Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge fan of D12 and all things Shady Records. When I heard 2/6 of D12 were coming to my city along with Obie Trice, you know I had to jump on it. Naturally, I had to grab the VIP meet and greet pass too.
When the day finally came, I was unreasonable, just as nervous as I was excited. I felt like I was about to have Mom’s Spaghetti on my sweater. As I was waiting in line for my turn to meet D12, I was greeted by a man who I wasn’t familiar with. I later learned this was the hype-man/DJ that was touring with them, DJ Invisible. This guy is a ray of sunshine. His smiley persona is contagious in a way that just makes you feel comfortable where you are.
While waiting in line, I decided with my buddy that we’d meet them at the same time. We thought this would take some pressure off. Once we finally got to the front of the line, I had a nearly out of body experience as I first shook hands with Swifty. I told him how I’d been a fan of his since way before I was old enough for his music. Next, I shook hands with Kuniva. I told him I had a part in writing an interview he did for Southpawer a while back. He told me it was a great script and tied it off with a “Much Respect” acknowledgement.
As Swifty and Kuniva happily signed my D12 CD, I started making small talk. My buddy asked Swifty what his favorite track he’s ever recorded is. Swift told him he can’t really give an answer because it would be like trying to choose a favorite child. I joked with him and said “Well, you have to say you don’t have a favorite child, but secretly, deep, deep down you do”. Swifty sort of chuckled and said “Alright, I’d probably say “Loyalty” then.” Finally, we turned around to snap one of the most awkward but cherished photos in my personal history.
These guys are incredibly easy to talk to. They’re very welcoming and all about their fans. Meeting these guys feels like meeting up with a close friend that you haven’t seen in years. I get the impression that they don’t take anything they have for granted and they don’t feel entitled to have fans that have hung around to the end.
Once the D12 meet and greet was over I hung around the bar in the same room as D12 as they continued to meet more fans. I took this opportunity to make my way to the front row of the stage. Before the show started, an artist by the name of Hinch did about 30 minutes of material. I never heard of him but he definitely knows how to warm up a crowd.
Once Hinch wrapped up his set, he said goodbye to the crowd and it was time for DJ Invisible to step in and prepare us for Obie Trice. A short time later, Obie sneaks onto the stage and slips right into “Got Some Teeth”. This is one of my favorite Obie tracks, so I was very happy to see him open with it.
A short time into the set, Obie stopped to pay his respects to Nate Dogg. As he prompted the audience to all put 2 fingers in the air for Nate Dogg, he continued to perform “Look in My Eyes.”
One of the most surprising moments of his set is when he decided to tell a little untold story about Akon. I believe this was when he met him for the first time.
I was really happy to hear him perform his verse from one of the deeper album cuts from Eminem‘s Encore album, “Spend Some Time.” The hypeman also made the crowd to scream “Shady Forever” a few times.
Next, Obie did his verse from the track “S–t Hits The Fan.” Despite the fact that Obie had to cover Eminem’s part while the background vocals play, you almost don’t notice. There’s something to say about such a level of energy and validity about someone’s performance when you almost forget Em wasn’t in the room.
Speaking of Eminem, Obie humbly paid massive respects to the man himself, Marshall. It’s truly touching to hear Obie counting his blessings and not taking his Shady connection for granted.
Obie finished his set with a very raunchy rendition of “Shake That.” He invited some women from the crowd to come dance with him and things got a little… interesting. Let’s just say that it was the type of dancing that is very appropriate for “Shake That” and maybe not appropriate for children.
As Obie walked off the stage, I noticed the crew setting up for D12. I was in the first row, so I was close enough that I could actually see their setlist guide that they taped to the floor, nice!
Dj Invisible opens for D12 and hypes the crowd up.
DJ Invisible came back out on stage to keep the hype at it’s maximum while we patiently waited for D12 to make their entrance. As he comically appears to start levitating a giant D12 cap from underneath the table to his head. Soon after, D12 opens with “Rap Game”. This guy oozes charisma and DJ skills. I also very much enjoyed his wacky giant D12 hat. D12 finally came out with the crowd losing their minds; every arm in the building raised higher than Shaq on his tiptoes.
Still high off that introduction, they double up on it with “S–t On You.”
One of the biggest highlights of the entire show was when they pulled out a cover of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”. The crowd knew the words so well you could barely hear D12. The icing on the cake is when a female fan snuck on stage and started dancing with them until security had to remove her.
The hype never died down for a second during the entire show. The guy’s were determined to make that a fact. Towards the end, Kuniva and Swift even went head to head in a hype battle.
To close the show, Obie Trice returned and joined the rest of the gang for a few tracks. If I remember correctly, I believe they wound the show down with a performance of “Loyalty”
After the show, I had one thing left to do. I had to navigate through a club full of staggering drunk people and find Obie. He was supposed to be there before the show, but he was late. This made finding him after the show a little chaotic. Thankfully, I found the man and told him how incredible the show was. I pull out my Devil’s Night CD and ask for an autograph. I said “I believe this was your first appearance on the Shady Records label, if I’m not mistaken!” He paused for a second, looked at the CD cover and immediately quoted the first bar or so of his “Obie Trice” skit. I’ve never been more star-struck in my entire life. As he happily started signing the booklet of the CD, I sort of chuckled and said, “Yeah, exactly!” As I’m about to pass out from exhaustion, I get my picture with Obie, he signs, I thank him one more time and leave with some incredible memories…
You can also watch D12 performing some of their greatest hits below:
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Some photos provided by Nicholas McNamara