Like, my n***a Lloyd Banks! Yayo hyping shit up there, 50 talking that shit. Oh yeah! That track, we had Tony Yayo in the studio. On that note, one of the best songs from Shady’s dominant run was “We All Die One Day.” What was the studio session like for that track? It definitely came as a reflection of what’s going on with Cheers. We was all on these tours, we was all going through shit. That whole mixtape run, you know, it was all of us. 50 was moving with Get Rich Or Die Tryin. We rolled to New York and we gotta be super strapped up everywhere we go. D12, Proof getting in a fight in Miami with the Terror Squad. Definitely a lot was dealing with Shady and what we all was going through. That energy from that album reflected all of that stuff. At the same time, I’m trying to maintain. On top of that, I had lost a lot of people I ran the streets with to gun violence. There was a lot going on when I was making Cheers. Getting into situations with different individuals in the industry. You gotta remember, when I was making that record, we still was doing shows and getting into situations where shit could have got real bad out there. The energy from the shit with Marshall was going through, and it definitely had an impact. Was that reflected in the energy at the label? When you first joined the Shady team and you were piecing the album together, what was the energy at the label like? Like you mentioned before, you guys were all in the middle of some major feuds. To me, and I think many people, Cheers is a classic. That’s some history right there - there was a lot of shit going on at that time. Hill, he’s a coach now for a football team I believe. We was at a studio at this guy’s house making that. Funny you mention that song “1x1” with J. We used to run around with each other a lot. I would be in the studio with Proof all the time. When word was getting around that I might sign with Marshall, me and Proof got real tight. What was your relationship with Proof like before Shady? The first song I ever heard you on was “1x1” with Proof and J. I was a really big Shady Records fan, so when you were on the radar I did my best to dive into your catalog back in the day. As far as in the Cyphers, in a circle battling other dudes, I never did that. It was later on in life I started getting into the battling. When my career was going off, when we was getting into it and had issues with certain cats in the industry. I wasn’t into the whole battle rap thing until later on. I used to go to the Hip-Hop Shop, and I’d just flow up there. All the spots in Detroit back in the day. I’ve always been going to the Cyphers, the Hip-Hop Shops, the Lush, St. He got a whiff of me and he got it popping from there. During that time, Marshall was getting on with his career. Trice.” “Dope, Job, Homeless,” “Gimmie My DAT Back,” “Well Known Asshole.” All these songs I put out back then kinda gave me a push in Detroit. I had put out some independent music a long time ago, some vinyl records. How did you carry yourself when you first decided to take music seriously? When did you realize you were making waves in your local scene? You’re laying down threats in an articulate, eloquent fashion. I was just listening to “Go To Sleep” with you, Em, and DMX - your verse on that is crazy. It’s always been the way I approach a project.
I’m into finessing words and matching them together. I get a word a day emailed to me every day. My father used to have me in the dictionary, reading words and learning words when I was a kid. You know, I’ve always been in the dictionary since I was little. Your vocabulary, the way you structure your verse with multisyllabic schemes. Scrapping the ones that aren’t too eyebrow-raising. At times I go in there just making records and picking out which ones feel the best. Something like The Fifth, I wanted to do a record that moved. I try to put together a project that’s pertaining to a particular style of music. When you go to the studio, do you have a vision of what you want to do, or do you let the process take control? You strike me as an artist who really thinks about the arrangement of a project when you’re putting it together. I like to put out music and continue my catalog. How does it feel to look back on another chapter of your discography? Hey Obie, how you doing? Thanks so much for taking the time.