Judging by Xzibit’s gruff, authoritative and often sinister voice, you wouldn’t necessarily think he has a sharp sense of humor, but he does. When once asked to name his Top 5 favorite rappers, he cheekily replied, “Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan,” a reference to Dave Chappelle’s 2004 parody of Puff Daddy’s MTV reality show Making the Band 2.
In person, Xzibit is charismatic, engaging and, yes, funny. We first became familiar with his singular voice with his 1996 solo debut, At the Speed of Life. But 12 years have passed since the West Coast rap luminary, also known for hosting MTV’s Pimp My Ride and his 1999 collaboration with Dr. Dre, “What’s the Difference”, featuring Eminem, from 2001, has released his own record.
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That will change in 2025, when the X to the Z roars back with his new project, Kingmaker, the (very) long-awaited follow-up to 2012’s Napalm. So far, he’s released three singles and videos from the project: “Play This at My Funeral,” “Been a Long Time (Pt. 2)” and “Everywhere I Go” featuring Dem Jointz.
Now 50, Xzibit is making some of his most introspective music. There are still moments of self-aggrandizement, but his arduous life experiences, including the 2008 death of his infant son and his 2021 divorce, have given him a deeper perspective.
“There’s been a lot of growth,” he tells me. “I have a lot to say, and I believe that I found my voice. When I say I found my voice, it’s not the use of it, sound of it, tone of it, or inflection, I think I found what I’m supposed to be saying and what I need to be saying. I feel empowered with the music that we’ve been able to make”
Kingmaker will mark one of the first releases on Greenback Records, an Irish record label co-founded by UFC ex-champion Conor McGregor and business partners Richard Buck and Julian O’Brien.
“I think we have an advantage of the unknown,” Xzibit says of the new venture. “I don’t think people know what to expect, and I like that. I like those odds.”
Despite its grandiose title, Kingmaker, he says, really “has nothing to do with royalty or having power or superiority over anyone.”
To him, it means he’s finally at a point in his life where he’s comfortable in his own skin.
“I’m speaking from a place of experience, empowerment, positivity, and some really harsh life lessons that hopefully I’ve explained and lived through and set an example for people that can relate,” he says. “I think that’s where I am. I think this record is about a transfer of information, things, habits, mindsets and consistencies that have made me successful. And so that’s kind of what I’ve been trying to portray, not only through action but in my art.”
Xzibit admits it took him way too long to get to a place where he’s comfortable with being so vulnerable.
“Wins, losses, you know, draws, you name it, I’ve been through it,” he says. “I wish I could have had this a long time ago. I think we lock ourselves up in the prisons of our minds a lot more than we should and have to.
“We give people and circumstances a lot of power over our existence, and when I stop giving a fuck about what people think or say, it helps a lot with that journey,” he says. “But ultimately, you have to make the choice to be like, ‘Look, no matter who this affects, the most important thing is my peace.’”
And maybe attaining that peace meant stepping away from making solo albums for a while so he could focus on other ventures. After dropping Napalm, he pivoted to doing more television, appearing in shows like Hawaii Five-0, American Dad!, and Empire. In April, he expanded his business portfolio by opening Xzibit West Coast Cannabis, the first-ever cannabis and delivery service in Bel Air, California.
That’s not to say he completely abandoned music. In 2018, he released another Serial Killers album with Cypress Hill’s B-Real, called Day of the Dead and followed up with Summer of Sam in 2020. He also appears on Ice Cube’s new album, Man Down, on the song “Break the Mirror.” Meanwhile, he’s been chipping away at Kingmaker in the studio, ensuring it lives up to his expectations.
While the list of who features on Kingmaker are still under embargo, Xzibit rattled off a couple of names that could possibly pop up—an easy conclusion simply due to his admiration for their skill levels.
“I really believe that Royce Da 5’9 is greater than the props he receives, even though he receives a tremendous amount of accolades,” he hints. “I believe that that brother should be in everybody’s Top 5. I think Killer Mike has a delivery and a passion that makes him excel at MCing. He connects like a preacher; he connects to your soul. I could go on and on, but those two brothers right there as far as the way that they make me feel about hip-hop is outstanding.”
And it’s clear with each new song that trickles out that Xzibit still has a fire for his craft, too. His rhymes are well written, well executed, and spit with intention. Simultaneously, he seems to be in a good place.
As he raps in “Play This at My Funeral,” “Damn it feels good to be alive.” But he’s also acutely aware of the ticking clock and is working on becoming the best version of himself. “I think I need to exercise,” he raps in the first verse. “I gained a little weight/But my pockets are still straight.”
When asked about the staggering number of hip-hop artists who’ve died in their 30s, 40s, and 50s this year—including DJ Clark Kent, Rich Homie Quan, and Organized Noize co-founder Rico Wade—he takes note of his own shortcomings.
“I can’t say that I’m Mr. Olympia over here,” he says with a chuckle. “But, I definitely don’t do the things I used to do. Everybody could use some improvement, but I’m just in a place now where things have kind of balanced themselves out and I know where I’m supposed to be. Once you realize your own mortality, you look at life a lot more seriously.”
Xzibit, who spent some of his formative years in Albuquerque, New Mexico—a sometimes dangerous Southwestern city often referred to as the “Wild Wild West”—was forced to confront his mortality as a kid.
“I had to make some really adult decisions when I was very young, so I’ve always kind of moved in that direction and it’s been beneficial,” he says. “But now the focus that I have turning 50 and into an album cycle and hip-hop itself being 50 years old—it’s a fairly new genre—we are the first of our generation going into, ‘What does hip-hop look like now?’
“There’s a lot of ageism. There’s a lot of discernment around who should be doing what in hip-hop. There’s no path that’s been laid in front of us, so we’re the first. I’m glad to be able to pioneer what that looks like and what it is. As far as ageism and what people say about hip-hop and their sharp criticism about who should be rapping and who shouldn’t, nobody tells Mick Jagger when he should get off stage.”
Judging by the number of hip-hop elders who’ve dropped a project this year—Eminem, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre, to name a few—Xzibit won’t be getting off stage anytime soon either.
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