Xzibit

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Alvin Nathaniel Joiner IV (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit, is an American hip hop performer, 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.

[edit] Rap career

Xzibit got his start 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,^[1] 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 ([1]). They are expected to release their first album, "Arms And Hammers" in the fall of 2006 under Blacksmith Music Corporation.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Solo Albums

Album information
	At the Speed of Life Released: October 15, 1996 Label: RCA Chart positions: #74 US Last RIAA certification: Sales: 180,000 US World Wide: 300,000 Singles: "Paparazzi", "The Foundation"
	40 Dayz & 40 Nightz Released: August 25, 1998 Label: RCA Chart positions: 58 US Last RIAA certification: Sales: 190,000 copies US World Wide: 200,000 Singles: "Los Angeles Times", "What U See Is What U Get"
	Restless Released: December 12, 2000 Label: Loud/Open Bar Chart positions: #12 US Last Certification: Platinum Sales: 1.5 million World Wide: Singles: "X", "Front 2 Back", "Get Your Walk On"
	Man Vs. Machine Released: October 1, 2002 Label: Loud/Columbia/Open Bar Chart positions: #3 US, #8 CAN Last RIAA certification: Gold Sales: 590,000 World Wide: 600,000 Singles: "Multiply", "Symphony in X Major"
	Weapons of Mass Destruction Released: December 14, 2004 Label: Sony/Columbia/Open Bar Chart positions: #43 US Last RIAA certification: Gold Sales: 249,519 US World Wide: 300,000 Singles: "Hey Now (Mean Muggin)", "Criminal Set",
	Full Circle Released: October 17, 2006 Label: Koch /Open Bar Chart positions: #50 US Last RIAA certification: Sales:22,606 US World Wide: 44,000 Singles: "Concentrate", "Thank You", "Family Values"
	More Than Just A Game... Released: 2008 Label: Koch /Open Bar Chart positions: N/A Sales: N/A Singles: N/A

[edit] Other media

[edit] Video game appearances

In 2004, he provided the voice for Butcher Bay chief prison guard Abbot in the Xbox and Windows game, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay; narrated the tutorials and was the guide character in NFL Street 2; and played himself in Def Jam Fight for New York and Pimp My Ride (game). His songs have also appeared in games soundtracks, "Paparazzi" in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, "LAX" in Need for Speed Underground 2, "Enemies" in 25 To Life, "Hey Now (Mean Muggin')" in NFL Street 2, "Klack" in Juiced and "Mother Fucker" (Changed to "Mother Mother" due to content) in Def Jam Fight for New York.

[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. 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Filmography

• Gridiron Gang (2006) Malcolm Moore
• Hoodwinked (2006) Voice of Chief Grizzly
• Derailed (2005) Dexter
• XXX: State of the Union (2005) Zeke
• Full Clip (2004) Duncan
• Strong Arm Steady (2004)
• 8 Mile (2002) Male Lunch Truck Rapper
• G-TV (2002)
• The Wash (2001) Wayne, The Wash customer
• The Country Bears (2002) Himself
• Tha Eastsidaz (2000)
• Rhyme & Reason (1997) Participating Artist

[edit] Video Game(s)

• Def Jam Fight For NY
• NFL Street 2
• Pimp My Ride
• The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

[edit] Video Game (soundtrack)

• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
• Need For Speed: Underground 2
• 25 To Life
• Juiced
• NFL Street 2
• Def Jam Fight For NY
• Saints Row

[edit] External links

• Official Xzibit website
• Xzibit at the Internet Movie Database
• Xzibit at MySpace
• 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