Cheers

by

Obie Trice

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Obie Trice's "Cheers," one of the year's most anticipated rap albums, is an actual cause for celebration. Like 50 Cent before him, Obie comes from the Shady/Aftermath camp. Unlike 50 Cent, Obie's humble beginnings started rapping with Eminem and D-12 when they were mere underground legends in Detriot. Like many debut albums these days, "Cheers" is loaded with production from big names and high-profile guest appearances. Some critics have said that the celebrity cameos blatantly point out Obie's lyrical weaknesses and shortcomings. While there is a bit of truth to that statement, it does not hold for most of the album. "Cheers" is a great album, production-wise and lyrically it is better than almost every rap debut out this year, including "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'," which, on the lyrical aspect, was kind of a weak album.

Out of the seventeen songs on the album, nine are produced by Eminem, whose beat-making skills keep improving immensely. His beats resemble his mentor Dr. Dre's with a little more pop or a little more dark piano. Dre does four of the songs and Timbaland, Fredwreck, Denaun Porter (Kon Artis of D-12), and newcomer Emile each do a song. The beats are excellent, from the club synthesizer "Got Some Teeth" to the pop bounce of "Hands On You" to the pounding keys of "S*** Hits The Fan" to the electro-blasts of "Bad B****."

Obie's lyrics do not disappoint either. Think of him as a Detroit Jay-Z, although less vocally accurate and not as clever or witty. However, he tears it up on songs like "Average Man," "Look In My Eyes," "Hands On You," "Oh!," and the posse cut "We All Die One Day" with Eminem, 50 Cent, and Lloyd Banks. Mr. Trice is dead-on with his angry but humorous lyrics and his sarcastic but in-your-face flow. He will be around for a while and Eminem should be proud: "Cheers" is everything a debut album should be and Shady/Aftermath can add one more classic to their record.

I remember my brother listing in one of his guides that Obie Trice was the most underrated rapper of last year, and I was like, "Ehhh, I don't know." But I listened to this album and now I understand where he's coming from.

I'm not sure how long Obie had worked on this album before it was released (he was in jail for a while back in 2002), but at any rate, he is a very good lyricist. He's able to dish out some good tracks, like "Average Man" and the playful "Got Some Teeth" (which contains elements of Eminem's "Without Me"). Obie is also good with telling stories, as evidenced on the title track, where he gives it up for his friends that are locked up in a way that won't make you say, "Eh, it's been done". Another good tale is the song he has out now, the she-wasn't-last-night story "The Set Up".

There is also an obligatory Ja Rule diss track on here, "Ish Hits the Fan", featuring Dr. Dre and Eminem. Obie and Em come hard with it, while Dre just kicks okay rhymes (but that's not really surprising). But the album seems to go somewhat downhill from there. Timbaland contributes two tracks, "Bad B" and "Hands On You", which seem a little out of place on this album. The latter is a sex song, and after listening to it, I think a rule should be made that all rappers on Shady/Aftermath should stay away from love songs (which is especially evidenced by the offerings on G-Unit's album). And aside from the song's cheesy chorus, things don't get better when Em says "Don't you play me for no fool/If I put my mouth on you/After you put your mouth on someone else/Then I'll find someone else new."

There are some other dope songs that become kind of iffy not by Obie, but by other elements, like 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks' uninspiring chorus on "We All Die One Day", and the terrible beat found on "Follow My Life". "Don't Come Down" is an interesting story about Obie's dysfunctional household, but that production is kind of sluggish. Finally, the very last song -- which is disguised as an outro, I might add -- features D12, and they actually sound pretty good (except Bizarre, of course). I don't even remember hearing Obie in that song, now that I think about it.

Overall, Obie Trice's proper debut is quite impressive; if only it weren't for some of the lazy performances by other artists. Also, it may take you a minute to get through the whole thing because it clocks in at 75 minutes. But Cheers basically deserves just that.

Anthony Rupert