Happy 25th Anniversary to Xzibit’s debut album At the Speed of Life, originally released October 15, 1996.
I’ve written quite a bit about the rise of hip-hop’s mainstream acceptance in the mid to late 1990s. This embrace by major record labels and commercial media helped feed into the “shiny suit era,” which in turn led to backlash. Some artists weren’t happy with what mainstream hip-hop was becoming. Since Puff Daddy and many artists affiliated with Bad Boy Records were frequently the targets, I’ve thus far spoken primarily about the East Coast side of the equation.
However, during this same time period, there was a similar “battle” being waged on hip-hop’s western front. Some West Coast artists bristled at the idea that the only type of hip-hop from their region being represented in the mainstream had a decidedly “gangsta” flavor. Much like the East Coast, records that documented the inflicting of violence and death, as well as the pursuit of material possessions, were providing a decidedly skewed version of what West Coast hip-hop had to offer.
With his debut album At the Speed of Life, released 25 years ago, Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner set out to offer an alternative. The album is filled with hard-edged, lyric-heavy material that differed musically from both his peers and the commercially friendly sound at the time. It’s one of the best albums released in 1996.
The Detroit-born, Albuquerque and Los Angeles-raised Xzibit came up under the Likwit Crew, mentored by West Coast legends King Tee and Tha Alkaholiks. His earliest commercial appearances were on Tha Liks’ Coast II Coast (1995) and King Tee’s IV Life (1995).But the music on At the Speed of Life was decidedly different than the material released by his O.G.s. It started with the voice: Xzibit, self-labelled as the “dysfunctional member of Tha Alkaholik family,” possesses a gruff and commanding baritone that commands attention. As a lyricist, he has proven to be as skilled as rap’s elite emcees, able to switch up styles and flows, while excelling at battle rhymes and storytelling.
Overall, the album’s unorthodox production is one of its biggest strengths. Xzibit enlists the talents of not only producers like E-Swift, DJ Muggs, and Diamond D, but also slept-on West Coast heat-makers like Thayod Ausar, Craig Sherrad, and DJ Pen-One. Xzibit frequently delivers his rhymes over tracks shrouded in a haze of dark, haunting melodies.
The album opening title track definitely fits into this mold. Thayod, a well-respected production O.G. in the Los Angeles scene, constructs an apocalyptic track, bolstered by thunderous drums, psychedelic guitars, and layered flute samples. Xzibit makes his stand, arguing for hip-hop to be driven by skills. “Only the rugged ruff shit that the hard rock need,” he declares. “Lyrics must contain more than just clothes, bitches, and weed / Thinking how you like to see the next man bleed / Trying to glorify greed; living life at ridiculous speed.”
“Eyes May Shine” is a similarly grim endeavor. E-Swift, usually known for creating upper to mid-tempo “party shit” for Tha Alkaholiks, tailors the beat to Xzibit’s bleakest leanings, creating the type of track that would sound at home on a Mobb Deep album. Hence, it made sense that the Queensbridge duo would appear on the remix of the song, released a few months after the album dropped.
Xzibit and At the Speed Life are probably best-known for “Paparazzi,” a distinctly operatic track by Thayod that serves as the album’s first single. It functions as Xzibit’ s definitive statement against studio gangsters fabricating fantastical stories in the pursuit of “the money and the fame.” Xzibit is brimming with contempt, full of bile and ill will towards emcees more concerned with their image than their music. “I don’t believe the hype or buy wolf tickets,” he thunders. “N***a, you make a gang of noise and never seen, like a cricket.” He chides rappers living beyond their means, rapping, “Trying to live high on the hog leaves you bankrupt / And n****s you spent it on would not give a fuck.”
