New Obie interview XXL

The Reformation · 08-09-2006, 08:03 PM

Obie Trice is due for some good karma. Not only did he start 2006 off by getting shot in the head, but just months later, he had to speak at the funeral of friend and label mate Proof. Then, after wrapping up the recording of his new album, Second Round’s On Me, it seemed like his Akon-assisted lead single “Snitch” had the makings of a smash hit. Unfortunately, MTV refused to play the video (the network refuses to support anything related to snitching), and the project hit a brick wall. Now, with the album’s release just weeks away, Obie is betting on two videos, one for his street smash “Cry Now” and the other for the Eminem-produced club banger “Jamaican Girl.” When XXLMAG.COM caught up with O. Trice, he seemed optimistic that the time for the big payback has finally arrived.

Was it important for you to film the “Cry Now” video in Detroit?
Yeah. Muthafucka shot me at home. I was everywhere in the city shooting that video, just showing the muthafuckas who shot me that it was some bullshit.

Which songs did you record after being shot?
I did a lot of songs. I did “Wake Up,” “Violent,” and “Cry Now” after I was shot.

How do you think being shot in the head affected you when you got back in the studio?
I was angry. You feel like, Damn, you can’t be at home? I’m a muthafucka that take demos, listen to them, I don’t big-guy you at the club. I’ll holler at you. You got some of these artists who like, “Get the fuck out my face, I ain’t signing no autographs.” So, it was just like a hurtful thing to happen to me. I went through a feeling of invincibility at one point after the shit had happened. I was scared after the shit happened. I was paranoid after the shit happened. I ain’t see people. My mother told me, “You have to get back to the person you is.” You gotta think, I didn’t get shot in the side or just anywhere. I got a 9mm hollow tip in my head less than an inch from my brain. So it’s like, one of them things like, Damn. I just went through a lot of different emotions.

On the first album, a lot of people seemed to be put off by the choice of “Got Some Teeth” as the first single. Did you take that into account when planning the new one?
Humor is a part of me. I like a laugh, and that’s why I made [“Got Some Teeth”]. It didn’t have shit to do with Marshall. He brought that out of me, but it was already there. I mean, even the most thuggiest, gangsterish, hardcore I-shoot-ya-mama muthafucka gotta laugh. At the time, it was 50 mania, so I wanted to offset myself from that. That’s when I came up with “Got Some Teeth” and the hood didn’t accept it. They thought it was some corny, quirky Eminem shit, but I appreciated it. And actually it sold me over 255,000 copies my first week, so I wasn’t mad at it. That was the shit. I still perform that song.

Were you consciously trying to get that acceptance in the hood with this album?
Yeah. It really wasn’t my sole choice. Actually, I wanted to come back with my other quirky, funny hood song called “Shady Baby” this time, but everyone’s opinion was that I shouldn’t make that mistake twice. I didn’t think I would have made a mistake the second time, I think it was dope, but the song didn’t make the album.

I heard that you were having some trouble with the video for “Snitch,” getting it played. People seemed to like the song, but then you sort of hit a wall with it, right?
Right. [Laughs.] It hit a brick wall.

Why didn’t MTV want to play the video?
They’re campaigning against anything that has to do with snitch[ing]. They felt like the video was violent. I wrote the treatment and Jesse Terrero brought it to life. I felt like it was like a movie. I think the video—the true video, not the one that they playing on TV—but the real video that you can see on Yahoo! Music, it was like a movie. I think it was good at the time when I did it. It would [have been] a great thing for the moment when it was supposed to come out. MTV was just against it, they edited it up to where it wasn’t the same video. It took away from the video. They changed the name of it. That’s kind of why the album was pushed back too, because we didn’t get that visual.

