Obie Trice - Cheers

Being "down" with hip hop’s unholy trinity (50 Cent , Eminem, Dr. Dre) can act as either an absolute blessing or a tremendous burden. Boasting production from the latter two, in addition to knob twiddler extraordinaire Timbaland, one would think that all he’d have to do is phone in his verses and start collecting them big royalty checks. Well, this argument is as thorny as actress Vivica Fox's decision to date 50 Cent. Firstly, Trice’s all-star cast of homies so clearly outshine him; Eminem’s verse dominates the misogynist "Lady," Dr. Dre’s terrific keyboard loops and anti-Ja Rule rhymes stand out on "S*** Hits The Fan;" and 50 Cent and G-Unit fam Lloyd Banks tear up the nihilistic "We All Die One Day," that you start thinking that maybe he should have limited his VIP guest list. On the catchy synthesized club banger "Got Some Teeth" and the loosely autobiographical "Follow My Life," the focus group named Shady Records give Trice some room to demo his unique sense of humor, in particular on the former track where he hopes that his bar-hopping booty calls are not repulsive in the morning when the booze wears off. As expected, the two Nate Dogg collabos ("The Set Up," "Look In My Eyes") are two of the more enjoyable radio-friendly tunes, but they also reveal just how slightly-above average an emcee Trice is. More D12 than 50 Cent in terms of quality, Cheers should have been way more than simply the sum of its notable parts. --Dalton Higgins Amazon.com

 Amazing...
Not the best rapper of all-time, not the best album of all-time, but this is the most underrated album of all-time...It's one of those rare listen-to-it-all-the-way-through albums...

My favorite tracks:

1. Lady feat. Eminem
2. Don't Come Down
3. Oh! feat. Busta Rhymes
4. We All Die One Day feat. Lloyd Banks, Eminem, & 50 Cent
5. Look In My Eyes feat. Nate Dogg

April 22, 2008

 50 Times And Counting...
I have owned this CD since the day it came out and I have not stopped listening to it. I like all rap and hip-hop for the most part. I love lyric, social driven rap like The Roots and Talib Kweli and Mos Def, but I also have no problem throwing crunk club ish in the deck like Three Six Mafia or Lil' Jon. That said, this album completely blows me away and it seriously pains me that Obie Trice is so slept on. This album is better than Second Round's On Me, most likely because he had more help from Em on this one truthfully, but still, both CDs are great. I just wanted to write this review to do something to try to spread the word. This CD is unbelievable. My three favorite rap CDs of all time are the Notorious BIG- Life After Death, Eminem- The Eminem Show, & Obie Trice- Cheers. I love the female-problem-driven songs on here like Lady, Hands On Me, & even Don't Come Down about his mama. The lyrics are unreal and his style is unprecedented and fresh. He is creative, witty, and his flow is downright cold, not to mention production is superb. Please buy this CD. October 4, 2006

 Dont believe all the 5 star reviews.
This album is far from 5 stars. Some reviews state that the time this album was dropped hurt the sells. That might have been possible. If this album was from Murder INC. But its from the same camp as 50's, Shady/Aftermath. So anything with Em's name should sell like crazy. This didn't cause this album is lackluster. Notice how Obie's flow isn't as fired up on his solo tracks. It almost seems(to me) he's not really sure of himself. But on the features he trys to rap for broke. And the features is what kills him in my opinion. With the exceptions of Nate Dogg and Kon Artist, Obie's verse almost disappear. And that's bad especially if your outshined by Dre in this day and age. What I hate mostly is, you can always tell an Eminem beat.They just all sound the same and goofy. I'll be sellin this on amazon real soon for like 75 cents. Cause really I can't listen to anything else on this album again. You wanna hear someone from d12 that can spit bars, cop Proof album. July 1, 2006

 Dont sleep on Obie
It's a shame this album was slept on by so many. The first time I heard about CHEERS I said, "Obie Who??" But since 2003 to present, it's been a constant part of my CD rotation. Packed with great beats courtesy of Dre, Em, and even Timbo, Obie could have sung the alphabet on every song and it would STILL BE HOT!! Thankfully, Obie proves on his debeut album that he can hold his own lyrically as well. Rapping from the heart in "Dont Come Down", to just having fun in "Got Some Teeth", Obie delivers and does everything in between. Cheers will not dissapoint. Needless to say, I'll be getting Obie's sophomore album, "Second Round's On Me" the day it hits the shelves. (let's just hope it's better than 50's second attempt) June 10, 2006

 Brilliant debut...deserves more respect.
Obie Trice's debut CD came out at a bad time. 2003 was the year of 50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin" on Aftermath Records, selling about 6 million copies. September 23, 2003 was the day that Outkast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" came out. Poor Obie, he never saw that kind of disappointment coming. It wasn't his day for a year that wasn't his...the only he had going for him from the get-go was the backing of Eminem/Dr. Dre and that may have lead to one of the most impressive debuts I've ever heard. I like this more than I like Doggystyle, if that is an indication of where I think Trice is heading.

He is a rapper that speaks in metaphors, the kind that arent entirely obviously the first time you hear them. Listen to "Lady", which features Eminem. Yes, it is true that Eminem slays him (who doesn't Eminem slay though...honestly) but the fact that he can even hold his own while maintaining a style all his own is commendable. He isn't an Eminem clone, nor is he a member of D12 (why do people tend to think that?)he is an "average man" doing great things with the little bit he has, and I think it's tremendous. All of those people who htink 50 Cent ca rhyme so well need to listen to Trice...he has the goods. And that isn't a comparison as much as it is a contrast: 50 Cent has gotten lazy, Obie Trice has only gotten more hungry. I hope his sophomore CD is as good, because I would hate to have to retract my ideals of this man's potential. June 5, 2006

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