Xzibit
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| Xzibit | |
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 Xzibit performing live in Berlin, 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alvin Nathaniel Joiner |
| Also known as | X to tha Z |
| Born | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Origin | Los Angeles,California, United States |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, actor, TV host |
| Years active | 1995 – present |
| Label(s) | Loud, Sony, Open Bar, Koch |
| Associated acts | Likwit Crew, Tha Alkaholiks, Ras Kass, Kurupt, Saafir, Jellyroll, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem |
| Website | www.xzibit.com |
Alvin Nathaniel Joiner 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 Los Angeles, California 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 until his most recent Full Circle, which was released in October 2006.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
At a very young age he was taught to write by his mother Trena who passed away when Xzibit was nine years old.[citation needed] His father re-married and the family moved from Detroit to Los Angeles where Xzibit spent his adolescence. At the age of 13, Xzibit began listening to rap and writing lyrics. But it didn't go over well with his retired Marine father and strict stepmother, who were both Jehovah's Witnesses. From 14 to 17, Xzibit spent much of his time on the streets of Los Angeles and began to get into trouble. His misfortunes followed him to school and he was expelled from the high schools in L.A. In the song "Carry the Weight" Xzibit tells the story about the crazy driven life he has had during the childhood.
[edit] Rise to fame
Xzibit started off as a member of the West Coast Crew, a loose collective of West Coast rappers including Tha Alkaholiks and King Tee. After touring with them in 1995, Loud Records released the young rapper's debut album, At the Speed of Life in 1996. He expanded his following with a series of 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 album 2001, on songs like "What's the Difference?" and "Some L.A. Niggaz". By this time, Dre had invited the young rapper to criss-cross America during summer 2000 with the "Up in Smoke" tour which featured Snoop, Eminem, and Ice Cube, among many others. That winter, Loud released Xzibit's Restless with Dr. Dre as executive producer, which boasted the single X. The song became the rapper's biggest hit yet since "What U See Is What U Get".[1]
Xzibit returned with another album, Man vs. Machine, yet again he fell a bit short of mainstream success, although he did manage to go gold.[2] 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,[3] 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. Weapons of Mass Destruction followed two years later which also managed to go gold.[4]
[edit] Ventures
[edit] Television
Xzibit further established his international fame as the host of MTV's Pimp My Ride. Together with West Coast Customs (and after season four with Galpin Auto Sports) they refurbish and upgrade young people's old beat-up cars with detailed paint jobs, hi-tech audio entertainment, and a variety of extravagant custom,installations.[5] 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 Pimp My Ride on the Adult Swim cartoon, The Boondocks. Xzibit has appeared in an episode of The Weakest Link with other rappers like Rev Run, Nate Dogg, B-Real and Jermaine Dupri. He also appeared in the video for the song Twisted Transistor by KoЯn.
[edit] 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, and in 2007 he co-starred along with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the movie Gridiron Gang. He also had a cameo role as a freestyling co-worker of Eminem's at New Detroit Stamping in 8 Mile. He played an FBI agent in 2008's The X-Files: I Want to Believe.[6]
[edit] Video games
Xzibit provided the voice for Abbott in the critically acclaimed 2004 video game, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Xzibit is featured in the fighting game, Def Jam: Fight For NY, being aligned to Snoop Dogg's (who lends his likeness and voice to the character Crow) group and fights with kickboxing-like attacks. Xzibit is also in the video game, Pimp My Ride. Xzibit is the main player's "guide" in NFL Street 2, and is also the narrator of the tutorial mode.
[edit] Controversy
[edit] J-Ro and the Likwit Crew
Xzibit had started his career with the Likwit Crew, but after being "co-signed" by Dr. Dre and associating with his camp in the late 90s, Xzibit began to distance himself from his former crew. Xzibit later claimed that he could have gained fame without Tha Alkaholiks, the flagship group of the Likwit Crew, and criticized the crew's founder King Tee. J-Ro would respond on "Look Out (Tha X Homie)", a simmering criticism of Xzibit which, among other claims, dismisses his gangsta posturing as a supposed Crip, and criticizes his previous attacks on Jermaine Dupri while ignoring Snoop Dogg's criticisms.[7] Xzibit did not respond to J-Ro, and things have calmed down since then. Xzibit has since resumed collaborations with The Alkaholiks, King Tee and Defari. The Latest collab with tha liks was in 2008 performing in L.A which was recorded and is to be released on DVD in July 2008
[edit] Rove McManus
In June 2007, Xzibit left the Rove Live studios in Australia before an appearance. Media out-lets reported that it was due to Xzibit not being given stand alone billing on the program despite not being booked in advance. According to Xzibit he walked off the set after taking offence to comments made by a Rove employee, who after informing Xzibit that his performance time would not be to his liking allegedly said: "you know we came a long way just having you on the program." Xzibit took this to be a racist remark, staff allege they were referring to him being a late booking.[8]
[edit] Gumball 3000
In the Gumball 3000 2007 rally, Xzibit drove 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 was allowed. After the penalty, his co-driver, producer Fredwreck Nassar took over the wheel and they were allowed to continue.[9] In an interview with Dutch radio personality Reinout 'Q-Bah' van Gendt,[10] Xzibit says that he mistook the kilometers for miles. Ultimately he never got his license back from the Dutch Police and had to apply for a new one in the United States.
[edit] Discography
- 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
[edit] Filmography
- 2008: The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Agent Manheim
- 2008: American Inquisition - Darrell Hughes
- 2008: Pinkville
- 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: Def Jam: Fight for NY - as himself
- 2004: Full Clip — as Duncan
- 2004: The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay - as Abbott
- 2004: Strong Arm Steady
- 2002: 8 Mile — as "Mike" The lunch truck rapper
- 2002: G-TV
- 2002: The Country Bears — himself
- 2001: The Wash — as Wayne, The Wash customer
- 2000: Tha Eastsidaz
- 2000: Up In Smoke Tour
- 1997: Rhyme & Reason — himself
| Preceded by Christina Aguilera |
MTV Europe Music Awards host 2004 |
Succeeded by Sacha Baron Cohen (as Borat) |
[edit] References
- ^ All Music Guide. Xzibit charts. Accessed November 24, 2007.
- ^ Xzibit Biography.
- ^ http://www.hiphop-elements.com/article/read/4/5187/1/ URL accessed on September 16, 2006
- ^ Weapons of Mass Destruction. RIAA. Accessed November 24, 2007.
- ^ Pimp My Ride, MTV.com
- ^ Threesome mark spots for 'X-Files'
- ^ EURweb.com - Black Entertainment | Black News | Urban News | Hip Hop News
- ^ Rapper calls Rove Live 'racist' | PerthNow
- ^ Xzibit loses drivers license in Holland, www.eminem.net, accessed on May 2, 2008
- ^ YouTube - FunX interview Xzibit
[edit] External links
- Official Xzibit website
- Sony Music's Official Xzibit website
- Official Xzibit Fansite
- X to the Z The 411 on Xzibit [authored by Balance@hiphop.sh]
- Xzibit at the Internet Movie Database
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