Detroit rapper
Obie Trice is widely known as a protégé of controversial hip-hop superstar
Eminem. With appearances on
Em's
8 Mile soundtrack and a debut album,
Cheers, in the can,
Trice reaches for the brass ring on the follow-up,
Second Round's on Me. And he gets off to a brilliant start with lead-off single "Since They Wanna Know." Built out of the powerhouse hometown hard-rock of Power of Zeus's 1970 hitter "It Couldn't Be Me," the track became the unofficial theme song of the third season of HBO's series Entourage, and was subsequently heard by millions. Leaning heavily on a mid-paced, paranoid gangsta rap production style, evidenced on tracks like "They Wanna Kill Me" and "Snitch" (a duet with
Akon),
Trice stakes his claim as a tough, swaggering performer whose self-awareness never undermines his hard, ghetto edge.