Obie Trice – Cheers – 2003 Shady/Aftermath Records

1. Average Man 

Obie Trice steps right out of the gate with a dark and hardcore track. Shows his lyrical ability and his gangsta side. Great start to the album, the production is dope and suits is perfectly, Obie delivers what we’ve been waiting for. Dominant track.

2. Cheers 

The album’s title track starts with a sound of a lounge playing the piano but switches up into a banger. Obie demonstrates his lyrical ability and unique flow and voice. Some nice metaphors. Another tight track right off the start. The chorus is catchy and good for a party. Cheers.

3. Got Sum Teeth 

The first single off the album. Be prepared to be sick of it because it’s going to be all over TV and the radio. Probably the track that will make Obie a star, like “In Da Club” did for 50 Cent. His flow is crazy over the beats that will make any dance floor crowd up. Like it now because you’ll be overloaded with it soon.

4. Lady ft. Eminem 

The production again is dope as hell. Eminem gives a chorus like only he can that will make the women love this track and the guys will love the lyrical fire delievered by Obie and Eminem. Another shining moment on this album, that has yet to fail.

5. Don’t Come Do 

An R&B influenced track with the scratchy record chorus. But again, the production is amazing. Obie tells the story of his life and about who he is. The lyrics are killer, Obie’s flow is unmatched by most these days. Another great track.

6. The Set Up ft. Nate Dogg 

A knocking beat, the production once again doesn’t fail, the trademark of Aftermath. Obie hooks up with the king of hooks. Good production, good lyrics and Nate on the hook only adds up to one thing – a great track. Not as good as the first 5 of the album, but it’s above average.

7. Bad *****

This is where the “too good to be true” moment hits. The production is slightly annoying and the chorus a little more annoying. You can’t put the blame of this track on Obie though, he comes hard once again but the track isn’t near the quality of the first half of the album.

8. Shit Hits The Fan ft. Dr. Dre, Eminem 

The now classic track just from it’s appearances on mixtapes. The production is classic and will be hard to beat by any producer at the apex of their careers. Dre gives an old school flow dissing Ja Rule with some funny lines “you’re a *****, you’re not Pac I knew him/ Pac was a real nigga/ you’re just a *****ing insult to him”. Eminem gives a chorus that is catchy as hell. Obie tears Ja Rule a new one with lyrical fire that Rule couldn’t match any day. Great track, possibly the best on the album.

9. Follow My Life

The production is banging with hard beats and the guitar riff. Obie gives some dope flows and verses on this track. Shows his versatitlity of his style. The track is getting the album back on track for the debut of Obie Trice. The chorus is deep and the verses mix well. Ill track.

10. We All Die 1 Day ft. 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Eminem, Lloyd Banks 

While the songs has been around for almost half a year now, it shouldn’t have slipped by without being on someone’s album because the production is banging and rumbles. The verses laid out by G Unit and Obie are crazy, Eminem rips the last verse with lyrical ability unmatched these days. Classic track. Shows just how great Shady Records is right now.

11.Spread Yo Shit ft. Kon Artis 

Obie hooks up with one of the members of D12. Production isn’t as good as most of this album, but still better than most you’ll hear today. They chorus isn’t that great. Obie again doesn’t fail with his lyrical flow, but it’s not the best track.

12. Look In My Eyes ft. Nate Dogg 

Again the production on this track is amazing, it’s more laid back but still great in the speakers and Obie Trice spits some real shit over it. He keeps his flow and lyrics on point in this track. Again he hooks up with the hook genious Nate Dogg so you know what to expect of this track.

13. Hands On You ft. Eminem

A recycled beat on this track touched up a bit but it’s too familiar which takes away from the originality of the song. The lyrics are good but it’s all overshadowed by the production, that while it’s good, it sounds like a mixtape freestyle.

14. Hoodrats

The cliché rap track about a chickenhead, but if you’re not tired of them, this track is good at it. Obie has a faster flow to the track but his lyrics again are tight. The production is on point. Slightly a filler track, but that’s because it’s on a far above average album already.

15. Oh ft. Busta Rhymes 

Obie hooks up with a legend of hip hop on this track and over the beats Obie once again states his real name which is getting slightly old by now but he recovers and gives a good verse. The production is a little overwhelming, but it’s still a decent track. The chorus is a little annoying and louder than the rest of the track with Busta yelling it out. Obie delivers but it’s a little messy.

16. Never Forget Ya 

Right out of the gate, Obie starts spitting some deep lyrics about his people from the past. It’s a deep track which just goes to show the versatility of Obie. It’s deep and moving. The chorus is perfect for the track. Instead of the classic whining about stardom, Obie embraces it and touches back down to his past.

17. Outro ft. Eminem, D12 

This track might go down as the best outro ever in rap. The lyrical ability of the members on this track are amazing (minus Bizarre), Eminem spits some crazy shit right off the bat and they trade verses. One of the best tracks on the album and it’s the method of any great entertainer – leave on a high note.

Another debut album from the ranks of Aftermath Records, that goes to show how much talent they have under their system. First it was 50 Cent, now it’s Obie’s turn and he doesn’t fail one bit. Whether or not the mainstream will embrace him like they did 50 and Eminem, that doesn’t matter. He gives us a show from a debut album that is only matched by the likes of Dre, Snoop, 50 Cent, Eminem, Nas and Biggie.

He was a star before his first album, now he’s proven himself. He singlehandidly carried this album beginning to end. It doesn’t hurt when you carry an album and have the likes of Eminem, Busta Rhymes and Nate Dogg to help the cause along.

It was everything you could expect from his debut. Time will tell what history makes of it.

Rating – 4 out of 5.