Track List:
01 - State of the Union
02 - LAX
03 - Cold World
04 - Saturday Night Live (feat. Jelly Roll)
05 - Muthafucka
06 - Beware of Us (feat.Strong Arm Steady)
07 - Judgement Day
08 - Criminal Set
09 - Hey Now (Mean Muggin) (feat. Keri Hilson)
10 - Ride or Die
11 - Crazy Ho (featu. Strong Arm Steady)
12 - Big Barking
13 - Tough Guy (feat.Busta Rhymes)
14 - Scent of a Woman
15 - Klack
16 - Back 2 the Way It Was
As one of the few remaining mainstream west coast rappers, Xzibit has a lot of work to do if he plans to fulfil his goal of resurrecting the west with his fifth album “Weapons of Mass Destruction”.
This time around X has chosen to do it without the help of superstar hit-maker Dr. Dre, instead working with the likes of Jelly Roll, Battlecat, Hi-Tek and Timbaland. Also missing from this release is the string of big name guest appearances which were all over his last two releases, so the question is, can Xzibit make it with his Strong Arm Steady crew without all the big name backing.
The album opens with an excellent parody of some George Bush speeches, which unlike most introductions on hip-hop albums; this one is actually funny and fits the title/theme of the album. The set then moves on with “LAX” which feels a lot more like the run of the mill opening album track. Although, it isn’t one of the strongest tracks on the album, it’s hard flow and beat make it a decent introduction to the album.
Where the album really starts to shine is on tracks like “Cold World” which showcase Xzibit’s lyrical abilities and story telling skills, which make this one of the best tracks on the album.
After a fairly impressive introduction the album tends to fluctuate between good and back, while tracks like “Beware of us”, “Judgement Day”, “Criminal Set”, “Hey Now (Mean Muggin)”, “Scent of a Woman” and “Tough Guy”, which could all potentially be launched as singles and all showcase Xzibit’s skills, tend to get interspersed with tracks like “Saturday Night Live”, “Crazy Ho” and “Klack” which may sound decent on the first listen, but have little lasting appeal and tend to get skipped after a few rotations of the album.
Following a sound introduction and a somewhat inconsistent middle, the album is rounded off with “Back 2 the way it was” in which Xzibit speaks on how things used to be and what needs to change, which is a solid ending to a not so solid album.
Weapons of Mass Destruction’s inconsistencies are the main reason this album will not be considered a classic and it is by no means Xzibit’s best work. Although there are some excellent tracks and this release is a clear improvement over his last offering “Man Vs. Machine”, but it is not on the same level as his earlier albums. I also feel that the lack of big name guest appearances and no Dr. Dre backing means that although this is a fairly solid album, it will not see the sales success it deserves. On the plus side, “Tough Guy” which saw Xzibit and Busta Rhymes on the same track and the debut of X’s Strong Arm Steady where excellent additions to the album and I look forward from more Strong Arm Steady and Xzibit with Busta Rhymes releases in the future.
Hot Tracks: Hey Now (Mean Muggin’), Beware of us, Judgement Day, Tough Guy, Scent of a Woman, Back 2 the way it was
Artist: Xzibit