Xzibit - Napalm

I was listening to old Xzibit songs a few days ago, and I realized that I liked them just as much as I used to. He had a flow that few could amount to, and a style that, while vulgar, was real and to the point.

So I ended up taking the time to look some of his newer music up. I hadn't heard of him at all since the early 2000's, and I was curious to see if there was a more recent project.

Just last October he released Napalm. I was listening to it, and at first I was disappointed. A few tracks in and I'm wondering, is this what's left of X? Where's the flow? Where are the rhymes that I'd learn to recite with just as much emotion?

Then I heard 1983.

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I'm instantly hit by cliche overly-sentimental music. My first reaction wasn't a happy one, and by now I was ready to give up on the album. And then I realized what I was listening to.

This one is a piece of art. Thoughts and words put together to express and show you, the listener, what things are like from the performers view.

The lyrics are a little hard to understand, both because of his accent/flow combination, and because it takes knowing his past to delve deep into it. For both cases, here's a set of lyrics to help you get it better.

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After 1983, the album started to pick up. There's some grade A rhymes in there with something to say, much unlike the modern day Hip-Hop star that talks about the color of his boxers and gets to the top of the iTunes charts.

There's a little bit of everything, from truly patriotic tracks like Meaning of Life to the perfectly rhymed Movies where his entire verse is made up of movie titles (lyrics!). And then if you're missing Eminem's old school style, there's even the occasional dark-themed song like Killers Remorse.

Unfortunately, there's just as much of the bad competing against the good in the album. There's a few songs where we witness the slipping of his flow, the commercialization in the production work, and a few meaningless tracks about nothing special.

If you've liked Xzibits older material, it'll be worth a shot. I recommend giving it a listen because of a few good tracks and a happy rhyme-lovers ear.

As far as the entire album goes, it could lose a track or six.