Ladies and gentleman, please welcome the debut of the dysfunctional member of the Alkaholik family...Xzibit

In hip hop, the term selling out is a tag that many respected emcees have unfortunately had the misfortunate of being labelled with. Now over time many artists have been slapped with this undesirable tag, mainly due to the same reason. Commercialism. Now of course, many emcees have fallen ill to this contagious disease, with names such as Nas and Snoop Dogg coming to mind. But one artist that unfortunately succumbed to the pressures of selling out, was an emcee I PERSONALLY believed would never turn to the dark side, and that my friends, was X to tha Z “Xzibit”…

Dropping the commercially successful ‘Restless’ in late 2000. X’s new sound and affliction with leading West Coast producer Dr Dre, seemly had a drastic effect on X’s mind, as in stead of spitting dope, street narratives and poetry as seen on his two previous underground smashes. We found X devoted tracks to Drugs, Sex, woman and car rimes. All highly commercial subjects that would have made the Xzibit of 1996 turn in his grave…

Exploding onto the hip hop scene in late 1996 with his debut release ‘At the speed of life’. X’s dark, rugged, and vicious delivery caused many hip hop fans to turn their heads in disbelief. Spitting raw, and brilliantly well written rhymes, backed seamlessly with magnificent production. At the speed of life was, and remains one of the west coasts greatest achievements.

Track listing:

1. Grand Opening Interlude
2. At the Speed of Life.
3. Just Maintain f/ Hurricane Gee
4. Eyes May Shine
5. Positively Negative f/ King Tee
6. Don’t Hate Me Interlude
7. Paparazzi
8. The Foundation
9. Mrs Crabtree Interlude
10. Bird’s Eye View f/ The Alkaholiks & Hurricane Gee
11. Hit & Run Part II
12. Carry the Weight
13. Plastic Surgery f/ The Golden State Project
14. Enemies & Friends
15. Last Words Interlude

1. Grand Opening Interlude (SKIT)

Short instrumental opening that is kinda pointless, but it does set the tone for the rest of the album nicely. Shame X didn’t put it to better use, cause it would have made a nice backdrop…

2. At the speed of life (5/5)

The first real track on the album, X opens things in true style with one of his greatest accomplishments so far in his career. At the speed of life. Immediately grabbing your attention due to its pounding bass drum, twangy guitar riffs, and eerie sound effects. To sum it up quickly, at the speed of life’s dark production is the equivalent of ten DMX’s. Very hard. And I’m not just referring to the production….

Dropping introspective and incredibly clever braggadiocio influenced verses. X airs his intelligently crafted thoughts here, attacking mainstream and commercial rap/rappers with a vengeance. Blasting their blatant lack of varied content with vicious street rhymes, that attack the senses from every angle due to X’s menacing, and angry delivery. Making at the speed of life not just one the albums high points. But one of hip hops too. Example:

It took a long time comin' but we waited
Xzibit went from underrated, to now most anticipated
Never would of thought that I would rock your set
And get love and respect with no special effects
Only the rugged, rough sh*t that the hard rock need
Lyrics must contain more than just clothes, b*tches and weed

3. Just Maintain (Featuring Hurricane Gee) (3.5/5)

Following on from the excellent title track, X hits a spotty section of the album with the terribly average Just Maintain. Co-produced by X himself, the production is a bass driven track, consisting of a nicely crafted beat, and odd, very west coatish guitar strings. However, in the lyrical department this hits the spot nicely. As X rips the commercial side of hip hop to pieces, with great rhymes in which he compares the underground aspect of hip hop to the mainstream. It’s only a shame he included a verse from the absolutely awful Hurricane Gee. With an off point flow, boring subject matter, and a voice that makes Macy Gray sound great. Its highly recommend you skip her section of the track, and concentrate on X’s commercial ripping lyrics. Average.

4. Eyes May Shine (5/5)

Switching his subject matter up from mainstream slamming, battle influenced rhymes, X switches into a more introspective mind frame here, as he delves deep into the commercially glamorised topic of street violence. Producing grim, yet well written rhymes. X provides us with a fresh twist on the decaying topic, detailing a dire consequence to each act of violence talked about. Creating a very intelligent feel, to a topic that is so often glamorised by the mainstream side of hip hop, as being a cool. X though, of course. Tells it how it is. Which only furthers my disbelief that the xzibit we see nowadays is the same guy that produced intelligent sh*t like this. So, overall Eyes may shine is a brilliant track. With an excellent violin and low piano keys driven production, grim, yet well written rhymes, and X defiantly holding your attention with his wit and on point flow. Eyes may shine is a track not to missed due to its simple brilliance.