That must have been frustrating. Did you understand where MTV was coming from?
MTV is MTV. I grew up on MTV. MTV has always done what they want to do. They was like, “We like Obie over here at MTV, but we can’t support this song ‘Snitch.’” I wanted to name the song “Rat.” I wanted to name the song “Sammy the Bull.” Then I started talking to lawyers, they start saying dude can probably sue, like OutKast and Rosa Parks. So it was a bunch of different ways we were trying to go with the song, but “Snitch” ended up being it, and they kind of dogged us out. By sometime in April, we was thinking like, Yo, this video is not out yet, let’s just fall back on “Snitch,” even though it’s getting played. It got spins in a lot of places. It was added at Hot 97. All over, people appreciate the song, but you just didn’t get that visual. So we got with Justin from the Saline Project and shot a little low-budget video, “Cry Now.” It’s doing good right now and then we just shot a new video, “Jamaican Girl.” We plan to have a couple videos at once.

What was your reaction when Em first came to you with the “Jamaican Girl” beat?
I said, “I gotta jump on that.” Not just because I like the beat, but because of the whole impact of it, being that it’s Em who made it. I look at it like, my man’s made this beat. Em made this dancehall track. It was just…I had to get on it. I was like, run that, that’s me.

In the past, people have criticized Em’s beats for sounding the same, all having that kind of dark, tinny sound. But on this album, it seems like he came with a bunch of new, different sounds. How did you go about picking the beats?
How it works is I go to the studio, [Em] will be in the studio and he be just makin’ beats, beats after beats. That’s what he do all day. Beats, beats, beats. I go to my studio and I skim through the beats. It may take me three days to go through the beats. He got thousands and thousands of beats. I take maybe 200 at a time and go through them. I try to get the distinctive beats, the ones you really can’t pinpoint as Em. I play the album for people, just sit back, watch them. They’ll say, “Who did that beat?” I can see the growth in dude far as making beats.

You’ve been on a Biggie album and a Tupac album. Who do you prefer rapping next to?
I’ve always been a Biggie fan. Biggie till I die. That dude was my inspiration. Not to say ’Pac wasn’t either, but I was an extremely big B.I.G. fan. Rapping with ’Pac, when I heard the verse, I was like, Whoa. Em called me like, I want you to get on this ’Pac song “Hennessey.” I was like, Shut the fuck up! So he’s like, Come to my house. I come out there, he played the track, and I was like, Oh, okay, this is me all day. Went into one of his rooms, and it took me about maybe an hour, and it was done. We stamped it, sent it out. His mother appreciated it, and that was what’s up. The Big joint on the Duets album, that was just showing my appreciation for dude and what I went through while he was living. Big made me feel like I could do it.

Zhiwai · 08-09-2006, 08:14 PM

Props good read

alkasmolik43 · 08-09-2006, 08:32 PM

propz, good read

hasan · 08-09-2006, 08:34 PM

aight propz

Ts.Krusteff · 08-09-2006, 08:45 PM

props obie ...!!!

All Ready The MVP · 08-09-2006, 09:37 PM

ight props

UC_Ag · 08-09-2006, 09:40 PM

props man..

Young_Nicks · 08-09-2006, 09:53 PM

Propz Obie i wish they would have played snitch more so how are they going to play soul surviver and not that thats fucked up..

SM596 · 08-09-2006, 09:54 PM

props.............

Clip$ · 08-09-2006, 10:28 PM

i don't get mtv in canada wut did they change snitch's name to on mtv? and wut is different in the vid?

Scottie · 08-09-2006, 11:17 PM

Good read, props.

natas831 · 08-09-2006, 11:27 PM

props mtv's being a bitch.. snitch is hot song and a hot video they shouldnt have banned it

Vjay88 · 08-10-2006, 07:33 AM

props on this
good read
obie;s real

C.Smith · 08-10-2006, 11:09 AM

propz cant wait for this muthafuckin album

Kryptonite · 08-10-2006, 11:56 AM

propz great read

Raichu · 08-10-2006, 01:18 PM

Props, man.

Hakaroodi · 08-10-2006, 02:12 PM

Get Um Obie..!! Album Is Dope...!! Go Cop That Shit..!!

chronic89 · 08-10-2006, 02:44 PM

shit, this dude has the best album of the year but he has no hype...keep doin your thing

FAmE0uSZ 187 · 08-10-2006, 10:23 PM

iite doin it big...propz man

~DBOX~ · 08-12-2006, 09:24 PM

yea i hope his shit does ok.

