Obie Trice, Auckland NZ, 2018

Obie Trice 

27th July 2018
Neck Of The Woods, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review & Photography by Sarah Kidd.

When an icon like Obie Trice states that he’s come to party, you best damn believe it.

In the crystalline early hours of Saturday morning which the officially billed Friday night show had now filtered into, Auckland fans were more than ready to raise their glasses and welcome the native Detroit rapper to the stage.

Accompanied not only by the astounding DJ King who appeared to be packing a couple of AK-47’s with the amount of bullet sound effects he let off during the show but also by none other than Swifty McVay of the dirty dozen D12 themselves and you had a show that most hip-hop fans could only dream about.

Clambering at the barrier, those said fans could not believe their luck at having hip-hop of this calibre perform in such an intimate venue, phones like fireflies hovered in the air less than a metre from Obie and Swifty as they hit the ground running, dropping ‘Oh!’ on the crowd and immediately hyping them up to sing along to the catchy chorus.

Born and raised on the west side of Detroit, Obie is said to have taught himself how to rap thanks to his mother’s gift of a karaoke machine at the age of eleven. By fourteen he was entering rap battles, going by the name Obie 1. But thanks to Proof from D12, the young rapper was soon performing under his actual birth name of Obie Trice – one of the very few rappers in the world to do so.

And the infamous line ‘Obie Trice: real name, no gimmicks’ is certainly one that he lives by. Sure tonight has a couple of those little hip-hop live show clichés, calls for the ladies to scream happily being met with at full volume; but when it comes down to the actual material and pulling no punches, Trice is an expert in delivery.

From ‘Spread Yo Shit’ to getting the crowd to once again raise their glasses to the TV Show theme from Cheers by Voidoid (after which his debut album is named) Trice is very deliberate about every move he makes.

Chants of ‘Fuck Donald Trump’ certainly let us know what his feelings on the current POTUS were while his genuinely emotional performance of ‘Don’t Come Down’ dedicated to his mother Elanore Trice who tragically lost her battle with breast cancer clearly resonated with many in the room.

Clutching a bottle of Hennessy from which he lubricated his vocal chords often Trice took the crowd on a journey through not only his music but that of his “forefathers”, instilling in all those present the importance of acknowledging those that have come before you; rappers such as 2Pac and Nate Dogg who while sadly no longer being on this earth will none the less continue to influence the sound of hip-hop for many years to come.

The inclusion of Swifty on the tour was a stroke of genius, the camaraderie between the two obvious as they not only played off of each other but allowed each their individual moment to shine, tonight’s show containing more than just a couple of D12 tracks to the audience’s delight.

The secret to a long career is whether an artist can deliver live and this is something that Trice is a master at; sure his flow is on point, his deviant humour and cheeky smile on display for all to see, his lyricism second to none.

But Trice also knows how to connect with his audience, those in the first few rows tonight feeling as if they are almost part of the show itself in more ways than one.

Even at the end of the set – unlike most artists – Trice decided to stay on stage and DJ for a while, his comedic side shining through as he danced behind the desk, bottle of Hennessy still firmly gripped between two fingers.

Obie Trice is a bridge between the past and the present of hip-hop, an artist that draws from his roots while quite clearly keeping his finger not only of the pulse of today, but firmly within the artery itself.

Were you there at Neck Of The Woods for this magnificent hip hop gig? Or have you seen Obie Trice perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Oh!
2. Lay Low
3. Spread Yo Shit
4. Go To Sleep
5. Obie Trice Rap Name
6. Pimp Like Me
7. Don’t Come Down
8. The Setup
9. What You Gonna Do
10. Fight Music
11. Hennessy
12. 2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted
13. Pave The Way
14. Instigator
15. Snitch
16. American Psycho II
17. Shit Can Happen
18. We All Die One Day
19. Blow My Buzz
20. Clap Wit Me
21. Purple Pills
22. Got Some Teeth
23. My Name Is
24. Criminal

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