Obie Trice III was born on November 14, 1977 in Detroit, Michigan. Him and his three brothers were raised by his mother. Obie Trice began rapping at the age of eleven and is most known for his time spent signed to Shady Records. After his departure from Shady Records in June 2008, Trice would go on to launch his own independent record label, Black Market Entertainment on May 7, 2010. He is mixed race; of African American and German descent.

Obie Trice went by the name of Obie 1 early in his career, but when he first met Proof, who was about to introduce him at the Hip Hop Shop, Proof asked him, “What’s your name? Your real name, no gimmicks.” He was then introduced as Obie Trice, and has since kept his real name as his rap name. Trice was introduced to Eminem through D12 member Bizarre. Eminem was impressed when Trice freestyled for him in a car park through a window, whilst Eminem was in a car.

Trice would go on to release five studio albums and a slew of mixtapes. His most recent album titled The Fifth was released on August 23, 2019.