“Obie Trice – real name, no gimmicks,” may be the opening line to Eminem’s hit “Without Me,” but it might not hold true with the publicity stunt Eminem is working on for Obie’s solo album.
Obie Trice will release his debut record “Cheers” on Sept. 23 on Shady Records.
In three of the first 500,000 copies are special bonuses: three Willy Wonka-style tickets to hang out with Obie’s producer Eminem.
Three lucky would-be-Veruca Salts will win a trip to Detroit to hang at the studio while Eminem records his new CD.
Obie’s producer Eminem has been working overtime to get the word out on his protegee.
Eminem has been seen on TV wearing shirts with the rapper’s name on it, but no marketing ploy compares to this one.
On a quote from Obie’s Web site the rapper explains the lengths he is using to publicize his new record.
“Everybody’s always doing the same s**t with their records,” Trice said. “‘Buy my album, get a DVD, get a free poster, get a piece of my toliet seat’ . . . f**k all that s**t. We wanted to come with the hottest ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ type s**t for a contest. When I was a kid I would have given a nut to win something like this.”
With CD sales in a slump and downloading seemingly to blame, Eminem and Obie are making a bold push to get people to take a chance and actually buy a CD.
Katara Williams, a mass communication graduate student, said she understands Eminem’s use of promotion.
“People use different tactics to promote various industries. If it makes the person he is promoting more marketable, then go for it,” Williams said.
It still is questionable the chance to meet Eminem will have people snatching up multiple copies of Obie’s album.
Obie’s sound is reminiscent of Eminem. On his debut single “Got Some Teeth,” he raps about a revelation after a night of partying.
Obie raps, “If I leave here tonight and I fall asleep, and I wake up, hopefully she got some teeth.”
Not everyone is convinced Obie is the next Eminem.
Business administration junior K.T. Wilkinson said he heard “Got Some Teeth.”
“I didn’t like it. It sounds like Eminem,” said Wilkinson.
Some fans of Eminem might not be convinced to buy Obie’s CD for a chance to meet their hero, either.
“I just like Eminem, not Obie Trice. I would buy Em’s CD no matter what,” said Sean Young, a computer science senior.
Who has the golden ticket on Sept. 23 may prove if Eminem is as much a marketing genius as a rap superstar or if Obie Trice can sell records with no Oompa Loompas required.