Xzibit – Full Circle
Koch Records (release date: 10/17/2006)
Rap
The musical rise and fall of Xzibit makes the title of this, his sixth studio album, more appropriate than you might think. After dropping a pair of underground, if slightly overrated “classics” in the late ’90s, X was put on 1999’s “B Please” single from Snoop Dogg and his fame took off from there. Creatively, Xzibit peaked with the release of 2000’s The Restless LP, before coming back to earth with a pair of poorly-received albums in 2002 and 2004.
Absent of any major label backing and with a budding film and TV career in the works, it’s not like Xzibit really needs the music industry, anymore. But, he’s back”¦ and, for everyone’s sake, the hope here is that X considers the circle to be complete.
There are actually a few things to genuinely like here on the surface. Full Circle is an independent release and, as such, the feel of the album lacks the superficial polish and over-production that hurt the last few Xzibit efforts. Keith Shocklee, of all people, gets an executive producer credit (is he on sabbatical from his Circuit City cashier gig?) Oh, and the liner notes actually contain the album’s lyrics.
Yep”¦ we’re reaching here.
The music is more “miss” than “hit”, but still”¦ “Invade My Space” starts out as a soulful, piano-sweetened intro, but then segues into an aggressive, kick-the-door-down sound. Later, X is joined by West Coast acts Daz Dillinger and The Game for “On Bail”. The beat has the stink of that Down South sound (despite being produced by Cali’s Felli Fell) but all three carry their load, admirably”¦ especially Game, who seems to be following a scaled-down version of Jay-Z’s “kill ’em with kick ass cameos” approach, in anticipation of his own album dropping later this year.
“Poppin’ Off” dredges up DJ Quik and the corpse of King T for some misogynistic mayhem. The terrible production sounds like a hundred rubber bands being strummed with a random drum clap thrown in for good measure, though. And, speaking of the old, that’s Kurupt and Too Short on “Movin’ in Your Chucks””¦ an effort that is the verbal definition of a shrug.
The obligatory generic club cut from Rick Rock (“Concentrate”) might move a few booties on the dance floor, but never strays from its boring formula. On the other hand, there are a few tracks here that are far from “boring”.
“Black & Brown” is another in a long line of recent rap songs preaching unity between the Blacks and the Mexicans. Credit to X for recalling his own recent beatdown at the hands of a Hispanic, uh, “urban youth group”, but the overall theme seems to be that the two races should come together to fight the real enemy. Three guesses what color “he” is.
Oh, and everyone must find a way to hear anti-police anthem “Ram Part Division”. It’s so hilariously awful that it almost doubles back and becomes a good listen. Full circle, if you will.
Rating: 