McJaeWon · 08-13-2006, 06:20 AM

props... really good read...

50=Cent · 08-13-2006, 06:46 AM

props... ....

MURDA J ENT. · 08-13-2006, 02:04 PM

Huge Props On This

that-damn-good · 08-14-2006, 05:09 PM

props on this, COP SECOND ROUND'S ON ME 2MORO!!

SkateBoard D · 08-15-2006, 06:01 AM

Propzzzzz
Today Second Rounds on me chea

08-09-2006, 08:03 PM	#1
The Reformation Outlaw4life ANOTHA.com Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,181 Repped: 141 Repped 2,692 Times in 192 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	New Obie interview XXL New Obie interview XXL Obie Trice is due for some good karma. Not only did he start 2006 off by getting shot in the head, but just months later, he had to speak at the funeral of friend and label mate Proof. Then, after wrapping up the recording of his new album, Second Round’s On Me, it seemed like his Akon-assisted lead single “Snitch” had the makings of a smash hit. Unfortunately, MTV refused to play the video (the network refuses to support anything related to snitching), and the project hit a brick wall. Now, with the album’s release just weeks away, Obie is betting on two videos, one for his street smash “Cry Now” and the other for the Eminem-produced club banger “Jamaican Girl.” When XXLMAG.COM caught up with O. Trice, he seemed optimistic that the time for the big payback has finally arrived. Was it important for you to film the “Cry Now” video in Detroit? Yeah. Muthafucka shot me at home. I was everywhere in the city shooting that video, just showing the muthafuckas who shot me that it was some bullshit. Which songs did you record after being shot? I did a lot of songs. I did “Wake Up,” “Violent,” and “Cry Now” after I was shot. How do you think being shot in the head affected you when you got back in the studio? I was angry. You feel like, Damn, you can’t be at home? I’m a muthafucka that take demos, listen to them, I don’t big-guy you at the club. I’ll holler at you. You got some of these artists who like, “Get the fuck out my face, I ain’t signing no autographs.” So, it was just like a hurtful thing to happen to me. I went through a feeling of invincibility at one point after the shit had happened. I was scared after the shit happened. I was paranoid after the shit happened. I ain’t see people. My mother told me, “You have to get back to the person you is.” You gotta think, I didn’t get shot in the side or just anywhere. I got a 9mm hollow tip in my head less than an inch from my brain. So it’s like, one of them things like, Damn. I just went through a lot of different emotions. On the first album, a lot of people seemed to be put off by the choice of “Got Some Teeth” as the first single. Did you take that into account when planning the new one? Humor is a part of me. I like a laugh, and that’s why I made [“Got Some Teeth”]. It didn’t have shit to do with Marshall. He brought that out of me, but it was already there. I mean, even the most thuggiest, gangsterish, hardcore I-shoot-ya-mama muthafucka gotta laugh. At the time, it was 50 mania, so I wanted to offset myself from that. That’s when I came up with “Got Some Teeth” and the hood didn’t accept it. They thought it was some corny, quirky Eminem shit, but I appreciated it. And actually it sold me over 255,000 copies my first week, so I wasn’t mad at it. That was the shit. I still perform that song. Were you consciously trying to get that acceptance in the hood with this album? Yeah. It really wasn’t my sole choice. Actually, I wanted to come back with my other quirky, funny hood song called “Shady Baby” this time, but everyone’s opinion was that I shouldn’t make that mistake twice. I didn’t think I would have made a mistake the second time, I think it was dope, but the song didn’t make the album. I heard that you were having some trouble with the video for “Snitch,” getting it played. People