Grand Opening (Intro) – Intro

At The Speed Of Life – The album starts off with the album-titled track, which in truth is one of the heaviest tracks on the album. The beat is raw and simple and xzibit laces it with great lyrics all throughout: “Trying to find piece of mind is like trying to find a gold mine, it just wont happen, no time for relaxin, Real soldiers of fortune, the front line of the action, So never show a nigga what you packin’”. The chorus is kinda just a filler for a few seconds until xzibit starts spitting again. A great track to start the album off with. Due to the lyrics and amazing beat, it gets a great score. 9.5/10

Just Maintain – Xzibit, J-Ro and Hurricane Gee. The beat to this song is not as great as the one before it, but it definitely continues along the same feel. Xzibit spits heat, so does J-Ro. They should have made one more verse each and left Hurricane Gee out though. Her voice gets extremely annoying and her lyrics are average. She brings down the score of the song drastically. 6/10 

Eyes May Shine – Another raw beat to continue the feeling of the album. Xzibit once again spits some great lyrics, “I’m only comin’ through when it’s time for collection/ Xzibit forever nasty, spread like infection/ Ain’t no protection ever made by man to withstand this punishment/ In other words runnin’ shit”. This time the song actually has a proper chorus and it really adds to the atmosphere of the song with that special horror-style screech in the background.9/10

Positively Negative – The beat to this track sounds a bit different to the others so far, but this does not ruin the flow of the entire album. The song is basically Xzibit and King Tee exchanging lyrics, 2 verses each. Another great song on the album with another simple yet filling beat. 8.5/10

Don’t Hate Me – Skit

Paparazzi – Maybe the best song on the album. The beat is quite melodic and smooth flowing unlike the others but still has that same feeling as the whole album so far. The lyrics to this song are great and show Xzibit’s real ability to drop some deep lyrics. “so my composure is kept while others start to sweat/ A merchant from the fog with my *****ed up dialogue/ try to live high on the hog leaves you bankrupt/ and niggaz you spent it on, would not give a *****/”. In this song Xzibit talks about how rappers are only trying to drop hits to get the money rather than bring a meaning to their songs. 10/10

The Foundation – This song follows off the previous one in a good way, both by the beats and by the lyrics. Xzibit’s lyrics in this song are deep and seem to be inspired by his deep emotions. You can tell that from the very beginning with these lyrics: “When I look you in your eyes I can see my own/ Straight love manifested in flesh and bone/ You’s a breath of fresh air in this world of shit/ You was born to be a soldier don’t ever forget/”. The beat to this track brings out a feeling of some emotional burden and especially the voices in the chorus make it really stand out. A perfect song. 10/10

Mrs Crabtree – Skit

Bird’s Eye View – What a shame that this song doesn’t follow the same method as the previous two. Nevertheless, you are still in for a treat. Xzibit, Tash and J-Ro all spit some good lyrics and do the chorus along with a single line from Hurricane Gee. The beat to this song takes it back to the same feel as in the beginning of the album, the simple raw beats that barely exist these days anymore. 8/10

Hit And Run (Part II) – “I don’t wanna save ’em/ Pay em’ or buy clothes/ All we really wanna do/ Is try to ***** these hoes/”. That is basically what the song is about. Xzibit rappin about hoes on top of a slow paced beat. I felt that this song was not bad and doesn’t bring the album down, but maybe the album would have been better without it.7/10

Carry The Weight – One of my personal favorites. Another more melodic beat with deep lyrics. “You see I don’t like to remenisce about the past/ The lower class, no clout livin’ hand to mouth/ Each and every wrong move the police keep count/ make it real *****in’ easy to get streched out/” to just mention the beginning of the great lyrics. The chorus is basically over the same beat and flow but still sounds great. Definitely a song you should know. If you don’t have the album, I recommend you download this song (or buy the album). 10/10

Plastic Surgery – A song by the Golden State Project: Xzibit, Ras Kass And Saafir. It reminds me of “Just Maintain” a bit, but this is definitely better. The beat is basically the simplest thing you can think of, drums and baseline, but it sounds just perfect for this song. The song talks about how people still sound the same on the mic and now need “Plastic Surgery”. 9/10

Enemies And Friends – Basically a song going over the rules of the game and telling you to watch out for your “friends” that can turn on you any moment. The beat to this song, the last song on the album, still holds that same feeling of rawness and is a great song to finish the album with. 9/10

Last Words (Outro) – Skit

 

I believe that Xzibit is one of the most underrated rappers ever, no one really seems to care about him. Hhe gave us an album which is so consistent from front to back with that raw feeling and those great lyrics yet he remains a minor name in the rap game. No body should be sleepin on this album, if you are able to, get it. Due to the great lyrics and the beats that give you that same feeling all throughout the album, this gets a 9/10, or 4,5 out of 5.