Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
For Cheers, his debut album, Obie Trice had some tough acts to follow. Less than a year earlier, fellow Shady Records signee 50 Cent had released the year's best-selling rap album, and before that, Eminem's burgeoning label had a pair of other multi-platinum, hit-filled releases: his own The Eminem Show and the 8 Mile soundtrack. Chances were, no matter how remarkable his album debut, Trice wasn't going to match the success of his predecessors -- not by a long shot. Perhaps that's why he begins his album with "Average Man," a standoffish statement-of-purpose that showcases his humble persona. Trice is certainly no "P.I.M.P." like 50, nor is he so self-important that he lashes out at "White America" like Eminem. He's just an "Average Man," a long-struggling rapper from Detroit who "rose from zero to hope." This theme of urban actualization informs the majority of Cheers: the evolution from nickel-and-dime hustling to big-time rapping ("Here's a toast to never looking back again...this is it, my niggas/This what we boast about," he raps on the title track). Discounting his affiliations, Trice is just another poor dude from the hood with nothing to lose, through and through, and that in itself is novel circa 2003, when innumerable ghetto-fabulous, Pinocchio-nosed rappers made a business of telling tall tales and gloating ad infinitum. Of course, it helps that Trice gets top-shelf productions from Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Timbaland, as well as high-profile features from Em, Dre, 50, Nate Dogg, and Busta Rhymes. Like 50's Get Rich or Die Tryin', which was similarly conceived by the Shady collective, Cheers is such a well-crafted album that it's a worthwhile listen regardless of whether or not you care much for the protagonist himself. Trice is a fine rapper -- thoughtful, sincere, gruff, and quick -- but perhaps a bit too "average" for casual rap listeners. In fact, you could call him middle-of-the-road: hardcore but not gangsta; swaggering but not big-pimpin'; witty but not hysterical; smart but not brilliant. That's okay, though. It's his persona -- he's the Everyman rapper. And besides, his producers more than compensate for his plainness, as does the solidness of his album. Cheers boasts 74 straight minutes of inventive production, original ideas, thought-out lyrics, and straight-up MCing -- even if it lacks outright hits à la "In da Club" or "Lose Yourself." So cheers, indeed -- to Trice, that is -- because his debut is quite an accomplishment and deserves accolade, even if it's not a commercial juggernaut like its fellow Shady releases.
© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Marshall Mathers, ComposerLyricist - Luis Resto, Producer, Keyboards, Additional Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Mixer, Guitar, Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steven King, ComposerLyricist - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Marshall Mathers, ComposerLyricist - Luis Resto, Producer, Keyboards, Additional Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Mixer, Guitar, Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steven King, ComposerLyricist - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Marshall Mathers, ComposerLyricist - Trevor Horn, ComposerLyricist - Luis Resto, Producer, Keyboards, Additional Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Mixer, Bass Guitar, Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Anne Dudley, ComposerLyricist - Kevin Bell, ComposerLyricist - Steven King, ComposerLyricist - Malcolm McLaren, ComposerLyricist - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Jeffrey Bass, ComposerLyricist - Rich Hunt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Marshall Mathers, ComposerLyricist - Luis Resto, Producer, Keyboards, Additional Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, FeaturedArtist, StudioPersonnel - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records
Marshall Mathers, ComposerLyricist - Luis Resto, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Emile Haynie, ComposerLyricist - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Emile, Producer - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Nathaniel Hale, ComposerLyricist - Mike Elizondo, Producer, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Andre R. Young, ComposerLyricist - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Dr. Dre, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Rouble Kapoor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mauricio "Veto" Iragorri, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Tim Mosley, ComposerLyricist - Senator Jimmy D, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Timbaland, Producer, Mixer, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Demacio "Demo" Castellon, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jimmy Douglas, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Mike Elizondo, Producer, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Steve King, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Dinkins, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Dr. Dre, Producer, Mixer, FeaturedArtist, StudioPersonnel - Rouble Kapoor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Rich Hunt, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mauricio "Veto" Iragorri, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Marvin Isley, ComposerLyricist - Christopher Jasper, ComposerLyricist - Ernest Isley, ComposerLyricist - Marshall Mathers, ComposerLyricist - Luis Resto, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Christopher Wallace, ComposerLyricist - FREDWRECK, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, Co-Producer, StudioPersonnel - Ronald Isley, ComposerLyricist - RUDOLPH ISLEY, ComposerLyricist - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - O'Kelly Isley Jr., ComposerLyricist - Farid Karam Nassar, ComposerLyricist - Rich Hunt, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Luis Resto, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Steve King, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, FeaturedArtist, StudioPersonnel - 50 Cent, FeaturedArtist - Obie Trice, MainArtist - Lloyd Banks, FeaturedArtist
