Second Round's On Me

by

Obie Trice

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Obie Trice, a member of Shady Records, has released his sophomore effort, called "Second Round's On Me". His first album, "Cheers", released back in 2003, was a very promising debut. I loved that album, and I'm starting to like this one just as much as I like his first. Obie has definitely been through a lot this year. He was almost killed when someone shot him in a driveby in Detroit, and he also lost his cousin Proof (R.I.P.). So, I thought that Obie would definitely come with it on this album. I've been waiting for this for a long time, considering the release date was pushed back quite a few times. Well now it's finally out and it doesn't let me down at all.

After the intro, which is his mom yelling at him because he's selling drugs, the very first song is "Wake Up". I love this cut. He rhymes about how Black people need to wake up before society takes them down. Good track to start out with. "Violent" is next. Honestly, it's nothing special, but I like Obie's chorus and I like the beat by Eminem. Of course, it's about how he's violent. The next track, "Wanna Know", is the first track I heard from this CD a long time ago. This was on a certain video game's soundtrack but I can't remember which one. Anyway, I love this cut. The sample on the chorus is great. Obie's rhymes are on point as well. "Snitch" with Akon is a track I have mixed feelings about. One thing is, the whole "don't snitch" thing wasn't that good to begin with, and now it's played out. BUT, Akon's chorus is very, very catchy. It's hard to deny a song with Akon on the chorus (atleast with me it is). And the song sounds pretty good, despite the topic being too cliche. So it's actually an okay track. "Cry Now" is another cut that was released as a single (I think). I seen the video for it on IMF one day. The song is great. The beat by Witt & Pep is awesome, and Obie tells the haters they can cry now. "Ballad of Obie Trice" is nice too. Eminem made a beat that has an electronic voice saying "Ob-ie Trice" over and over again for the chorus, which I think is cool. "All of My Life" featuring Nate Dogg is a catchy song made for the ladies. It's kind of like a laid-back party track. I like the beat by Trell, and Nate Dogg's chorus is catchy, as always. "There They Go" is sort of like a Detroit posse cut, with Eminem and Trick Trick appearing. Everyone drops good verses, especially Eminem, and the production is good. Trey Songz drops a good chorus on "Mama", and 50 Cent stops by to give a decent chorus to "Everywhere I Go". "Obie Story" is probably the best song this album has to offer. It starts off with Obie telling how he was as a little kid, then to him slanging dope, and then his daughter being born and how he changed his life around. The production by Jonathon Rotem is excellent and so are Obie's lyrics. Perfect way to end the album.

The album does have a few duds as well. "Lay Down" isn't necessarily a bad cut, but Obie's flow doesn't match the beat that well. The song sounds a little off-kilter. "Jamaican Girl" falls flat, and is basically a filler song. "Kill Me A Mutha" is just another song in the same boat as "Violent" and "Lay Down". "Out of State", where Obie raps about how he's going to get his paper no matter what, is just another hustling track that fails to take off. "Ghetto" has a nice chorus by Trey Songz, but again, the concept is worn out. There's been way too many "this is the ghetto" type tracks and they get old after awhile. "24's" is another done-to-death song. Who cares what his rims are sitting on? I don't. Despite these drawbacks, the album is another solid one from Obie. I like that he doesn't overload his album with skits and that it doesn't play for much over an hour, as I think it only clocks in at 62 minutes. There are too many albums that have a whole 79 minutes worth of crappy music. I'm glad this doesn't.

Yes, the album may be a really dark album, but if I had been through what he's been through this year, my album would be dark as well. I still wouldn't say that this album beats Cheers, and I don't even think it's as good as Cheers, but it's definitely a good album. I think that on his next album, Obie needs to stay away from worn-out subject matter and topics in his songs so there won't be as much filler on his next album. Tracks like "Out of State", "Kill Me A Mutha", and especially "24's" don't belong on an Obie Trice CD. But all the good tracks this album has to offer override the bad ones. So all in all, Obie has made another good record. Nice lyrics and decent production make for a great listen. If you're an Obie Trice fan, you won't be disappointed by picking this up. I still recommend this to any one who likes Hip-Hop as well.

This album is much darker and grittier than the first one. The sound recording sounds intentionally analog-ish, deviating from that polished, big budget studio sound of the first album. If the idea was to capture the claustrophobic grainyness of the ghetto, then they've done it. Almost too well.

The sound is so seeped in grey-cloud moodiness that I had to stop it at one point and think pleasant thoughts of birds chirping and rivers running.

I mean, I liked the album. I guess. Or more accurately, I like Obie. I think he has a trademark voice and a presence that really could be better utilized. Obie doesn't have to be overshadowed by the remnants of people like Eminem and 50 Cent. His sharp voice and sometimes quick lyrics alone are capable of placing him among the A list artists. Talent is definitely not an issue. His rhymes are clever and so carefully crafted that I'm still finding new things on his old album. Already I've heard a few keeper lines on the new one.

So why does Obie and this album feel so B-listed?

I think it's memorability. There's nothing really memorable about this album. I mean, we're reminded by so many other rappers about this whole anti-snitch politic that there really is no reason to pay much attention when Obie is next in line to beat this dead horse. And the same goes with all the tough-talk songs like "Kill Me a Mutha" and "Violent" and "Average Man" and...wait! "Average Man" was from the last album wasn't it? Oh well... I think I see a pattern here.

Or not a pattern. What we're really seeing is marketing.

And that's what so depressing and defeating for a guy like Obie. With a good producer who can coach him on expanding his palette and subject matter a little bit, we might get more of songs like "Wake Up" which manage to be ghetto but a little more relevant and worth remembering.

Actually, I think the whole "bar" concept was a step in the right direction. They just never really completed the step. I thought "Cheers" with its irish green cover design, was kind of clever for a self-described "big lip" black guy. Right away, I thought I was buying a concept album that might use the bar as a background setting. Men love to talk sh** at bars, and the whole "Cheers" concept could have been the stage for Obie to tell some ghetto stories, but in a drunken fashion. And like all drunken stories they easily lend themselves to humor and exageration -- or just plain fiction! "Got Some Teeth" felt like it wanted to go there, but seemed transparent in its agenda to reach Em's audience.

Just the same, "Second Round's on Me" could have been a nice continuation of that concept. And if "Cheers" was the playful side of drinking, "Second Round" would have been the darker side. The tales told "at the bar" could be more self-reflective and regretful, like the songs "Mama" and "Obie's Story", which actually are the highlights of this album. The song "Mama" is, not lighthearted, but serve as the light and shade that every good album has. The song is produced by JR Rotem and has that 70's inner-city feel that matches perfectly with Obie's voice and vision. It airs out the album a little. And the last cut on this album, "Obie's Story" shocked the hell out of me, since it's so believable it's heartbreaking. And it's without a doubt one of the most ambitious songs I've heard -- the beat actually changes tone several times, oscillating from a childlike upbeat rhytm to aggressive and back to a celebratory optimism.

I'm not giving up on Obie. Of all of Aftermath/Shady's recent artist dispatch, Obie feels the most authentic to me. The Game put out a solid album with the Documentary, but his persona outside of the album seems uncertain. Busta is not convincing as a cocaine obsessed street hood, though sonically that album is one of the best I've heard. Obie, on the other hand is the least pretentious and actually seems like the guy you'd see rapping on the corner -- and you'd stop to listen to him. My advice is lets start a tab with Obie and tell the bartender to keep 'em coming. If he's smart, his next album will have JR Rotem as the exclusive producer, since he by far brings the most sophisticated tracks on here. Sooner or later Obie is gonna give hip-hop a classic album. I just hope it's not too late when he does it.