IN CONCERT
and DJ BennytheJett When: Sunday, 9 p.m.
(doors at 8) Where: Club 9ONE9 (919 Douglas St.)
Tickets: $25/$30 at ticketweb.ca, the Strathcona Hotel, Lyle's Place, Complex, Ditch Records, and Status Barbershop
Xzibit - deep-voiced gangsta, or cute and cuddly TV host? With a brow-furrowed scowl and cornrow braids, the Detroit native made his mark on collaborations with Eminem and Dr. Dre. But to the greater public, he'll forever be the host of Pimp My Ride, the popular MTV series highlighted by his instant likability and deliriously addictive laugh.
The real Xzibit, born Alvin Joiner, is a little bit of both. The trait that truly defines him, however is the desire to communicate precisely what's on his mind, TV ratings or past allegiances be damned.
"By no means did Pimp My Ride bring me new hip-hop fans," Xzibit said on the phone from Los Angeles.
Not even one or two during its six-season run? "When that show [went off-air in 2007], everybody went back to the regular lives," he said. "There was no desire to go pick up an Xzibit record. And MTV made sure of that."
Xzibit made every effort to see that his rap career continued once the series wrapped, stopping first for a quick dip back into the feature film world.
He has appeared prominently in a half-dozen films, including 8 Mile, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, and The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. On occasion, he still dabbles in TV - Xzibit has appeared a number of times on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, for which he won a 2010 NAACP Image Award - but at this point he's more focused on his music career and growing family than television opportunities.
"It was important for me to complete my commitment to MTV. When I did that, that was it," he said, his voice curling with anger. "I was done. I fulfilled my obligations, and had no desire to continue."
Xzibit was given a strict religious upbringing, raised separately by two schoolteacher parents. His mother died when he was nine, at which point he went to live with his father, who had split from the family years earlier. The following year, Xzibit moved with father and siblings to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Trouble started soon after. He was rapping by the age of 13, and by 17 had left for a career in L.A.
Xzibit came to rap music relatively late in life on account of his parents, who forbade him from listening to rap music.
"In defence of my parents, being religious and being schoolteachers, they didn't want to hear [swearing] throughout the house.
My parents were trying to protect me from what they felt was a bad influence.
But at the same time, they refused to see that it was something that culturally I was attracted to, and that my heart and mind was wrapped around it."
Shortly after arriving in L.A., his became a fringe member of the Likwit Crew, the posse that eventually gave birth to critically acclaimed group Tha Alka-holiks. He went solo in 1995, and by 1996 had released his major label debut, Coast II Coast. Xzibit remained a largely underground phenomenon until he broke into the mainstream with 1998's 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz, which is considered one of the great gangsta rap records to come out of L.A.
His career went into hyperdive once he joined forces with Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, two legendary figures in West Coast rap, for the 1999 single, Bitch Please. The following year, Xzibit appeared on Bitch Please II, alongside the two Doggs and another pair of legendary talents, Eminem and Dr. Dre.
The group of friends reunited in 2000 for the Up in Smoke Tour, one of the largest, most celebrated rap tours in history. And with that, Xzibit became a certified superstar. His career moved forward steadily during the first half of that decade, until a series of hurdles resulted in a six-year gap between records.
Xzibit is currently touring in support of Napalm, his seventh album and first effort since 2006. On it, he discusses the myriad troubles he faced during his break from recording, including tax troubles that saw him declare personal bankruptcy and foreclose on his home in Woodland Hills, California.
His lyrics on the Napalm song 1983 - the year his mother died - are impassioned, to say the least.
Backed by snippets of dialogue his mother recorded before her death, Xzibit raps about his tax troubles and meeting Dr. Dre for the first time. He also offers some pointed words about his strained relationship with some of his former collaborators and tourmates, Eminem included.
"I don't have a beef with Eminem. I don't have any beef with Paul [Rosenberg, Eminem's manager.] That was what it was. At the time, that's how I felt about a scenario. I said what I said and I'm moving on. I'm a grown-ass man. I can say what the f--k I wanna say." Napalm is a heavy, emotional listen. Despite the presence of party jams and gangsta tracks, there's a recurring theme of hope and perseverance in songs like Stand Tall and Meaning of Life. For the most part, Xzibit is in a mournful mood, endeavouring to understand why tragedies - such as the 2008 death of his third son, Xavier, who was born prematurely and died of natural causes 11 days later - happen in the first place.
"I had to get my bearings," he said of the recording sessions for Napalm, which features appearances from Dr. Dre and Wiz Khal-ifa, among others.
"When you get the wind knocked out of you, you have to get back up. That's what it felt like - what it feels like. I thought, 'That didn't feel good, so let me get back to it.' "
Xzibit with Jon Connor, Zni,
