Any of my readers in the US who aren't that familiar with hip-hop (read: absolutely no-one) would probably look at the title of this post and the album cover above and go "wait... why is a hip-hop page reviewing an album by that guy that hosted Pimp My Ride? That guy has a hip-hop album?". This is the sad reality we face: nowadays, Xzibit is looked at as some kind of reverse Shaquille O'Neal, a person attempting to make a rap career who is famous for something completely different (reverse because, while I believe Shaq was a basketballer first, X begun his illustrious career with rapping, before moving on to shouting about cars and moonlighting on episodes of The X-Files). Xzibit, to most people, is the host of Pimp My Ride, and nothing else. Surely the guy that put a swimming pool in the back of someone's car wasn't at one point a serious rapper?
Well, you're all wrong.
Xzibit released his debut album, At the Speed Of Life, in late 1996, having had a rough upbringing that involved being sent to prison, and then shortly after leaving home, relocating from Albuquerque to Los Angeles (something that would later come back to haunt him, as The Game has recounted). This move led to him meeting up with already established West Coast group Tha Alkaholiks, whom X would work with on their 1995 group release Coast II Coast, as well as on a 1995 King Tee track "Free Style Ghetto", from his album IV Life. Xzibit's impressive performances on these projects led to his signing with Loud Records (who also had acts such as the aforementioned Alkaholiks, Wu-Tang Clan, Sadat X and Mobb Deep signed - not bad company for someone who had just a few years before been directionless and incarcerated), and this inevitably led to a solo album being released, one that goes by the slightly nonsensical title of At the Speed Of Life.
The album was headed up by the single "Paparazzi", a track that was absolutely removed from anything you might expect to hear on the radio - in fact, the song lashed out at those who had sold their soul for the fame and glory, and some people (such as 2Pac) inferred the song to be about them, directing disses towards poor Alvin, who was only trying to make the rap game good again (ironic as the song came out during arguably the best period for hip-hop music ever). The track was well-received, as was the album when it came out, even though not that many people actually heard it, despite the guest list that included King Tee, Tha Alkaholiks and Ras Kass, among others. After this, X released one more album before being snatched up by Dr. Dre, catapulted into the stratosphere, and the rest is, of course, history.
Xzibit's debut album is actually often considered a classic, but only by the few people that have heard it - this album is not that well known at all. Therefore, if it's good, we can safely refer to it as "underrated", despite its consistent praise. Xzibit is one of my favourite West Coast MCs of all time, though, so that should tell you something about what the conclusion of this post will read like.
1. Grand Opening (Interlude) (prod. Craig Sherrad)
This probably should have been listed as an "intro" rather than an "interlude", as it is of course technically impossible to begin with an interlude. A strange way to begin, as Xzibit has nothing whatsoever to do with this instrumental track, this is still a really smooth way to introduce us to the world of Xzibit, and the instrumental is well produced and chill. And plus, anything's better than an insufferable skit.
2. At the Speed Of Life (prod. Thayod Ausar)
Xzibit starts things off with a song that would certainly stir up similar feelings to the lead single "Paparazzi", thanks to the dark and menacing instrumental, and lyrics that basically say "the rap game is dead", a sentiment that seems terrifically ungrateful today, what with hip-hop being a lot worse now than it was then (it's still a lot better now than in the late 2000s, though). Anyway, this track is basically incredible. Xzibit's aggressive and passionate delivery makes you really feel the anger in what he is saying, and the Taxi Driver sample on the intro is a good way to summarize the contents of the track (I always love it when rappers sample movie scenes that actually relate to the lyrical content). That beat is eerie and atmospheric as well. Fans of Pimp My Ride or Gumball 3000 Rallies will probably fall out of their seats with shock at this, as would the casual West Coast hip-hop listener at the time. X truly was revolutionary.
3. Just Maintain (feat. Hurricane Gee) (prod. E-Swift)
Although J-Ro is inexplicably not credited within the liner notes, he also features here alongside mrs. Gee, with a couple of short appearances. Hurricane Gee, also known as Erick Sermon's ex-girlfriend, pops up here somehow, despite having no apparent ties to mr. X-to-the-Z. It's also strange how each of my posts seems to inadvertently connect - in the last one, I wrote about Redman's Dare Iz a Darkside, which featured a slightly younger Hurricane Gee, and before that I wrote about Method Man's Tical, promoted alongside Dare Iz a Darkside by Def Jam. Weird. It's all unintentional, I promise. Anyway, this track is lyrically pretty good, although it does come across as a little basic compared to the previous song.
4. Eyes May Shine (prod. E-Swift)
Now, this is more like it. The beat on here evokes anger and struggle, and sounds like it came right out of the drain in my back garden (in a good way, if that makes any sense). Meanwhile, Xzibit displays some highly impressive lyrical abilities on here that he would seem to lose right around the time his first Pimp My Ride cheque came through the letterbox. Also, this track contains a sample from Mobb Deep's "The Start Of Your Ending (41st Side)", which is made even more interesting due to the fact that this track was later remixed to include brand new verses from Havoc and Prodigy (R.I.P.). That's some pretty genius marketing if you ask me.
