Today, September 18 2006, marks Xzibit’s (real name: Alvin) 32nd birthday!
From myself and everyone else on the XzibitCentral.com Forums we would like to wish Alvin a happy birthday and we hope the success of his latest movie, Girdiron Gang, continues on with the release of Full Circle – which is now less then 1 month away!
Wish Xzibit a happy birthday here!
Xzibit gets on the internet almost every day so he’d love to see some comments from his fans!
Justin Russo – Owner of XzibitCentral.com
The Gridiron Gang co-star talks about rapping with The Rock and seeking success without pimping his career.
September 15, 2006 – Rappers often get a bad rap (no pun intended) when it comes to acting. For the most part, these are guys who have established themselves as tough guys and gangsters, so when time comes to reveal sensitivity, warmth or humor, they’re generally raked over the coals by critics and dismissed by fans who don’t want to see their favorite stars act fragile.
Xzibit has been defying expectations for more than a decade now. After establishing a prodigious music career in the late 1990s, the rapper (real name: Alvin Joiner) slowly moved into acting, focusing on comedy and drama roles that would challenge his talent but not transform him into something he’s not. Subsequently, he became the host of MTV’s hugely successful show Pimp My Ride, which introduced him as the unexpected benefactor who transforms teens’ jalopies into jet-setting supercars. His latest role is the assistant coach to The Rock in Gridiron Gang, which retells the true-life story of a youth detention counselor who inspires his charges by establishing a football program.
IGN recently spoke to Xzibit at the press day for Gridiron Gang, where he talked about his own upbringing, and about seeking success as an actor one role at a time.
Read the interview at IGN Interview: Xzibit
Notable west coast hip hop artist Xzibit who is not only famous for his rap but also his position on MTV’s Pimp My Ride, has spoken out to defend his craft and chosen profession.
The hip hop artist says “Rap is a reflection of society. If society wasn’t violent, then hip hop wouldn’t be violent.”
The west coast hip hop rapper is known for his keen street knowledge and his ‘realness’ among the hip hop culture. Xzibit added “You can blame hip hop but we’re like reporters; we tell you what’s going on in the neighborhood and we tell you how it is. I don’t think hip-hop should glorify the violence. I think with hip hop music you have to have some kind of balance. When you take someone’s life you’re gonna end up losing yours.”
Xzibit is tired of all the media hip hop pundits taking shots at hip hop over some of the violent lyrics and some of the imagery in hip hop and rap videos.
Xzibit also stated “But we can’t be like Arnold Schwarzenegger; he can kill 70 million people on the screen and still he’s a role model. But when you talk about slapping somebody, or shooting somebody on a rap tape, you are a criminal.”
The west coast rapper Xzibit seems to have ‘hit the nail on the head’, so to speak, and it is good to see that there are some in the hip hop culture who are willing to speak out against the view that mainstream media puts on hip hop.
It’s funny that so many don’t like hip hop culture but they will use us to sell everything from hamburgers to cell phones.
Rapper XZIBIT fears young black Americans get involved in crime because they’ll never be able to compete with their rich white neighbours, who have fortunes passed on to them.
The thoughtful PIMP MY RIDE star understands why some of his peers turn to stealing and drug dealing as a means to get rich quick – because they don’t have trust funds to turn to.
He says, “I think our biggest problem as young black men in this country is that we have become used to immediate gratification and that will destroy you.
“We come from a generation where our families don’t have trust funds or family businesses where we can just jump into.
“My father had to struggle and his father had to struggle, so me, being born into the situation, I inherit the struggle. What becomes attractive with stealing is that I can enjoy the things society has, but I get it faster. It’s immediate gratification.
“That’s more attractive than going to college for five years, you’re halfway done with your life before you even get to enjoy your car.”
Shooting GRIDIRON GANG in a juvenile delinquents facility made rapper XZIBIT realise how close he came to a life of crime and an early death.
The PIMP MY RIDE star plays an American football coach in the new THE ROCK film and spent weeks thanking his lucky stars that he turned his back on the life many of the delinquents he came into contact with on location had chosen.
He explains, “I was doing dumb s**t, getting caught at state fairs with guns; ridiculous stuff because I didn’t have anything to focus on. “I was angry; my mother had passed when I was nine, my dad got remarried and we moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was a culture shock and difficult for me to adjust. “I was acting out and I did end up in these facilities. It was a conscious decision because my father was a Marine and he was going nuts: ‘What’s wrong with you boy?’ “When I left I was 17 and came to California and I started to realise, ‘You know what, I’m smarter than this.’ I realised if I continue going down the path I’m going on I’m gonna end up dead. “It’s easy to fall in line with everyone else but hard to step out on your own.”