Xzibit

Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality.

He began his musical career in 1992, and signed with Loud Records, an imprint of RCA Records to release his debut studio album, At the Speed of Life (1996).

The album saw positive critical reception, modestly entered the Billboard 200, and spawned the single "Paparazzi," which peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100.

His first appearance on a professional record was in February 1995 on The Alkaholiks' Coast II Coast, on the song "Hit and Run" and also appeared on King Tee's IV Life shortly after, on the track "Free Style Ghetto".

After touring with Likwit Crew, Xzibit signed to Loud Records and released his debut album At the Speed of Life in October 1996, which peaked at number 74 on the Billboard Hot 200 and reached 38 on the Canadian Albums Chart.

The album produced his debut single "Paparazzi", which peaked at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100.

It was more successful in mainland Europe, particularly in Germany, where it peaked at number 11 on the German Singles Chart.

His second album, 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz (1998) was met with similar reception and spawned the single "What U See Is What U Get."

After spending the next two years building his reputation as a West Coast underground artist and touring with the Likwit Crew, he released his second album, 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz on August 25, 1998, which charted in the U.S. at number 58 and at number 50 in Canada.

It spawned four singles, the most successful being "What U See Is What U Get" charting at number 50 in the United States.

He closed the year 1999 with his acting debut, starring in The Breaks.

Xzibit started the new milenium with the release of a compilation album Likwit Rhymes, which featured mostly previously unreleased material from his earlier recordings and a guest spot on "Bitch Please II", along with Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Nate Dogg.

Xzibit also received a guest spot on Limp Bizkit's 8× platinum album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water on the song "Getcha Groove On".

His breakthrough came with his third studio album Restless, with Dr. Dre as executive producer and guest appearances by Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Eminem, Dr. Dre, DJ Quik and the Alkaholiks, among others, which sold almost 2 million copies and was certified platinum.

It spawned three singles, the most successful being "X", which peaked at number 76 in the U.S., 14 in the UK and 4 in Germany.

The album reached number 12 in the US.

His success caught the attention of West Coast rapper Dr. Dre, who served as the executive producer for Xzibit's next two albums; his third, Restless (2000) was further commercially-oriented and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200.

Xzibit has also gained fame as an actor and presenter, having hosted the reality television program Pimp My Ride during the 2000s.

In his acting career, he played Shyne Johnson in the television series Empire.

Dr. Dre invited Xzibit to perform on his American Up in Smoke Tour in mid-2000, which featured Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Ice Cube, among many others.

With his growing following in the West, he caught the eye of rapper and producer Dr. Dre, who secured him high-profile guest spots, such as joining Snoop Dogg on the Dre-produced hit "Bitch Please" of his album No Limit Top Dogg, and appearing on Dr. Dre's 6× platinum album 2001, on the songs "Lolo", "Some L.A. Niggaz", and "What's the Difference" with Eminem.

The same year, he also starred in the direct-to-video crime film Tha Eastsidaz by the group of the same name and was a playable character in the video game Madden NFL 2001.

He continued to star in films involving fellow rap artists such as The Wash, co-starring Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, in 2001 and The Slim Shady Show and 8 Mile, co-starring Eminem, in 2001 and 2002, respectively.

He released two concert films in 2001, Xzibit: Restless Xposed, centered around the recording of his third studio album and various live-performances and was also seen in Tha Alkaholiks: X.O. The Movie Experience by the rap group of the same name.

He also released a compilation album of songs that featured him, entitled You Better Believe It.

Xzibit contributed vocals to Fat Joe's 2001 album, Jealous Ones Still Envy, appearing on the song "The Wild Life".

In 2002, he guest-starred in the comedy series Cedric the Entertainer Presents as Mack Daddy in the eponymous episode and released his fourth studio album Man vs. Machine with mostly similar guest appearances like its predecessor, which spawned three singles, which all failed to chart in the Hot 100, although "Multiply" reached number 39 in the UK and 33 in Germany.

The album itself went gold, although Xzibit was unhappy with the crafting and promotion of his newest product, ending the cooperation with Dr. Dre.

The album is his highest-charting album to date, reaching number 3 in the U.S. and 8 in Canada.

He also starred in The Country Bears.

He then departed Loud Records in favor of Columbia Records for the release of his fourth album Man vs. Machine (2003), which peaked at number three on the chart.

Both albums were co-released by Xzibit's own label, Open Bar Entertainment.

He continued to collaborate with his West Coast colleagues, Ras Kass and Saafir, forming The Golden State Project (originally Golden State Warriors) rap collective, and Tha Alkaholiks, along with Snoop Dogg and Eminem, whom he accompanied on his All Access Europe tour in 2003.

His next albums, Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004) and Full Circle (2006) preceded a brief public hiatus, and he returned for the release of his seventh studio album, Napalm (2012).

Xzibit received a boost in popularity between 2004 and 2007 when he was introduced to a major audience as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, in which he brings an individual's wrecked car to West Coast Customs, where it undergoes a rejuvenation.

Musically, he started the year off with the release of his second compilation album Appetite for Destruction featuring 50 Cent on one track, consisting mostly of tracks from his Dre period and songs that didn't make the cut for his fifth studio album Weapons of Mass Destruction, which was released in December 2004, entering the charts at 43 in the U.S. For this album, he reunited with Columbia Records, after having parted ways with producer and mentor Dr. Dre.

The album managed to go gold, but yet again Xzibit was unhappy with the promotion and backing of his label, claiming that they were trying to promote him like Jessica Simpson, leaving the label in anger and going independent.

He has also starred in the films Gridiron Gang (2006), The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) and Sun Dogs (2017).

Xzibit started to rap at 14, shortly after his relocation from Albuquerque to Los Angeles, then under the pseudonym "Exhibit A".

Since 2013, he performs as a member of the hip-hop supergroup Serial Killers.