Xzibit: Get It How You Live It (New Interview)

[Elano]

As a man of many means, Xzibit has evolved from underground MC to pop culture figurehead. This year he is working on his seventh full-length album, and is currently starring alongside actresses Alfre Woodard and Nicole Bahari in the heart-wrenching film American Violet. The true story follows a young woman who is wrongfully charged and taken to trial under the new drug laws, and chooses to fight.

Since the Detroit-born lyricist’s early days with The Likwit Crew, Xzibit stood out with his gritty rhymes and intense presence. His solo debut, At The Speed of Life, was released in 1996 on Loud Records, followed by 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz in 1998. The latter spawned his acclaimed single “What You See Is What You Get,” and put Mr. X to the Z on the map as a star in his own right.

By 1999 he was making on-screen cameos, setting the pace for him to take on Hollywood. Roles in movies like Derailed, XXX: State of the Union and The X-Files: I Want to Believe have given Xzibit a big screen identity apart from his hosting duties on MTV’s hit show Pimp My Ride.

Now Xzibit is starring in various upcoming film projects, including Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans with Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes and Nicolas Cage, and the thriller Pinkville with Bruce Willis and Woody Harrelson. He is also embarking on a tour of Europe and finding time to record in the midst of it all. Xzibit took some time from his forever-hectic schedule to speak with Okayplayer about his roles in hip-hop and Hollywood, and thoughts on the importance of the movie American Violet.

OKP: This is your 10th year of acting. What do you feel was the breakout moment for your film career?

Xzibit: Wow, well I guess [the earlier roles] are cameos. I think that really seriously I would start from XXX 2 [State of the Union, 2005], that’s when I actually wanted to pursue being an actor.

OKP: Was there any particular point that made you know you really wanted a movie career?

Xzibit: Yeah, when I saw the catering truck, it’s fantastic. [laughs] Catering in movies is way better than music. But really it was the actual process of being in a film, seeing how it’s made and what impact I can have, if any at all, in a movie and then seeing it come out on film and seeing if it does well. There’s a vibration there if you base it off of that, so I kept it going.

OKP: You’ve played the hood guy and the gangster, and you’ve also been an FBI agent [in The X-Files: I Want to Believe]. In your new movie American Violet you’re actually playing a regular guy with a lot of issues. Is there any particular type of role you’re gravitating towards these days? What’s been the most significant role you feel you’ve played?

Xzibit: As long as the material is right and there’s a transitional part for me to play and not the stereotypical part, I’ll gravitate towards that. I think as an actor you have to be prepared to play any role, and if the material is right then I’ll consider it. As far as the best role I’ve done so far, I really like what was done in Gridiron Gang, I get a lot of feedback from that. I also like what was done in Derailed, I got into a little shooting action. [laughs] In XXX 2 I got to shoot a hole in the side of the Capitol building with a tank, but that was all CGI.

OKP: How do you feel when classically-trained actors vent about rappers taking roles from them? Is there any part of that that makes you want to step up your game as an actor to prove them wrong?

Xzibit: Nah. We can say the same argument… if you look at Joaquin Phoenix [rapping], we could be like “You can’t do that.” I think it’s about how serious you take the craft. If you come in and do a half assed job, then that’s how much respect you get for what you’re doing and it’s gonna show. It’s all visual with film, and you gotta bring it to life through the emotion you put behind the words. If you take it seriously you can make a positive transition, but Hollywood is different and they’ll give you enough rope to pull yourself up or hang yourself - either way.

OKP: American Violet is centered around things that are still going on with the drug laws and the police state that we’re in as a country. How much research did you have to do, and were there people you spent time with for the role?

Xzibit: I was able to get DVDs of interviews with the character I was playing [Darrell Hughes], and I got to study him out before I actually got to play the role. I read the script and actually put it together, so I had a lot of tools to work with.

OKP: Do you have any personal views about the way the politics go down in this film? A young woman [Dee Roberts, played by actress Nicole Beharie] who’s innocent, is arrested [on false drug charges] and really hung out to dry in a lot of ways with the system.

Xzibit: This story is significant because we see a lot of people fight back and rebel against the system in their own way, but this is one instance where she actually fought the system with the system [by suing the District Attorney] and won. It’s important to showcase that it can be done in different ways, sometimes there will be blood and other times you can actually use your voice of reason to get across your point.

OKP: You play a troubled dad who doesn’t have his life together. How important is this role in the big picture?

Xzibit: I think the movie is important. The role I play is an antagonist. It’s not the best light to be shown in [laughs], but it comes from both sides. It doesn’t just come from the people that run the system but [what matters is] the people around us and how we treat each other.

OKP: You mentioned recently that you’re working on a new album, and you’ve got some new movies in the works like Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans [2009] and Pinkville [2011]. What else do you have coming up?

Xzibit: Yeah, I’ve got a couple of films coming, and I’m actually on tour with Ice Cube in Amsterdam and Paris, and then I’ll come back and start working on some more music. But as soon as I find the right direction that I need to go in as I record these songs, hopefully in the next couple of months, I’ll have something to give to the public. But for right now, I’m gonna just keep grinding.