Obie Trice's life story rhymes with street experience, hard work, determination and patience

One of the greatest misconceptions about Obie Trice is that he is « the guy who raps for Mr Mathers » and that he had it all easy to become the successful rapper he is now. Many people think that Obie became Marshall’s protégé and that his way to fame was easily traced.
That’s totally untrue. Obie had to struggle and to earn street experience a hard way.
If you have bought Cheers, you are probably aware of Mr Trice’s beefs with his mom that are expressed in the Don’t Come Down song (and video).
Rapping Skills
Obie describes him as an introverted kid: « I was kinda like an introvert »
Since the beginning, the talented rapper possessed writing skills:
« As a real young dude, I used to write my short stories and just listen to music and chill. »
Obie has always been a skilled pupil at school. While being at middle school, he started writing some rap lyrics. At 14, he became a regular visitor of the hip hop shop.
Drugs and pistols
The young man dropped from school in the 10th grade. The greed for money made Obie peddle drugs:
«  Seeing dudes getting money, I wanted that. In my mid-teen, I would be high as hell off weed.
The situation worsened and Elnora Trice had no other choice left than kicking her youngest son out of her house:
« My mom would find rocks all in the crib. I just became a problem and she had to let me get up out of the house. »
Street life
In constant need of cash, Obie was struggling each evening to find a place to rest. When he didn’t get a sufficient amount of cash, he would sleep in the streets of Detroit City:
« I used to sleep on the corner of my man’s street . »
Juggling between minimum wage blue collar jobs, Obie’s future didn’t look bright:
«  I had the real blue U-Haul blankets-on the corner »
When his daughter Kobie was born in 1998, Obie decided to use his « hustle » money in order to get his music pressed.
The start of a musical career
Obie’s first track came out in 1999. It was entitled « The Well Known Asshole » and was promoted on the local scene. « The Well Known Asshole » was followed by « Dope, Jobs, Homeless ».
Despite his numerous efforts to promote his work, the young, yet unsigned rapper wasn’t really welcomed by New York producers.
« I rocked the local nightclubs and the hip-hop shows. I sold records out of the trunk. We traveled to New York and got doors slammed in our face. That’s what I had to go through. I didn’t come straight from high school into the pros. I had to go to college and put it down for a minute. »
Bizarre made it happen
Rufus Johnson aka Bizarre has always been convinced of Obie’s amazing talent. He is actually the key person to introduce Obie Trice to Marshall Mathers in 2000.
The talented rapper managed to impress Eminem (which is far from being easy).
Bizarre was like, « Why don’t you spit for him right quick . »
« I think he spit a verse and then the other half of a verse and I was like, I heard enough. It was a wrap from there. I was pretty much filling out the paperwork. »
(Eminem)
Signing with Shady Records and Interscope
In 2001, obie was eventually signed to Shady Records. However, he had to wait for 2 years before his first record would be released.
Patiently waiting
When an aspiring rapper gets signed to a major label, he is often very eager to hold the mic, to jump on stage and to get his record released straight away.
Even when you are as gifted as Obie actually is, you ought to know that the music industry follows its own rules and principles. The best way to handle them is to be armed with an infinite patience.
Obie didn’t really feel comfortable at his arrival to Shady Records:
« I really didn’t feel safe, ’cause I didn’t know Eminem and I didn’t know the business part of it.”
In 2002, Obie made his first stage appearance at the Anger Management Tour 2002.
The public started noticing him a little bit with several tracks like his skit on the Devil’s Night album (track Nr15) and his verse from the Love Me song from the 8 Mile soundtrack.
At the time Cheers came out, people didn’t really know about Obie, particularly in Europe. I remember that I was looking for his album around September-October 2003 and some clerk asked me : « Obie Trice? This guy does rock’n roll music, doesn’t he? ». I nearly laughed my ass off in front of a man who was supposed to sell records in the rap section of our music shop.
In 2003, 50 Cent outshined many other raising stars. The overwhelming success of Get Rich Or Die Trying left nearly no chance for another rapper to get noticed on a large scale.
However, Cheers sold platinum. Obie ‘s talent overcame, despite the unfavorable conditions he was facing with the huge promotion around 50 Cent.
2003 was 50’s year. But Obie has conquered a lot of rap lovers’ heart and he is getting more and more recognition for hard work that eventually paid off.
Second Rounds On Me
Obie has nearly completed his second album. He will come up with more personal stuff and show his true character in his next album. Be prepared for some good music written in a unique style of his.