Front 2 Back – The first song was produced by the Rocwilder, and damn it’s a great start to the album. The beat is relatively fast and heavy, but guaranteed to get you hooked into the album. Xzibit comes off great in this track. If they would have paid slightly more attention to the chorus this song might have been nothing short of perfect. 9/10

Been A Long Time – Battle Cat produced this, I was hoping it would come out a bit faster than this to keep the momentum rolling from the song before it. Instead you have a somewhat slow beat that Xzibit doesn’t seem able to fully flow to. Don’t get me wrong, the beat is still great. Nate Dogg simply rips it with his vocals in the chorus and is the highlight of the song. 9/10

U Know – Finally, the first Dre produced track of the album, and damn you can’t ask for any more. The beat is mainly a piano along with drums on a nice somewhat fast beat. Xzibit is decent on this track and then, surprisingly, Dre drops an amazing verse in the end. The chorus should have been different though, it simply didn’t follow the flow of the beat or verses. 8/10

X – Another Dre beat, you should know this song. Xzibit’s flow in this song is nothing short of perfect. This song is basically an introduction to anyone that doesn’t know X. Snoop’s speech in the end was unnecessary but doesn’t harm the song in any way. 10/10

Alkaholik – I don’t know what to say about this track, all my friends claim it’s the best on the album, but I don’t really find it that great. The song is produced by Erick Sermon who is also featured along with J-Ro and Tash. Xzibit has a good verse to start it off, Erick wasn’t all that great and neither was J-Ro, however Tash was decent. The chorus is sort of addictive and simple. 6/10

Kenny Parker Show 2001 – Xzibit attempted a bit of production with this track. It’s a good remake of the Kenny Parker Show. The beat is nice and addictive. Xzibit’s flow over it is great and he seems very full of himself, “Yo it’s me, down with D-R-E, X to tha Z rocks any party”. KRS One has occasional shout outs in the song. 8/10

D.N.A. (Drugs-N-Alkahol) – The first real appearance of Big Snoop Dogg on the album. The beat is pretty good and produced by Rick Rock. Xzibit’s verse in the beginning is nice and on a medium speed. After a chorus which was actually a bit annoying, Snoop drops a verse with a really sweet flow like only he does. 8.5/10

Double Time – Produced by Erick Sermon, and I really wasn’t feelin this song. Both the beat and the verses got very repetitive and annoying. Further more, the chorus was too simple and repeating the same thing for too long. This song could have been left out of the album. 4/10

Don’t Approach Me – This song was produced by Eminem, and you can see that he learnt from Dre. The beat for this song is very simple, but seems to be very filling and perfect for the sound of both Xzibit and Eminem. The chorus is also amazing. 10/10

Rims & Tirez – Soopafly produced this, and unlike his normal production, this sucks. The chorus was just lame and completely not of the quality of this album. All the verses sounded slow and forced rather than following the beat which is probably impossible on the beat. Another disappointment was Kokane’s chorus, usually he sounds unique on each song with his odd voice in a good way, but not here. 3/10

*****in’ You Right – Well, its Xzibit, what can you expect? A song saying “I’m just *****in all these hoes to get experience to know how to ***** you in the best way possible honey, I swear”. Once again the beat is produced by Soopafly and this time he didn’t screw it up. Xzibit has a fast flow in this song and the chorus is just bangin. 8/10

Best Of Things – The third Dre produced beat of the album, and possibly one of the best. Xzibit’s flow is medium in this song, but drops some amazing verses. The chorus is Xzibit experimenting with his voice attempting to somewhat sing with a soft voice that did not turn out that great, but was still nice over this beat. My favorite track on the album.10/10

Get Your Walk On – Produced by Mel-Man and Battle Cat, and damn its great. The song starts off right away with a fast beat and Xzibit drops fast verses but seems to stop for a second between each line or something like that. The past two songs have been simply amazing. 10/10

Sorry I’m Away So Much – The only DJ Quik produced track for the album, and that’s a shame. This song is great, Xzibit seems able to flow over the beat without any problem, too bad that Quik didn’t make more beats for this album. Suga Free also drops a real tight verse. 9/10

Loud & Clear – A perfect way to end the album. This Battle Cat production has a dark feeling to it. Once again Xzibit starts instantly rapping with the beat and drops another great verse. Everybody has good drops on this song and the chorus is simply perfect. A real good way to finish off the album. 10/10

 

Overall the album is consistent with the exception of two or three songs. I’d recommend you get this album, another great mark of Xzibit’s career. Overall this gets a 8/10 or 4 out of 5.

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.