot of up-and-coming producers that I’m working with, like No Speakers – you’ll hear a lot about them in the future.

“It’s a real solid album,” he continues. “I’m proud of it. Being able to work with Dr. Dre and Eminem – it’s still family, even though I’m not on Shady anymore – it’s a great, great feeling.” While record label politics always threaten to intervene, the bond between Obie and his former labelmates is still tight. “Shady, Eminem, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, G-Unit; these guys will forever be friends of mine,” he says. In addition to the lifelong relationships, the major deal has afforded him the opportunity to build on the name recognition he’s already established. “It’s definitely been an experience and a help also to have been on Shady – and to get my music distributed internationally in stores on my own, that’s a great feeling.” Ten years after signing with Shady, he will be joined by fellow Detroit natives D12 on the same stage at Heatwave. “I can’t wait to get there and touch the people and reach the people,” Obie says. “It’s exciting to be able to come there. I can’t wait.”

With: D12, Tech N9ne, Mastacraft, Kerser & more
Where: Heatwave (Day 1) @ The Enmore Theatre
When: Wednesday January 18
More: Heatwave (Day 2) is being held on Thursday January 19 @ The Enmore, and features Kid Cudi, Chamillionaire and CrazyTown, plus local supports. Both are licensed/all-ages, with tickets on sale now.