In the '60s, the West Coast was known for its flower power music with bands like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. In the '70s, there was the "West Coast Sound," with acts like Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles and Jackson Browne. But by the 1990s, rap truly owned the "left coast." And chief among its purveyors was--and still is--Xzibit. Spring boarding his career off work with rap giants like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, the X Man became a superstar in his own right. Albums like 2000's Restless and 2002's Man Vs Machine were heavy hitters on the charts. Now comes the thrilling and chilling Weapons of Mass Destruction. Hip-hop fans are going to want to jump all over this one!
Chilling? Oh yeah. Hard rock guitars and a thudding beat come at you with the rap-metal anthem "LAX." X's deep voice delivers a bulldog rap that just keeps barking and snapping. It's 100 proof and it's just a taste of what's to come.
But it isn't all fire and fury. Cuts like "Saturday Night Live" (featuring Jelly Roll) swing off into other orbits, in this case fun-n-soul music. A bumpin' and bangin' number, it's a total dance floor magnet. Another hot track, "Judgement Day" is fittingly gospel oriented, drawing samples from two different versions of "It Can't Make Any Difference To Me."
Other aces in a deck filled with aces include the high-energy, soul/funk-laced "Mutha*****"; the hook laden "Tough Guy" (featuring Busta Rhymes), with its slow-piston-bounce beat and stalking bass; and the electric soul stylings of "Back 2 The Way It Was." The latter track references the early heyday of rap, as does "Criminal Set," which harks back to legendary acts like N.W.A. and Public Enemy. And then, for something completely different, there's "Crazy Ho" (featuring Strong Arm Steady), which starts out with a little a cappella vocal work before folding into an infectious beat that builds into an awesome groove.
Clocking in at just under 60 minutes, Weapons of Mass Destruction is an hour you'll want to spend again and again. This is a mighty rapper at the top of his game: a true king of the West Coast circa 2005.
By Adrian Zupp
