Cheers is the debut album by the American rapper Obie Trice. It was released on September 23, 2003, by Shady Records and Interscope Records. Eminem served as the executive producer for this album. This album serves as Trice's first release from Shady Records since being signed in 2000. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Production
The standard edition of the album consisted of seventeen tracks; Eminem served as executive producer and handled most of the audio production by himself. Additional audio production was provided by Denaun Porter, Dr. Dre, Emile, Fredwreck, Jeff Bass, Luis Resto, Mike Elizondo and Timbaland. The bonus tracks "8 Miles" and "Synopsis" had their audio production handled by DJ Green Lantern and DJ Muggs, respectively. Featured artists on Cheers include Eminem, Nate Dogg, Timbaland, Lloyd Banks, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, D12 and Busta Rhymes.
Content
The title track celebrates Obie's successful debut into the rap game after being in the Detroit underground for many years. Topics Obie has touched on this album include his life on the streets of Detroit, problems with his mother, relationships with women and the soulful reminder that, despite having made it into the mainstream, he has not forgotten his friends.
Diss songs
;"Shit Hits the Fan"
The track "Shit Hits the Fan" is a track which insults Ja Rule. Examples of disses from Dr. Dre in the track are: "This little nigga, Ja Rule, Talking bout he's gonna slap me, Nigga please, you gotta jump and swing up to hit me at the knees." At the end of the song, Obie spoke over the beat telling Ja Rule to, "Go behind all the gangsta's you want. Matter of fact get every gangsta from every hood in the United States of America to back you. Ain't nobody reppin' with you, you can't see that?" This was intended to mock Ja Rule's street credibility, declaring that no one was backing him again and that he "fell off."
;"We All Die One Day"
The track "We All Die One Day" is a diss to Benzino and The Source. Examples from Lloyd Banks include a subliminal shot at Ja Rule and Irv Gotti like, 'Your boss and your captain soft'. Eminem dissed The Source with lines like, 'We burn Source covers like fuckin' Cypress Hill'.
;"Outro"
The track "Outro", which features D12 in the song, was a diss to Murder Inc. Records and Benzino.
Artwork and packaging
The album's title is a homage to the long running NBC sitcom of the same name, and the album cover features a logo similar to that used on the show.
Reception
Commercial
The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with 226,000 copies sold in its first week. It went on to be certified Gold in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Critical
Cheers garnered generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".
- "Don't Come Down" samples from "When You Believe" by Quincy Jones and Táta Vega
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|US Billboard 200
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|US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
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