5. Positively Negative (Featuring King Tee) (5/5)

Joined by Likwit Founder, and west coast favourite King Tee. Xzibit returns to his roots on positively negative, as both emcees try their best to out wit each other with clever and witty braggadiocio influenced rhymes. Backed by a hard, old skool beat, quick baseline, and a soft xylophone loop. Producer Thayod Ausar provides X and Tee with a nice backdrop, which they both rip to sh*t with their equally vicious flows and rhymes. Defiantly not one to miss, positively negative is a great track, in which King Tee and X completely rip up, with X intimately coming out on top. But Tee, with his chesty, Biggie type sound to him comes off nicely. Bringing out the best of X as he tries desperately not to get outshone on his own track.

6. Don’t Hate Me Interlude (SKIT)

Shortish SKIT, in which X basically gives a few shout outs and f*ck youz to haters. X really should have used the instrumental here though, cause it’s beautifully composed, and would have defiantly made for an excellent backdrop…

7. Paparazzi (5/5)

The most famous Xzibit track of all time, Paparazzi, is without a doubt one of the most breathtaking, exhilarating and greatest hip hop tracks off ALL TIME! PERIOD!

Opening up to the short sound of snapping cameras, Paparazzi immediately hits you with its haunting, eerie female vocal chords. Backed by a perfectly crafted beat, orchestra type violin loop, harp strings, and soft base. Paparazzi production wise is prefect, and without a doubt ranks up their with the all time greats such as Paid in full, and C.R.E.A.M. However, a prefect beat is not all paparazzi has going for it, as xzibit proves with a well written and introspective rhyme that deal with the mainstream element of hip hop, again ripping it too pieces with his intelligent, and completely on point lyrics. That when spat in X’s menacing, gritty, and powerful delivery, mean paparazzi gets slapped with the wonderful title of classic.

(Eagle eared gamers may recognise this baby from the soundtrack of Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3. Check out my review for more details on this excellent game.)

8. The Foundation (5/5)

Following on from the classic nature of Paparazzi, X again hits us with a mind blowing track, this time in the form of the foundation. Produced by DJ Muggs (from Cypress Hill fame), the foundation, like Paparazzi is production prefect. Using a beautiful piano loop, guitar strings, eerie angelic voices, and soft violin strings, I can’t describe in words how the foundation makes me feel. Its wonderfully composed, sombre feel is prefect for X here, and it never ceases to make the hairs on the back of neck stand on end due to its brilliance.

However, Muggs is not the only guy who shines here, as X proves with a wonderfully written lyrics dedicated to his (at the time) newly born son. Breaking a lot of ground, the foundation shows X at his most venerable and emotional, as he describes and hands out advice to his newborn, advising him on life and what he means to him. The foundation also holds a lot of passion personally, as you can tell in X’s soft tone, and loving lyrics that if he didn’t get out of the streets, he might not of made it to see his son grow up, hence the reason he made the foundation. And though some people may find some of his advice odd, there’s no denying the strong feeling created here, and trust me, once you’ve listened to this gem. You won’t ever put it down. Example:

Take care of your mother
Keep yourself on track
Just cause n*ggas get behind you don't mean they got your back
Beware of the serpent
Cause there's a time in life the mothaf*cker will strike
And try to make you loose sight
Don't be a fake mothaf*cker tryin' to keep s*it real
Fill cassettes with idle threats with no guts to kill
Son if you ever pull heat
Then use it
If you got a chance to walk away

9. Mrs Crabtree Interlude (SKIT)

Short and pointless interlude, in which a teacher attempts to catch the attention of her disruptive class. Leads into…

10. Bird’s Eye View (Featuring the Alkaholiks and Hurricane Gee) (3/5)

Ah, remember early on in my review when I described Just Maintain as being terribly average? Well, unfortunately Birds eye view feels into this undesirable category, mostly to its lacklustre production and an appearance from a certain emcee that goes by the name of Hurricane Gee…

Using a weak beat, hard base, trumpets and a very soft violin sample. Production wise Bird’s eye view just doesn’t cut the mustard. With a weak beat, and an emphasis placed too heavily on the hard, rocking trumpets. Bird’s eye view just doesn’t really do it for me. But, lyrically this is where it grabs its points. With each member spitting nicely written rhymes, the crew as a unit do come out on top. But of course, the horrible Hurricane Gee makes a dreaded appearance here, completely draining the life out of the song with her first bar. Why X ever allowed an emcee so bad to even touch on a mic is one thing, but to put her on your album is another. Sort it out X…

