Cheers
label: shady | interscope

producers: eminem, dr. dre, timbaland, fredwreck nassar, mike elizondo, emile, denaun porter.
guests: eminem, 50 cent, dr. dre, nate dogg, busta rhymes, d-12, lloyd banks.
year of release: 2003
It was many moons ago that the 12" "Mr. Trice b/w Respect" turned on our 1210 for the first time. There's even a review of the record here to show and prove. The rest, as they say, is history, as if we had anything to do with Trice now working with the biggest star in music. Ha. But Obie teaming up with Eminem secured him instant success. That's good and that's automatically bad. Not the success that is, but the teaming up.
Why? Because there's just too much Shady influence on this record. Sure, Eminem and Obie work well together. Em puts together a couple of nice beats, that at times even overshadow those of his mentor Dr. Dre. But at the same time, there's just too much Eminem on here. Not considering the guest appearance, not just considering that he did the majority of the beats, but that he seems to have had too much influence on how Obie comes across. Him and 50. Just listen to the hooks. Especially listen to the hooks. They are often blatantly 50 Cent-ish. Either because he influenced or wrote them, or because Obie wrote 50's. That even goes as far as almost spoiling the otherwise excellent first single "Got Some Teeth", with a hook that is straight out the 50 book. The voice is not the usual and it sucks. But apart from that this is funky. The beat by Eminem does everything right, with a quirky little thing going on. The lyrics are funny, very well recited, they refer to a couple of Eminem moments, got the cinematic sound effects going and it's a MONSTER.
tracklisting
1. Average Man
2. Cheers
3. Got Some Teeth
4. Lady feat. Eminem
5. Don't Come Down
6. The Set Up feat. Nate Dogg
7. Bad Bitch
8. Shit Hits The Fan feat. Dr. Dre
9. Follow My Life
10. We All Die One Day feat. 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks of G-Unit, Eminem
11. Spread Yo Shit feat. Kon Artis of D-12
12. Look In My Eyes feat. Nate Dogg
13. Hands On You feat. Eminem
14. Hoodrats
15. Oh! feat. Busta Rhymes
16. Never Forget Ya
17. Outro feat. D-12, Eminem
But to get back to our argument: for further observation check the "Outro" next. This cut featuring Eminem and the D-12. Again produced by the Shady, it's very "Rabbit Run"-ish. So that and miscellaneous other moments will tell you that Obie is just not Obie enough at times. Further exploring what Eminem does, he goes for the 'eeh' beats too, with a "Hands On You" (despite the beat boxish chop) or a lame "Never Forget Ya" (while the lyrics are sadly real), as well as a forgettable "Cheers". He makes up for it though with the dope "Lady" or a good (while very "Sing For The Moment") "Don't Come Down".
Moving on to the lyrics, Obie has a very secure cadence when it comes to spit his words. That's of course a fancy way to say that his flow works and that he has charisma behind the mic. He uses that flow for a number of topics, starting with the gritty "Shit Hits The Fan", a Ja Rule diss track featuring Dr. Dre. Who spits a couple of very dope lines, including the already infamous "this little nigga Ja Rule talking about he's gonna slap me / nigga please / you better jump and swing up to hit me in the knees". This Dre beat, as well as the one on "Look In My Eyes", comes in the tradition of modern mainstream hip hop: it's weak. Better is "Oh!" (that features Busta), with an ill piano line and "The Setup" that's just really nice. As good as is the banger "Follow My Life" by Fredwreck Nassar, that also includes some of the deepest lyrics.
Further on the lyrical tip, Obie gets street on a "Look In My Eyes". He honours the art of talking slick on "Hoodrats", he gets reflective on "Don't Come Down" and he gets extra evil on the posse cut "We All Die One Day", that's complete with a dark Eminem beat, a very good hook, and appearances by 50, Lloyd Banks, and Em.
So basically and despite everything, this record is good. But Obie has too much character and skill to obey to the influence that is so omnipresent. That does take away from the album. He's actually one of the most exciting rappers in the mainstream right now, with the talent to writer future classics. If only he'd move away from the Shady sound a little bit, as that's just too much of a shackle for him to be really just him. Well, there's always a next time. Coming to think of it, in hip hop there's rarely a next time. But there will be for Obie, because he is already so good on here, there's no reason for no next time.
review: tadah
 
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