Second Round's on Me: A Review of Obie Trice's Second Album

After a strong debut helmed by Eminem around the peak of Shady/Aftermath's popularity, the platinum selling Cheers, Obie Trice returned with his sophomore effort Second Round's On Me after a number of key events at the record label. Proof of D12 died, 50 Cent had declared war on a number of rappers on his 2005 album The Massacre, and G-Unit records had started to miss expectations.

None of this however seems to be the backdrop for this second solo act. Instead, Obie Trice seems to delve further away from the somewhat insular records of his debut, a full nine of which featured Shady/Aftermath affiliates such as D12 and Nate Dogg, as well as typical 2003-2005 Shady/Aftermath preoccupations with being the best in the game. There are far fewer guests on this set, and more introspective tracks, such as Wake Up, Ballad of Obie Trice, and Obie Story. Most of these recount his hardscrabble youth which wouldn't be so compelling - his backstory pales in drama compared to label-mate 50 Cent, were it not for the sincerity of his rhymes, and his intriguingly off-kilter rhyming style, which includes numerous shifts in narration type, and frequent use of both onomatopoeia and alliteration.

Obie entertains but unfortunately, the beats do not. The beats are mostly handled by Eminem and frequent collaborating producer Luis Resto, and clearly sound as if they were produced by the same sets of hands. There is nothing wrong with them per se, although they are notably darker than those of his debut. Still they generally consist of some very signature synth sounds that suffocate halfway through. Some relief is found in the Akon produced Snitch and the excellent Witt & Pepp production Cry Now, over which Obie dazzles with outstanding verses. One might think that a richer sonic palette might have allowed Obie to dig even deeper into his bag of tricks and perhaps even inspire better songwriting. Some of these tracks simply seem as if Obie is trying to prove he can ride that particular beat, and while that, in some cases, works, the tracks together don't work as well as they should as part of a cohesive whole.

That said, the album is a solid enough listen on the strength of the emcee. Obie Trice is not the best songwriter, nor is he the best lyricist, though he is definitely in the top 25% of the latter. But he is clearly dedicated to his craft, and shows remarkable growth since the last album. Second Round's On Me is worth a listen because it's clear from this album what Eminem sees in him: a strong emcee, whose most compelling weapons are his passion and his candor.

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