11. Hit and Run Part II (1.5/5)

Now, as every hip hop fan well knows, the typical west coast stereotype is that of gangster rap, violence, alcohol, drugs, sex, and b*tches. Now throughout the speed of life so far, xzibit has actually managed to avoid many of these irritating stereotypes. That of course, was in till now…

Sinking into the low depths of the “I wanna f*ck all the b*tches available” type mode, X spits weak, woman bashing rhymes here, that are poorly written and crafted, that puzzles me as to way X ever decided to go down this boring route. Not to the mention the production is also poorly crafted, driven by a jiggy baseline and twangy guitar riffs, that don’t suit the forceful, driving feel of the album created so far. Skip…

12. Carry the Weight (5/5)

Following on from the dreadful Hit and run II, X again returns to classiness with the classic Carry tha weight. A heartbreaking, retrospective look at a troubled past, Xzibit delves deep here, informing us of his mothers death, his time spent in care, his dysfunctional family, his past crimes etc. Looking at each in great detail, pointing out hidden facts such as his lack of parental support or role models. Really giving you an in depth look into his dark background and character, informing you of his past demons and people that have shaped and formed him and his life. And summing up Carry the weight lyrically is easy as pie. Its classic. Through and through. But, that’s not the only thing Carry the weight has going for it…

Produced by Thayod Ausur, the production, like Paparazzi and the foundation is again picture prefect. Using a fitting beat, Ausur laces the track beautifully here with violins, hard base, and piano keys, creating a very melancholy, depressed backdrop for X to drop his troubled stories over. Classic. Example:

You see, I don't like to reminisce about the past
The lower class, no cloudt, living hand to mouth
Each and every wrong move, the police keep count
make it real f*ckin easy to get stretched out
I was at the funeral when it all began
You know the painful transition from boy to man
I lost sight of my mother at the age of nine
Didn't understand death, nearly lost my mind

13. Plastic Surgery (Featuring The Golden State Project) (5/5)

Bringing together the force of the golden state project (which consists of X, west coast legend Ras Kass, and Saafir by the way), Plastic Surgery is without a doubt one of the most lyrical tracks on the entire album. While on the front, it may sound as if X and co are rapping about medical procedures, this is nothing more then a intelligently crafted cover up, as the medial and hospital references are all part of a huge extended metaphor, in which the project compare mainstream hip hop to having plastic surgery. Now, on paper it’s extremely hard to describe how this metaphor works, but trust me, listen to it carefully enough and you’ll start to see the references.

But, the only con I have against Plastic Surgery is the fact that the production is a tad weaker then previous tracks. With a mediocre beat and a rather irritating guitar loop, producer Thayod Ausur really should have done better. But, luckily for Ausur, it doesn’t really matter here, as the projects lyrics are beyond belief with their cleverness, so the beat takes a side step here anyway. Classic.

14. Enemies and Friends (4/5)

The final track on the album (not counting the final thoughts interlude), Enemies and friends closes out the album nicely. Produced by Thayod Ausur, enemies and friends utilizes a nice beat, hard baseline, soft guitar loop, and some nice violin strings. Providing X with a nice backdrop to spit his street smart rhymes. Focusing on basic street poetry, X hits us with a well written and thought-out track here, displaying rules on how to survive on the streets and in the game. Originally using a concept similar to that seen on Ice Cubes classic How to survive in south central.

So, overall Enemies and friends is an excellent track, with street smart lyrics, and decent production. It just unfortunately lacks that certain something in order to gather a five from me personally. Does end the album nicely though.

15. Final thoughts interlude (SKIT)

Short interlude in which X displays his final thoughts on the album. Pretty pointless and skippable.

THE CONCLUSION:

So, in conclusion I am going to award at the speed of life not only a five star rating, but also the tag of classic. With classic tracks such as Paparazzi, the foundation, carry the weight and plastic surgery. At the speed of life should defiantly satisfy any hip hop fans needs. With top notch production, well thought-out lyricism that broads from storytelling to braggadiocio, and a fiery, hypnotic delivery. Xzibits debut release deserves a place in any hip hop fans collection.

If you enjoy at the speed of life I recommend these releases:

Xzibit: 40 dayz and 40 nightz
Xzibit: Restless (there are some decent tracks among the countless amount filler)
Xzibit: Man vs machine

Thanks for reading