℗ 2003 Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records
Luis Resto, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Denaun Porter, Producer - Steve King, Mixer, Guitar, Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Obie Trice, MainArtist - Kon Artis, FeaturedArtist - Rich Hunt, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records
Nathaniel Hale, ComposerLyricist - Luis Resto, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Elizondo, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Nate Dogg, MainArtist - Andre R. Young, ComposerLyricist - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Rich Hunt, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Marshall Mathers, ComposerLyricist - Luis Resto, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, FeaturedArtist, StudioPersonnel - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Rich Hunt, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Marshall Mathers, ComposerLyricist - Luis Resto, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Emile Haynie, ComposerLyricist - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, Co-Producer, StudioPersonnel - Emile, Producer - Coco, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Mike Elizondo, Producer, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Steve King, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Busta Rhymes, FeaturedArtist - Obie Trice, MainArtist - Dr. Dre, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Rouble Kapoor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Rich Hunt, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mauricio "Veto" Iragorri, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Marshall Mathers, ComposerLyricist - Luis Resto, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steve King, Mixer, Guitar, Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Bass, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steven King, ComposerLyricist - Obie Trice, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Jeffrey Bass, ComposerLyricist - Rich Hunt, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - 87 Ent. Definite, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2003 Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records
Steve King, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - D12, FeaturedArtist - Mike Strange, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eminem, Producer, Mixer, FeaturedArtist, StudioPersonnel - Obie Trice, MainArtist - Rich Hunt, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2003 Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records
Obie Trice, MainArtist
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Obie Trice, MainArtist
℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Album review
For Cheers, his debut album, Obie Trice had some tough acts to follow. Less than a year earlier, fellow Shady Records signee 50 Cent had released the year's best-selling rap album, and before that, Eminem's burgeoning label had a pair of other multi-platinum, hit-filled releases: his own The Eminem Show and the 8 Mile soundtrack. Chances were, no matter how remarkable his album debut, Trice wasn't going to match the success of his predecessors -- not by a long shot. Perhaps that's why he begins his album with "Average Man," a standoffish statement-of-purpose that showcases his humble persona. Trice is certainly no "P.I.M.P." like 50, nor is he so self-important that he lashes out at "White America" like Eminem. He's just an "Average Man," a long-struggling rapper from Detroit who "rose from zero to hope." This theme of urban actualization informs the majority of Cheers: the evolution from nickel-and-dime hustling to big-time rapping ("Here's a toast to never looking back again...this is it, my niggas/This what we boast about," he raps on the title track). Discounting his affiliations, Trice is just another poor dude from the hood with nothing to lose, through and through, and that in itself is novel circa 2003, when innumerable ghetto-fabulous, Pinocchio-nosed rappers made a business of telling tall tales and gloating ad infinitum. Of course, it helps that Trice gets top-shelf productions from Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Timbaland, as well as high-profile features from Em, Dre, 50, Nate Dogg, and Busta Rhymes. Like 50's Get Rich or Die Tryin', which was similarly conceived by the Shady collective, Cheers is such a well-crafted album that it's a worthwhile listen regardless of whether or not you care much for the protagonist himself. Trice is a fine rapper -- thoughtful, sincere, gruff, and quick -- but perhaps a bit too "average" for casual rap listeners. In fact, you could call him middle-of-the-road: hardcore but not gangsta; swaggering but not big-pimpin'; witty but not hysterical; smart but not brilliant. That's okay, though. It's his persona -- he's the Everyman rapper. And besides, his producers more than compensate for his plainness, as does the solidness of his album. Cheers boasts 74 straight minutes of inventive production, original ideas, thought-out lyrics, and straight-up MCing -- even if it lacks outright hits à la "In da Club" or "Lose Yourself." So cheers, indeed -- to Trice, that is -- because his debut is quite an accomplishment and deserves accolade, even if it's not a commercial juggernaut like its fellow Shady releases.
© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 19 track(s)
- Total length: 01:19:37
- Main artists: Obie Trice
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Polydor Associated Labels
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records ℗ 2003 Shady Records/Interscope Records
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.