Xzibit

Xzibit

Alvin Nathaniel Joiner IV (born September 18 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit, is an American rapper, actor, and television personality who was born in Detroit, Michigan and was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico by his father and stepmother. He is also known for hosting MTV's Pimp My Ride. He has released a new album once every two years since his 1996 debut At the Speed of Life; his most recent Full Circle, was released in October 2006.

Rap career

Xzibit started off as a member of the Likwit Crew, a loose collective of West Coast rappers including Tha Alkaholiks and King T. After touring with them in 1995, Loud Records released the young rapper's debut album, At the Speed of Life in 1996. The album quickly became an underground hit. When Xzibit released his follow-up, 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz (1998), he was again heralded as one of the West Coast's most promising talents despite no commercial success.

He expanded his following with a series of increasingly superstar-laced albums beginning in the late 1990s, ultimately aligning himself with hip hop kingpin Dr. Dre. Xzibit's big breakthrough came when he joined Snoop Dogg for the Dr. Dre-produced hit, "Bitch Please." What followed were some high profile guest appearances on Dr. Dre's 6x platinum 2001, on songs like "What's the Difference?" and the posse song "Some L.A. Niggaz". By this time, Dre had invited the young rapper to crisscross America during summer 2000 with the massive "Up in Smoke" tour, which featured Snoop, Eminem, and Ice Cube, among many others. That winter, Loud released Xzibit's biggest-budget album yet, Restless with Dr. Dre as executive producer, which boasted the single "X". The song became the rapper's biggest hit yet, and though it did not top the charts or break him into heavy rotation on MTV, the album did well on urban radio and became his best selling album to date, going platinum.

Xzibit returned with another big-budget album, Man Vs. Machine, yet again he fell a bit short of mainstream success, although he did manage to go gold. He continued to collaborate with his closest West Coast colleagues, primarily Ras Kass and Saafir with whom he formed The Golden State Project rap collective, and tha Liks, along with bigger names like Snoop Dogg and Eminem. His allegiance to the West Coast and former colleagues continued to win him much respect from his fans, who remained dedicated if not massive in number. Weapons of Mass Destruction followed two years later which also managed to go gold. Xzibit also has his own record label called Open Bar Entertainment.

Xzibit also guest starred in the song Stand Up on the 2005 Alice Cooper album Dirty Diamonds. Xzibit used to be a part of a group called Strong Arm Steady with Mitchy Slick, Phil The Agony and Krondon, a group he practically founded. Xzibit actually left the group recently when they signed to Talib Kweli's Blacksmith Records. They are expected to release their first album, "Arms And Hammers" in the fall of 2006 under Blacksmith Music Corporation.

New Album

Someone on Wikipedia posted that Xzibit would release an album entitled More Than Just A Game... in 2008. But he stated in a MTV interview that he is thinking on his acting career than doing a new album.

Unfortunately this was pure internet rumor and none of it true according to an interview conducted on May 12th, 2007. Here's a clip for that interview:

BallerStatus.com: It states on Wikipedia.com that you're already working on a new album called More Than Just A Game.

Xzibit: Nah, that's not true and I have no idea where that's coming from. I would never name one of my albums that anyway.

Gumball 3000

In the Gumball 3000 2007 rally, Xzibit took part driving a black Lamborghini Gallardo. During the first day of the rally, Dutch police seized his driver's license for doing 160 km/h where only 100 km/h allowed. After the penalty his co-driver took over the wheel and they were allowed to continue.

Feature films

Xzibit has appeared in several acting roles on the big screen. He portrayed Duncan in Full Clip in 2004 and Dexter in Derailed in 2005. He also played Zeke in XXX: State of the Union in 2005. He had a small role as a worker at New Detroit Stamping in 8 Mile. In 2006, he starred in Hoodwinked, as the voice of Chief Grizzly. Xzibit co-stars with The Rock in the Gridiron Gang, released in 2006.

Television

Xzibit is the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride. Together with Galpin Auto Sports (GAS) (seasons 1-4 featured West Coast Customs) they refurbish and upgrade old beat-up cars with new paint jobs, beefy stereos, and other extraordinary refits. Xzibit was also featured in a guest role as a rapper on the U.S. crime drama CSI: Miami. In 2006, Xzibit was featured in a parody of his Pimp My Ride show on the Adult Swim cartoon The Boondocks.

Discography

Main article: Xzibit discography

Solo albums

• 1996: At the Speed of Life
• 1998: 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz
• 2000: Restless
• 2002: Man Vs. Machine
• 2004: Weapons of Mass Destruction
• 2006: Full Circle

Filmography

• 2006: Gridiron Gang — as Malcolm Moore
• 2006: Hoodwinked — as voice of Chief Grizzly
• 2005: Derailed — as Dexter
• 2005: XXX: State of the Union — as Zeke
• 2004: Full Clip — as Duncan
• 2004: Strong Arm Steady
• 2002: 8 Mile — as male lunch truck rapper
• 2002: G-TV
• 2001: The Wash — as Wayne, The Wash customer
• 2002: The Country Bears — himself
• 2000: Tha Eastsidaz
• 1997: Rhyme & Reason — himself

External links

• Official Xzibit website
• Xzibit at IMDb
• Template:MySpace-music
• XzibitCentral.com fansite
• Inside-Xzibit.de fansite

• Xzibit Information-Bio

Interviews

• Xzibit interview on the Tavis Smiley show
• Xzibit interview on the Tom Green online show
• Xzibit interview at britishhiphop.co.uk