seemed to like the song, but then you sort of hit a wall with it, right? Right. [Laughs.] It hit a brick wall. Why didn’t MTV want to play the video? They’re campaigning against anything that has to do with snitch[ing]. They felt like the video was violent. I wrote the treatment and Jesse Terrero brought it to life. I felt like it was like a movie. I think the video—the true video, not the one that they playing on TV—but the real video that you can see on Yahoo! Music, it was like a movie. I think it was good at the time when I did it. It would [have been] a great thing for the moment when it was supposed to come out. MTV was just against it, they edited it up to where it wasn’t the same video. It took away from the video. They changed the name of it. That’s kind of why the album was pushed back too, because we didn’t get that visual. That must have been frustrating. Did you understand where MTV was coming from? MTV is MTV. I grew up on MTV. MTV has always done what they want to do. They was like, “We like Obie over here at MTV, but we can’t support this song ‘Snitch.’” I wanted to name the song “Rat.” I wanted to name the song “Sammy the Bull.” Then I started talking to lawyers, they start saying dude can probably sue, like OutKast and Rosa Parks. So it was a bunch of different ways we were trying to go with the song, but “Snitch” ended up being it, and they kind of dogged us out. By sometime in April, we was thinking like, Yo, this video is not out yet, let’s just fall back on “Snitch,” even though it’s getting played. It got spins in a lot of places. It was added at Hot 97. All over, people appreciate the song, but you just didn’t get that visual. So we got with Justin from the Saline Project and shot a little low-budget video, “Cry Now.” It’s doing good right now and then we just shot a new video, “Jamaican Girl.” We plan to have a couple videos at once. What was your reaction when Em first came to you with the “Jamaican Girl” beat? I said, “I gotta jump on that.” Not just because I like the beat, but because of the whole impact of it, being that it’s Em who made it. I look at it like, my man’s made this beat. Em made this dancehall track. It was just…I had to get on it. I was like, run that, that’s me. In the past, people have criticized Em’s beats for sounding the same, all having that kind of dark, tinny sound. But on this album, it seems like he came with a bunch of new, different sounds. How did you go about picking the beats? How it works is I go to the studio, [Em] will be in the studio and he be just makin’ beats, beats after beats. That’s what he do all day. Beats, beats, beats. I go to my studio and I skim through the beats. It may take me three days to go through the beats. He got thousands and thousands of beats. I take maybe 200 at a time and go through them. I try to get the distinctive beats, the ones you really can’t pinpoint as Em. I play the album for people, just sit back, watch them. They’ll say, “Who did that beat?” I can see the growth in dude far as making beats. You’ve been on a Biggie album and a Tupac album. Who do you prefer rapping next to? I’ve always been a Biggie fan. Biggie till I die. That dude was my inspiration. Not to say ’Pac wasn’t either, but I was an extremely big B.I.G. fan. Rapping with ’Pac, when I heard the verse, I was like, Whoa. Em called me like, I want you to get on this ’Pac song “Hennessey.” I was like, Shut the fuck up! So he’s like, Come to my house. I come out there, he played the track, and I was like, Oh, okay, this is me all day. Went into one of his rooms, and it took me about maybe an hour, and it was done. We stamped it, sent it out. His mother appreciated it, and that was what’s up. The Big joint on the Duets album, that was just showing my appreciation for dude and what I went through while he was living. Big made me feel like I could do it.

