HIP-HOP

A recent release reviewed

XZIBIT
Weapons of Mass DestructionColumbia
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MTV viewers will know Xzibit as the man to call if you want to turn your banger into a blingmobile, but the Pimp My Ride host also has a useful career as a rapper. Past albums (Restless and the excellent Man vs Machine) showed that he can handle a hot mic as well as anyone you'd care to mention. It's politics and American foreign policy that are getting on his wick this time out, X-to-the-Z ripping into George W. Bush and friends with the same enthusiasm shown by West Coast Customs to clapped-out cars. Tracks such as State of the Union and Cold World are socio-political sledgehammers, Xzibit using his word-power with almost Michael Moore-like intent. That said, he still has his funky side, a track like Muthafucka showing that Xzibit still likes to party with the best of them. www.xzibit.net

Jim Carroll