CHICAGO — Although Xzibit kicked off his first tour as a headliner Tuesday at the House of Blues, the L.A. rapper isn't getting a big head. In fact, the Likwit Crew member, who is on the road promoting his third album, last year's Restless, said he hopes to accomplish more.

"I don't see it as a headlining tour," said Xzibit, who will join Outkast on select dates of their tour with Ludacris this spring as he continues his own tour. "I'm still not to where I want to be. I'm here doing what I've been doing since I first started. When I'm headlining something like the Up in Smoke Tour, that's when I'm headlining something. I came from the grassroots, and I'm still performing with the grassroots."

To this end, Xzibit, who performed as part of the Anger Management Tour with Eminem, Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach last fall, will hit smaller markets on his tour supporting Restless, which arrived in stores December 12. The album was executive produced by Dr. Dre and has been certified platinum.

At the House of Blues, Xzibit's 45-minute set included material from his first two albums, 1996's At the Speed of Life and 1998's 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz, as well songs from Restless and his guest work with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Scheduled opening act D-12 did not appear; according to an Interscope Records spokesperson, the Detroit rappers aren't touring because they're trying to finish an album. Tha Liks are slated to join the tour as an opener on March 15.

Although it took three albums for Xzibit to break through, his collaborators have always had faith in him.

"I've been on this gig for three years, before people were even checking for him," said Sir Jinx, who has produced and toured with Ice Cube and is now Xzibit's tour DJ. "I saw his talent. This guy is like a spitting image of Ice Cube. He's hype, looks real mean in the face and really goes at music aggressively. That's why I went back on the road again."

It's likely that Xzibit and Jinx will stay on the road, as Xzibit is already working on his next album, Man Vs. Machine, which he said should be released by the end of the year. The collection will feature Defari (Xzibit's hype man on tour), King T, Ras Kass, Saafir, Tha Liks and Snoop Dogg. Like Restless, Man Vs. Machine will be produced by Dr. Dre.

"Dre was extremely involved in Restless, but I told him that the next record had to be called Man Vs. Machine because I have specific topics and ways to work my writing for that topic," Xzibit said. "Restless was something totally different, and I couldn't use the same material. Man Vs. Machine is scientific. It's broken down in a whole different way. My lyrics on Man Vs. Machine are definitely going to be smacking cats in the head because Dre definitely wants to make the second hit the hardest hit. The audience is listening, just like THX."

More immediately, Xzibit will shoot the video for "Front to Back," the second single from Restless, in Los Angeles next week. The clip will feature cameo appearances from Tha Liks, Defari, Erick Sermon, Rockwilder, Method Man and Redman.

Xzibit and his recently launched Open Bar Entertainment are also preparing for the release of Defari's Odd and Evens, his first album for the imprint, which will likely arrive early next year. The follow-up to 1999's Focused Daily will be executive-produced by Xzibit, and likely will benefit from the exposure Defari is receiving on Xzibit's tour.

"Having me out here is part of X's plan to set up my project," Defari said. "I've got to be out here doing my thing because this is the route that you need to travel in order to stick it out in this business."

Xzibit concurs. "We had a good time in Chicago," he said. "It feels good. We've got the West Coast. We could come out there and fart on the mic and really blow up. We're hitting cities that don't really know about Xzibit."