08-09-2006, 09:40 PM	#7
UC_Ag fuck that puto! Join Date: May 2006 Location: Cali Posts: 3,571 Repped: 779 Repped 706 Times in 66 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	props man.. __________________

08-09-2006, 10:28 PM	#10
Clip$ Chris Breezy Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto Posts: 5,583 Repped: 948 Repped 443 Times in 73 Posts Neg Reps: 1 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	i don't get mtv in canada wut did they change snitch's name to on mtv? and wut is different in the vid? __________________

08-10-2006, 02:12 PM	#17
Hakaroodi G-UNIT SOLDIER Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 30,523 Repped: 14,431 Repped 952 Times in 224 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 49 Times in 45 Posts	Get Um Obie..!! Album Is Dope...!! Go Cop That Shit..!! __________________

08-14-2006, 05:09 PM	#24
that-damn-good Cerebral Assassin Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: MTL Posts: 7,589 Repped: 859 Repped 4,150 Times in 472 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	props on this, COP SECOND ROUND'S ON ME 2MORO!! __________________

08-09-2006, 08:14 PM	#2
Zhiwai G_unit_soldier_Chang Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 9,469 Repped: 15 Repped 49 Times in 8 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Props good read

08-09-2006, 08:32 PM	#3
alkasmolik43 tommy gunnz Join Date: May 2004 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 2,604 Repped: 1,174 Repped 4 Times in 3 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	propz, good read

08-09-2006, 08:34 PM	#4
hasan WEST SIDA Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 12,201 Repped: 8,471 Repped 23 Times in 11 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	aight propz

08-09-2006, 08:45 PM	#5
Ts.Krusteff Tha Cool Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Space Posts: 1,829 Repped: 799 Repped 179 Times in 179 Posts Neg Reps: 5 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	props obie ...!!!

08-09-2006, 09:37 PM	#6
All Ready The MVP KB24 AKA Mr.81 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: LAKERS CITY,CALI Posts: 4,213 Repped: 1,825 Repped 554 Times in 87 Posts Neg Reps: 3 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	ight props

08-09-2006, 09:53 PM	#8
Young_Nicks Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 936 Repped: 62 Repped 131 Times in 58 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Propz Obie i wish they would have played snitch more so how are they going to play soul surviver and not that thats fucked up..

08-09-2006, 09:54 PM	#9
SM596 Moderator Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 22,872 Repped: 2,815 Repped 24,767 Times in 4,454 Posts Neg Reps: 2 Neg Repped at 25 Times in 23 Posts	props.............

08-09-2006, 11:17 PM	#11
Scottie Give, Get Respect Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 174 Repped: 10 Repped 4 Times in 3 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Good read, props.

08-09-2006, 11:27 PM	#12
natas831 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: california Posts: 100 Repped: 0 Repped 0 Times in 0 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	props mtv's being a bitch.. snitch is hot song and a hot video they shouldnt have banned it

08-10-2006, 07:33 AM	#13
Vjay88 VJay - TakeOver Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NL/UK Posts: 2,396 Repped: 210 Repped 306 Times in 46 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	props on this good read obie;s real

08-10-2006, 11:09 AM	#14
C.Smith Dipset All Day Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 1,493 Repped: 34 Repped 197 Times in 46 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	propz cant wait for this muthafuckin album

08-10-2006, 11:56 AM	#15
Kryptonite Banned Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Massachussetts Posts: 1,279 Repped: 68 Repped 24 Times in 14 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	propz great read

08-10-2006, 01:18 PM	#16
Raichu Banned Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Yonkers Posts: 2,558 Repped: 435 Repped 91 Times in 49 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Props, man.

08-10-2006, 02:44 PM	#18
chronic89 Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Riga Posts: 349 Repped: 7 Repped 3 Times in 3 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	shit, this dude has the best album of the year but he has no hype...keep doin your thing

08-10-2006, 10:23 PM	#19
FAmE0uSZ 187 Banned Join Date: May 2006 Location: NEW YORK Posts: 5,456 Repped: 1,146 Repped 771 Times in 131 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	iite doin it big...propz man

08-12-2006, 09:24 PM	#20
~DBOX~ Valid Choice. Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 155 Repped: 43 Repped 10 Times in 3 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	yea i hope his shit does ok.

08-13-2006, 06:20 AM	#21
McJaeWon Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Sweden Posts: 264 Repped: 81 Repped 0 Times in 0 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	props... really good read...

08-13-2006, 06:46 AM	#22
50=Cent Who Run It ? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Eu Posts: 4,141 Repped: 1,301 Repped 2,263 Times in 361 Posts Neg Reps: 9 Neg Repped at 6 Times in 3 Posts	props... ....

08-13-2006, 02:04 PM	#23
MURDA J ENT. Veteran Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,892 Repped: 71 Repped 0 Times in 0 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Huge Props On This

08-15-2006, 06:01 AM	#25
SkateBoard D Its the little D Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Home Posts: 7,161 Repped: 304 Repped 468 Times in 113 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Propzzzzz Today Second Rounds on me chea __________________

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