Xzibit shares a natural chemistry with all of his Likwit Crew cohorts throughout At the Speed of Life. He trades verses with King Tee on “Positively Negative,” with each flowing on a relatively stripped-down track by Craig Sherrad. Both attack the mic with ferocity, as Xzibit raps, “I bust Teflon rhymes into the crowd / Bitch, you ain’t Steve Rif, so stop trying to get Loud.” Not to be outdone, King Tee proclaims, “I slang my gangsta funk through the night / Sometimes I fright like I’m the ghost of Eric Wright.”
At the Speed of Life really starts to get unhinged on two other posse cuts. First is “Bird’s Eye View,” Xzibit’s collaboration with his Alkaholiks homies J-Ro and Tash. The track is likely the most disheveled of production legend Diamond D’s career, as he takes woodwinds and flute samples and backs them up with “extra-crispy” drums. Overall, it sounds like the product of a drunken and blunted studio session, with all three emcees trading rowdy verses. “The time it takes to infiltrate and stop my forward motion,” Tash boasts. “California will have broken off and fell into the ocean.”
“Plastic Surgery” was the first collaboration of what I envisioned at the time would become the greatest and most talented supergroup of all time. Xzibit enlists master lyricists Ras Kass and Saafir to join him on the messy track, where all three transform themselves into deranged elective surgeons, re-designing the styles and personas of “plastic,” unoriginal rappers. Things explode into chaos early, with all three trading lines and phrases, showcasing their own unique abilities over E-Swift’s demented jazz-influenced track.
Carson, CA’s Ras Kass and Oakland’s Saafir both run roughshod, leaving a trail of blood and wack emcees’ entrails in their wake. Ras acts as “Doogie Howser M.D. with a desert eagle,” declaring that he’s “performing vinyl liposuctions / Fat MC? Phat production. Motherfucking facial reconstruction.” Meanwhile, Saafir uses his twisting, winding flow that zigs and zags unexpectedly as he raps, “Got hands like Jackie Chan, the way I switch my wrists and / I make ya sick, but I’m a doctor, don't trip / Hopefully, in surgery, I won't slip /On a tile that file and twist ya lips like Gomer Pyle.”
The trio of emcees would form the Golden State Warriors (later renamed the Golden State Project) and eventually signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Records. Sadly, “Plastic Surgery” remains only one of a few collaborations by the trio that have seen the light of day.
For all the lyrical mayhem that Xzibit inflicts throughout At the Speed of Life, some of the strongest tracks contain his own autobiographical reflections. He recounts his tumultuous coming of age struggles on the Thayod-produced “Carry the Weight,” describing how he grew up “lower class, no clout living hand to mouth.” Through the song, he explains how he turned what could have been a never-ending cycle of violence and incarceration into the inspiration to improve his life. On “Enemies & Friends,” Xzibit explains how he’s applied these street lessons in order to excel as an emcee. “Yo, I'm on the scene, here to do my own thing,” he raps. “Can’t never spend a lifetime chasing after dreams.”
Xzibit’s most poignant moments of contemplation come of “The Foundation,” his dedication to his (then) baby son. DJ Muggs hooks up an evocative track that sounds distinctive from his trademark dusted soul sound, taking a sample of the piano intro from Billy Joel’s “The Stranger.” Xzibit pens the letter of advice to his child, hoping to impart life’s wisdom. On the third introspective verse, Xzibit ponders how his perspective shifted upon the birth of his child. “I was anxious as fuck to see your face shine,” he raps. “Only to find that yours looked like mine / So it's like I’m living twice at the exact same time / In this life you can't press stop then press rewind / Gotta live to the fullest never follow behind / No man, have your own plan, expand your mind.”
Xzibit’s popularity and stature have grown over the years, especially as he allied himself with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre in the late ’90s and early ’00s. Eventually, he spearheaded the reality “game show” Pimp My Ride and pursued a full acting career. I may not be enthralled with much of Xzibit’s musical output throughout the ’00s, but I recognize that he’s maintained much of his iconoclastic spirit throughout as an emcee. He launched his rap career as a battle-tested warrior fighting for respect on At the Speed of Life, and that same mentality continues to influence his music.
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