All of us here at XzibitCentral.com would like to wish Alvin Joiner (who we all know as Xzibit) a late happy 31st birthday for September 18th!
My apologies go out for being so late, I have been out of town so I haven’t had a chance to post on the website!
Stay tuned to XzibitCentral.com – before too long we will have another Xclusive interview with Mr X to the Z!
From Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, xXx: State of the Union comes to Special Edition DVD July 26th!
In this action-packed sequel to the box-office smash xXx, Ice Cube stars
as Darius Stone, a thrill-seeking troublemaker whose criminal record and
extreme sports obsession make him the perfect candidate to be the newest
xXx agent. He must save the U.S. government from a deadly conspiracy led
by five-star general and Secretary of Defense George Deckert (played by
Willem Dafoe). Only a renegade xXx agent like Stone has the Xtreme
skills to stop Deckert’s dangerous military splinter group from taking
over the government in America’s capital.
“THE BEST ACTION FILM OF THE YEAR!”
– Paul Fischer, DARK HORIZONS
“JAW DROPPING EXCITEMENT!”
– Shawn Edwards, FOX-TV
The DVD is packed with these new special features:
– 3 Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
– From Convict to Hero – The Making of xXx: State of the Union Featurette
– Top Secret Military Warehouse Featurette
– xXx: According to Ice Cube Featurette
– Director Lee Tamahori’s Commentary
– Visual Effects Commentary
– 4 Bullet Train Breakdown Angles with director Lee Tamahori’s introduction
– Previews
– Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Surround Sound (French)
– Subtitles: English, French
– Closed Captioning
– Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
Be sure to check out the xXx: State of the Union site on SonyPictures.com for games, downloads, promotions, productions stills
and more here!!
xXx: STATE OF THE UNION Trailer:
Windows Media Player (High Quality)
In the year since his last album, 2004’s Weapons of Mass Destruction, Xzibit has become a full-fledged TV star as the host (and consulting producer) of MTV’s Pimp My Ride. The rapper, who appeared opposite buddy Eminem in 8 Mile, has also continued to made his mark on the big screen with roles in XXX: State of the Union. Derailed, featuring Jennifer Aniston, Clive Owen and RZA, and Gridiron Gang, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, are also upcoming.
But the gravelly voiced rapper is now ready to return to what he does best. “I’ve been with a camera in front of my face for the last year, so now it’s about time to do what I love, and that’s get in the studio and make some hot music,” says the rapper.
He has two new records on the way: his as-yet-untitled sixth solo set and Arms and Hammers, the debut from Strong Arm Steady, his crew featuring fellow West Coast rappers Mitchy Slick, Krondon and Phil the Agony. “We’re gonna finish the Strong Arm Steady one first,” says Xzibit, “and then go in fresh and do the Xzibit record.”
Xzibit, whose previous records have featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem, expects to hook up with familiar faces again in the studio. “I work with the best,” he says. “No need to go anywhere else.”
He’s pimpin’ rides on MTV, acting in big budget films, now it’s time for Xzibit to move toward fashion. That’s right, the multi-platinum rapper has inked an endorsement deal with athletic footwear manufacturers Dada to roll out his own line of sneakers dubbed the “X’s.”
Like most of his hip-hop counterparts (50 Cent, Game, Jay-Z), Xzibit’s move toward the shew industry wasn’t surprising, since he’s been working with the company since the start. With a mutual respect for each other, X felt like Dada was the perfect fit for what he is trying to represent.
“I respect the grassroots approach that [Dada] took — just like myself — with athletic shoes,” Xzibit told BallerStatus.net. “I just got respect for the company in general, so me coming along to do a product with them is good; it’s an honor to me. I’m very happy with the complete product, and I’m pretty sure the public will be pleased as well.”
“We started with Xzibit, and we love his personality. So we were hanging out one day and were like, ‘we doing a new lifestyle product and he’s the perfect person for it,” added Lavetta Willis, Dada CEO.
The new Dada X’s Volume 1 are made in patent and suede leathers, with colors ranging from black and white to neon colors like green, orange, red and blue. Each shoe will include X’s trademark silver “X” insignia on the side and sole of the sneaker.
It is due to drop worldwide in August, and can be purchased at such stores as Footlocker and Footaction. The shoe will retail for $74.99.
Aside from creating sneakers, X has been flexing his acting skills on the set of his new movie titled “The Gridiron Gang,” which also stars The Rock. According to X, he has been filming in Los Angeles and Malibu, California, and is expected to wrap in August, with the film to debut sometime next year.
Also, he is putting the finishing touches on the debut album of his group Strong Arm Steady (Xzibit, Krondon, Mitchy Slick & Phil Da Agony), which may drop in the latter part of the year.
Yes, Xzibit did get a chance to spend some quality time with Jennifer Aniston in foreign lands. Yes, he was trying to leave a lasting impression on her. But nooooooo! He had no part in her breakup up with Brad. “I had nothing to do with it, I like ’em a little thicker,” X said with a big laugh in Los Angeles. X-to-da-Z and Jenny-from-the-apartment were not up to any monkey business; the two were filming the thriller “Derailed” in London.
“It was all work for me,” X said. “Being around seasoned actors was an incredible environment to work in. Mikael Håfström was the director. He’s a really big established director in Sweden. This is his big drama. It’s a twisted plot, it’s dangerous, it has all the makings of a classic.”
Xzibit was cast as a guy named Dexter. “Yeah, Dexter,” X laughed. “I play an important part of the plot twist. Just when you think it is, it ain’t.” If you think the Cali king of pimped-out rides has a character name that doesn’t match his look or demeanor, wait till you get a load of his “Derailed” co-star the RZA.
“My character is Winston,” RZA said recently in New York at the Shaolin Temple. “He’s a mailroom clerk, but he’s an ex-con also. Nobody knows he’s an ex-con. I’ve been a messenger in Manhattan before, so I kinda reflected on that messenger mentality to play the role. One thing I did with the character that I think was unique was every time I came onscreen, I would whistle. When the movie is over, I want the people to go away and remember that whistle. I think he was put over as a funny guy in a way, but he had a serious past. That’s not how they wrote it, but that’s how I did it.
“I’m not a great actor yet,” he added. “I took some classes to respect the art. In the movie ‘Derailed,’ you’ll see me trying to show my first character. I’ve been in a few movies before as myself, but you’ll see me as a character. We’ll see how that goes across.”
While Xzibit has some jokes about his dealings with Jennifer Aniston, RZA has some real talk about another star of “Derailed,” Clive Owen.
“Clive really helped me a lot,” RZA said. “He made me feel really comfortable on the set. He paced very well with me when I was delivering the lines. He took time to hang out with me and put me on the right path. I think Clive is about to crack it open with this movie.”
Xzibit and RZA are keeping their feet planted in Hollywood. On April 29, X will appear in “XXX: State of the Union” with Ice Cube, as a weapons specialist (“I get to shoot a hole in the side of the Capitol building with a tank, it’s crazy,” he said with a smile). And RZA is trying to direct his first movie later this year.
“I hope that’s all right for everybody,” RZA said about directing. “I been studying movies for seven years. The [movie is called] ‘The Man With the Iron Fist,’ and I wrote it myself. I’m a kung-fu head. The kung-fu genre hasn’t been explored since the ’70s and ’80s. I think it’ll be nice now that here in America we’re not babies at it anymore. There’s students at our Shaolin Temple that’s as good as some of the students from Asia. Now that America has embraced it and absorbed it, we can produce those kinda things over here.”