MOG

If you got tired of Eminem and the whole 50 Cent thing after about 5 minutes, that'd be perfectly understandable. 50 got real old after he started doin' the same shit that he was makin' diss records towards Ja Rule about, but that's a whole different post.

Only one thing is surtin (shameless plug? damn straight), the only thing that came out of Detroit on the side of Hip-Hop has been either Royce Da 5'9 or Obie Trice. Sure Eminem was hot on the Marshall Mather's LP, but Cheers was straight forward with lyrics that felt, and probably were, completely original and truthful.

Though it seemed like most people slept on Cheers, since it wasn't pushed half as hard as a Tony Gayo record. But if you didn't sleep on it, or caught Obie on mixtapes or anything like that, you know he puts his all in what he does. Or at least that's what comes through on the record for me. With tracks like "Lay Down" and "Cry Now" this album should definitely make those who slept realize what they missed out on.

Again he tells the tales of his relationship with his mom and all the things he had to endure like a lot of black males in inner cities, and puts it in a way that anyone could acknowledge. Unlike Young Jeezy and a lot of Southern rappers right now talkin' about the crack game with no other real tales of substance, Obie Trice tells a story on each track like many of the past and present great rappers. Not to mention "The Ballad of Obie Trice" puts this record on a whole new level for me, with it's production and clever lyrics, I can't say enough about this track.

Right now this record will definitely be in heavy rotation on my iPod, just because it's a lot better than every other record that's been released recently. Go cop yer copy and enjoy.