After a 13-year break between solo albums, the L.A. titan Xzibit released "Kingmaker" in May with 20 tracks of street heft. But in classic Xzibit fashion, it's not just about the flex but also about reflecting on his growth and the music that made him.
Xzibit had some real talk, not just about what bangers he plans to drop with the long-awaited effort but also about the album that originally rocked his world and revolutionized the hip-hop game forever: Dr. Dre's The Chronic.
"The Chronic just changed the whole course of music, not just Hip-Hop music," the bass was in his voice. "The way that album was presented and those mixes sounded, nothing sounds like it on the market; it made everyone stand at attention."
At that point, he was a hungry L.A. emcee, looking in at Dre from the outside and admiring his craft. A couple of decades later, not only has Xzibit met his hero, but he's also a part of the inner circle. From crushing stages on the iconic Up in Smoke tour to exchanging bars and knowledge with the man behind the boards, Dre went from an unknown influence to a real-life brother.
"That's my fam," added Xzibit. "Going from being a fan to being on the journey is real. It is for music bodies, but also just for humans. And we have a way of talking about life, decision-making, and grown-man stuff." That's something with more depth than music."
Kingmaker is a testament to that depth, but Xzibit has grown up, bruised but wiser. On the likes of "Play This at My Funeral," he's not shying away from heavy themes; he practically sidles up to them.
"Damn, it feels good to be alive," he rhymes with bare-knuckled candor, mixing time-served gratitude with his caustic, perennial wit. Having settled a protracted and hugely public divorce and not having been on the album radar for over a decade, X is not all about superficial stuff.
And yet none of it, Kingmaker, the tours, or the friendship with Dre would have happened without that one landmark album in 1992. "The Chronic wasn't just a game changer," Xzibit added. "It changed me."
With heavy pockets, sharper perspective, and an even hotter mic, Xzibit is living proof of what he once claimed: "Everything is possible on God's green earth. And sometimes, there's one album that's all it takes to get you started.
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