Obie! How are things going right now?
Things are going good…getting laid…getting some ass…you know…getting a little head, can’t complain… (stunned silence on my part)…Nah’ I’m just kidding! (laughing) No things are going great here…we’re doing the video right now for the next single off my new album called “Jamaican Girl”. So I really can’t complain!
Obie, coming up, you had a great deal of influences, who would you say probably influenced you the most?
Probably Big Daddy Kane, I had others who I also looked up to like Biggie, Tupac, Run DMC, but it was probably Big Daddy Kane that I looked up to the most…he was who I mostly, would just try and emulate when I would spit my shit out. He was like… a really big influence on me growing up and probably influenced me the most lyrically.
Great…sounds cool…you were just mentioning something about your new album before, what can you tell us about it?
Ah’ man, the new album is just crazy, just crazy, I mean, I think this album just shows a lot of growth. When you look at and listen to any of the songs on the album, I think a lot of people are just going to be blown away by how much growth is really on that record.
In terms of growth, how would you describe the “growth” of this new album, to your legions of fans out there today?
I mean, this album is definitely a lot different than my last album “Cheers”, it’s been like over two years since my last album and a lot happened to me since then, the bullets still in my brain, you know? This album is a lot more introspective and deeper in that, I got to talk about things that were on my mind and I was working more on double time on this album, when I spit. I didn’t write down any of the songs on this album even, I actually’ didn’t write anything out on paper, I spit everything out right on time into the mike! So yeah’ this album shows a lot of changes and growth, I think it shows a lot of different things about my self.
Different in terms of personal stuff; like’ how were you affected by the death of Proof? That must have been pretty traumatic for you? Oh man’ that was like it just…it really threw me for a loop…it really threw me for a loop you know?
It happened on New Years Eve and I didn’t really expect it or anything. Proof was a real good friend of mine and it was a real blow’ man…it was a real blow to me. He has a daughter by my first cousin and he had just found that out right before it happened. All of a sudden, he was shot in the back of the head. Yeah’ it affected me real bad. Proof getting shot just really hit me hard. I mean’ he was shot in the back of the head and I was shot in the back of the head, I woke up and opened my eyes and Proof…he just…he didn’t. That’s what the very first song on the album is about, “Wake Up” the intro, it’s about what happened that night and how people need to wake up and see the violence that’s erupting around them and how we should all just to try and end the violence.
Wow, now…on a happier note, you got started up by being noticed by Eminem? What were your very, first thoughts, when you first met with Eminem and are you guys still friends?
I mean’ when I came in there… I was just happy to get the opportunity through Bizarre and then I was kind of surprised that he called me back. I went in there and started to spit out my rhymes and I was just surprised that he called me back after my demo. I mean, I knew him and everything…I didn’t know at the time, that he was gonna’ get in touch with me…so it was real cool and it just kind of surprised me when I got a call back from him about a week or so later. But, we became friends right after that and I began to do more on D-12’s and Eminem’s albums…you know, right after that meeting.
So you guys are still friends?
Oh’ yeah…we’re still friends and everything, I just talked with him a couple of weeks ago and he’s doing good with his friends and family right now. He’s got some stuff on his mind and he might drop an album of his own again. I did talk to Em’ about that and there’s some stuff he’s making beats on, but only after dealing with the Shady mix tape and that should be out soon, he’s probably not gonna’ call it the “Re-Up” now, cause there’s a lot of new cats on the label. I think he might call it something else. A lot of cats flew into Detroit along with their families and we locked in down right here in Detroit. But, Em’s had a lot on his mind lately, he was there at Proof’s funeral and he’s still like family and a good friend to me.
Your first real, big, exposure happens on Eminems’ single, “Without Me?”…I’ll have to ask you then… if either you or Em’ still have a beef with Moby?
Say that again? I didn’t quite hear you on that?
I was just wondering if you or Em’ still want to “Stomp Moby” or not?
Are you talking about on “Without Me?”…(laughing) No, I don’t have any problems with Moby! (laughing) I’m also pretty sure I don’t have a problem with Techno music either! (laughing)
You were also in “8-Mile” too, briefly along with Eminem, what was that experience like for you? Are movies something you would like to do more of in the future?
That experience was like really just…grueling…I was only in like eight seconds of “8-Mile” most of us are in walk on parts in 8-Mile except for Proof, who battles actually with Eminem. But, I was only in like eight seconds during the Chin Tiki parking lot scene and it took the director Curtis Hanson, like fourteen hours and numerous takes to get those eight seconds done. (laughing) But, no it was cool and I really appreciate being in it, it kind of set me up for some of the other stuff I’ve been in since then like me and Akon, recently appeared on the crime-drama “CSI”, in a party scene performing my first single “Snitch”. Another single I did “Wanna Know” was featured on the soundtrack to EA Sports Fight Night Round 3. “Wanna Know” was also featured in the first few seconds of HBO original series “Entourage”; the track can be heard in the first scene, last scene and closing credits of season 2 episode 7, “The Sundance Kids”. HBO reused “Wanna Know” in two teasers for Entourage’s third season and was produced by Mark Wahlburg. I was also playing a role as Big Pimpin’ in the Detroit made independent feature film “Life Goes On”, which premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in May 2006. So that’s pretty cool stuff, I liked both “CSI” and “Entourage” so, I was really happy to be a part of both of those shows.
You mentioned EA Sports Fight Night and I’ve got to ask you about boxing then? Are you a big boxing fan? Any favorite boxers?
Oh’ hell yeah, Detroit’s got a lot of big, boxing history, Joe Louis, Tommy Hearns and the Kronk gym help to put Detroit on the map! 50’s supposed to be in a new boxing movie, I know he trained with Emanuel Steward along with Eminem. Tommy Hearns’s son Ronald’;s a good boxer from what I understand, but I guess my favorite fighters… it would be Floyd Mayweather, Zab Judah, Roy Joes Jr., he’s a real cool cat. I’ve met them on more than a few occasions out on the town, I’d like to see a dream match between Roy and Floyd, like in a EA Sports kind of way. Roy’s just kind of past his prime now and Floyd’s just coming into his own.
What about having a clothing line or touring? Do you have a website that your fans can go to? Anything you want to say to your millions of fans out there?
Yeah’ I’d like to have clothing line of my own at some point, um’ touring we’re looking to do pretty soon too, “Second Round’s on Me” was just released on August 15, 2006 and I just released a mixtape called ” Bar Shots” With G-Unit’s DJ Whoo Kid 50-Cent and Eminem on it along with the rest of the Shady family. People have told me that it’s better than my album. We just got done doing the video for the third single off of the new album, “Jamaican Girl” it’s pretty hot stuff, following up on “Snitch” and “Cry Now”. My website is www.obietrice.com . So, everyone should kind of go out and check out “Jamaican Girl”…it should kind be getting on MTV and BET as a video any time soon now. To my millions of fans everywhere…go pick up the new albums “Second Round’s on Me” and “Bar Shots” and vote in “Jamaican Girl” and let’s just get sick with it again…No Gimmicks!
