Xzibit

Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, born September 18, 1974 in Detroit and known to the world as Xzibit, built his reputation the slow way: one careful, technically sharp verse at a time. He started making music in 1992 and signed with Loud Records, an imprint of RCA, where his debut album At the Speed of Life introduced a writer more interested in detail and dread than in easy hooks. Its lead single, “Paparazzi,” reached number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the follow-up 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz drew a similar response behind “What U See Is What U Get.”

That body of work caught Dr. Dre’s ear, and Dre executive-produced the next two albums. Restless pushed Xzibit toward a bigger, more commercial sound and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200; he then moved from Loud to Columbia for Man vs. Machine, which climbed to number three. Weapons of Mass Destruction and Full Circle followed before a public hiatus, and he returned with Napalm. Since 2013 he has recorded as part of the hip-hop supergroup Serial Killers.

He is also a familiar face on screen, having hosted Pimp My Ride and played Shyne Johnson on Empire, alongside roles in Hoodwinked, Gridiron Gang, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and Sun Dogs.

Discography

• 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz (1999)
• At The Speed Of Life (1999)
• Restless (2000)
• Year 2000 (2000)
• Front 2 Back (2001)
• Man VS Machine (2002)
• Weapons of Mass Destruction (Explicit) (2004)
• The Greatest (2009)
• Serial Killers: Day of the Dead (2018)
• Serial Killers Presents: Summer of Sam (2020)