Description
Obie Trice III was born and raised on the west side of Detroit, Michigan by his mother, along with three brothers. He is of African-American and distant European descent. Trice was given a karaoke machine by his mother when he was eleven and he used it to rhyme over instrumentals from artists such as N.W.A. By the age of fourteen, he was attending rap battle gatherings around Detroit, including the Hip Hop Shop, where he and his friends would go on Saturday afternoons. Trice signed to Shady Records in 2000. He created a freestyle skit on the D12 album Devil’s Night, following up with the line “Obie Trice: real name, no gimmicks”, from Eminem’s The Eminem Show lead single, “Without Me”, as well as the song “Drips”. Later in 2002, Trice rapped on songs for the 8 Mile soundtrack, and also had a cameo appearance in the film as a rapper in a parking lot. Trice’s debut album, Cheers, was released on September 9, 2003 with its first single “Got Some Teeth” being well received on radio in a number of countries. The single peaked at number fifty four on the Billboard Hot 100, and number eight in the United Kingdom in October 2003. He also released the singles “The Set Up” and “Don’t Come Down”. The album was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA.