XZIBIT
West Coast heavyweight Xzibit expanded his following with a series of increasingly superstar-laced albums beginning in the late '90s, ultimately aligning himself with Cali kingpin Dr. Dre at the decade's end. Years before, Xzibit began 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 feisty young rapper's debut album, At the Speed of Life (1996). The album became an underground hit, and when Xzibit released his follow-up, 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz (1998), he was heralded as one of the West Coast's most promising talents. Xzibit's mainstream breakthrough came when he joined Snoop Dogg for the Dre-produced coast-to-coast hit "Bitch Please." Next, he appeared on the posse song "Some L.A. Niggaz" from Dre's 2001 (1999) album, yet another high-profile appearance. By this time, Dre had obviously recognized Xzibit's talent and 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, the Dre-executive-produced Restless (2000), which boasted the single "X." The song became the rapper's biggest hit yet, but it didn't scale the charts or break him into heavy rotation at either urban radio or MTV. Two years later, Xzibit returned with another big-budget superstar-laced album, Man vs Machine (2002), and yet again he fell a bit short of mainstream success. Even so, Xzibit remained as hardcore as ever and continued to collaborate with his closest West Coast colleagues, primarily Ras Kass, Saafir, and tha Liks, along with bigger names like Snoop and Eminem. His allegiance to the West Coast and those he came up with continued to win him much respect from his fans, who remained dedicated if not massive in number. Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004) followed two years later and eventually went gold. Around this time, Xzibit began acting, playing significant roles in the films Full Clip (2004) and XXX: State of the Union (2005). He also began hosting the MTV television series Pimp My Ride in 2004. A longtime car fanatic, Xzibit was perfect for the over-the-top car restoration program and played a big role in the show's ever growing popularity. Now a household name, the rapper returned to his musical career with the ambitious Full Circle (2006), his first non-major-label album in some time. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide Written by Jason Birchmeier