Obie Trice
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" (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).[2]
Biography[edit]
Obie Trice III was born and raised on the west side of Detroit, Michigan, by his mother, along with three brothers. He is of African American and German descent. Trice was given a karaoke machine by his mother when he was 11 and he used it to rhyme over instrumentals 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."[3]
Trice was calling himself "Obie 1" 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.[4] Trice was introduced to Eminem through D12 member Bizarre.[5] Later, Trice's manager arranged for him to have dinner and go to a Kid Rock party with Eminem.[6]
Career[edit]
Shady Records (2000–2002)[edit]
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.[3]