5. Positively Negative (feat. King Tee) (prod. Craig Sherrad)
Xzibit teams up with The Alkaholiks affiliate King Tee for a collaboration that makes a lot of sense. The two work well together, with Tee's loud and wise voice being in contrast to Xzibit's more gritty vocals. The beat on here leaves a bit to be desired, but overall I thought this was still a successful collaboration. It's interesting how X and Tee work together here (and, of course, they collaborated on Tee's 1995 album too, as I mentioned before if you were paying attention), when later they would both be snapped up by a certain Andre Young, each with mixed results (X coming off of the affiliation a little better, it must be said).
6. Don't Hate Me (Interlude) (prod. Thayod Ausar)
Not a skit, thank you very much. No, this is an INTERLUDE. I still don't mind this though, as that beat is very nice, although a short verse would have been preferable to hearing X shout a bunch of people out, before then ridiculously contradicting himself by saying "I would send shout-outs, but I ain't got no-one to send them too". Someone had definitely tampered with the studio's weed dispenser that day, that's for sure.
7. Paparazzi (prod. Thayod Ausar)
8. The Foundation (prod. DJ Muggs)
9. Mrs. Crabtree (Interlude) (prod. E-Swift & Saafir)
There's really no reason for this to be here, but if they left out the obnoxious classroom sounds, then this instrumental could have potential. I wonder what Saafir added to the production - I've never seen his name on a producer list anywhere else.
10. Bird's Eye View (feat. Catastrophe & J-Ro (Tha Alkaholiks)) (prod. Diamond D)
No idea why Tash is credited as "Catastrophe" on here. Maybe the spellchecker went mad, or perhaps someone just really, REALLY didn't like Tash, enough to refer to his appearance simply as a "catastrophe". Whatever. This song is good, but only when played through speakers - listen to this on headphones, and you will quickly get a headache, especially during that outro. Also, Hurricane Gee is back, to recite a line she spit on Redman's "We Run N.Y.", which, again, for reasons I mentioned earlier, is weird.
11. Hit & Run (Part II) (prod. Craig Sherrad)
Bloody horrific. After an annoying skit featuring someone who I think I'm suppose to have heard of, but haven't, called Ron Hightower, the dull beat comes in, and X hears it, before wandering into the studio apparently drunk and spitting some completely unreasonably misogynistic lyrics, especially during the hook, which I'm not going to type out here, as I'll just be sick. It's worth noting that this is a sequel to the song X appeared on on Tha Alkaholiks' Coast II Coast album, predictably called "Hit and Run", which was also misogynistic, but not quite to such a degree. This song is horrific, that's all you really need to know.
12. Carry the Weight (prod. Thayod Ausar)
After the dismal piece of music that was "Hit & Run (Part II)", X brings things right back with a heartfelt and passionate track that details why exactly he is so angry all the time (it could also explain his unpleasant attitude on the last track), and it's brilliant. The beat on here is intense, once again proving Thayod Ausar as an incredibly underrated and underused producer, and Xzibit brings the necessary energy on here for the subject matter. The fact that this is so incredible further begs the question: what the hell was he thinking with that last song?!
13. Plastic Surgery (feat. Ras Kass & Saafir) (prod. E-Swift)
And so, the first grouping of the fabled Golden State Warriors (later renamed Golden State Project after they were forced to change the original title due to legal reasons), and it's nothing too special, even if I still do quite enjoy it. The beat is nice, and all the MCs do their thing without question, but there's a lack of replayability here, I feel. Maybe it's the goofy hook, I don't know. Still, not bad, and while we're here, does anyone else think that Saafir sounds very similar to Lord Have Mercy of Flipmode Squad? Maybe it's just me, but their drawled, horrorcore deliveries are definitely giving off similar vibes.
14. Enemies & Friends (prod. DJ Pen One)
Xzibit utilises his deep voiced alter ego on this track to talk about the oft-discussed topic of enemies and friends, and the results are pretty solid, if perhaps an underwhelming way to end the project. Couldn't "Carry the Weight" or "The Foundation" have carried us out instead? Anyway, this is still good, with a pretty sinister beat for X to rhyme on, so that's nice.
15. Last Words (Interlude) (prod. Craig Sherrad)
I do wish these weren't listed as "interludes". It's an outro, for God's sake!! This is the exact same instrumental as the one seen on the intro, which is something very unusual for a rap album, which I suppose reflects some of X's unique topics of discussion on here. Still a dope beat.
And so, At the Speed Of Life is definitely one to be titled as "underrated". It's not a perfect album by any means, with one terrible track and a few that only qualify as "solid", alongside some of the best tracks in the entire history of hip-hop, meaning that this is far from a consistent listen, and that factor of consistency is definitely something Xzibit would find difficult with almost every subsequent release. However, there's still no denying really that this is a classic album - how are you gonna have "Paparazzi", "At the Speed Of Life", "The Foundation" and "Carry the Weight" all on one album, and not have a classic? It's not possible, and as such, I've got to recommend this one, and I will do so gladly. The project has a really clean overall vibe to it, and Xzibit delivers consistently catchy, impressive and memorable verses throughout (well, except for on "Hit & Run (Part II)", which is offensively bad). This isn't the debut of a promising rapper, it's the release of what seems to be an established legend, one who happened to be established right as this album dropped. This is an excellent piece of work, and definitely worth a listen. Watch out for "Hit & Run (Part II)" though, especially if you dislike mention of "hard penetration". Don't say I didn't warn you!!
Best Tracks: At the Speed Of Life, Eyes May Shine, Positively Negative, Paparazzi, The Foundation, Carry the Weight
Worst Tracks: Hit & Run (Part II)
Image for "The Foundation" single cover taken from: Genius
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