| A member of the perpetually underrated Likwit Crew alongside Tha Alkaholiks and King Tee, Xzibit's profile has expanded in recent years with his two full-lengths on Loud, "At The Speed Of Light" (which spawned "The Foundation," a stunning life's lesson penned to his then year-old son) and "40 Dayz And 40 Nightz."
Hooking up with Snoop Dogg on his giant "B Please" and landing on the bill for the even bigger "Up In Smoke" tour with the likes of Snoop, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Eminem, Xzibit's prepared to go all out with "Restless," his third LP, which is scheduled for the fall.
MTV News' Rahman Dukes sat down with Xzibit to talk about all that and more, including what's up with his long-awaited Golden State (formerly Usual Suspects) project with Ras Kass and Saafir, the guests he's tapped for the new album, and what'll happen when he goes "Up In Smoke." Check it out.
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MTV News: MTV News: "Up In Smoke" is a really heavily anticipated tour. Do you feel any pressure?
Xzibit: Not at all. I enjoy my craft and I love what I do. When I hit the stage, it's just 110%. Being a part of this is what I was put here to do. I love it -- plus I work well under pressure.
MTV: That's one of your loves, performing live. A lot of cats can cut a good track but can't bring it to the stage.
Xzibit: That's kind of how I kept the lights on, performing and getting it done and getting fans that way, 'cause I've never been a radio-friendly artist.
MTV: We had Snoop up here, and he was saying that he hopes performing "B Please" will help to give you more exposure. How do you feel about that?
Xzibit: That's what it did. "B Please" was a hit across the board, in all sense of the time. When we do it on the tour, of course it's going to get the response, because it's a hit. Hopefully it does do that for me.
MTV: What type of response are you expecting from the crowd?
Xzibit: They're going home hoarse. Everybody's going to be yelling at the top of their lungs, for real.
MTV: What's going to set this tour aside from others like Cash Money/Ruff Ryders, "Hard Knock Life," and so on?
Xzibit: Well, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Ice Cube are veterans. They started making records before the people that you mentioned were even making records. These people are going to draw new crowds, and also they're going to draw older crowds that were fans of their music before.
Those tours did great for hip-hop, because there were no big tours a couple of years ago, four or five years ago. Now it's going down like that, and hopefully we can continue on and make something positive happen and make it even larger.
Xzibit on the meaning of his new album title and how it takes two to start a fight... NEXT >>>
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