"Re-arrange the whole game with my rugged sound"

For years Mr. X to the Z had been putting in his dues in the hardcore underground of the west. He has one of those unforgettable voices matched by his flow that never seems to lag. Despite how non-mainstream they were, tracks like Paparazzi, Foundation, & What U See Is What U Get all pushed out and were popular for a solid following on the charts. With the way things were going from the beginning, it always seemed like he was about to blow up. Guest spots only created a bigger buzz. All it took was his hook-up with the good ol' D-R-E. Finally Restless came out with Dre's executive production stamp on it, and that was it.



Restless is one of those examples of an album that straddles hardcore rap and popular music, ironically Dre seems to always be behind these kinda project (Snoop, 50 Cent). But, this really was the last time X was hungry... still sounded like he's got something to prove.



You can't replace having Dre as an executive producer for your album. Not only do you ensure a healthy dose of beats from the good Dr. but his endless connections help out as well. The album opens with the bass thumping "Front 2 Back" from Rocwilder. From the beginning you'll notice that X writes incredible hooks (if it's not a ghostwriter) cause they are all over this album. Battle Cat handles "Been a Long Time" which is an ok track with a Nate Dogg hook. X really carries the beat along and it holds up better than it should thanks to him.



Eric Sermon handles the production for "Alkaholik" (which is a nice spot for the Likwit crew) & "Double Time". The latter is a nice quick paced track that gives X a chance to switch up his flow a little bit, which ends up not being incredible but it still works pretty well. X himself gets on the production tip with his tribute to the old school "Kenny Parker Show 2001" featuring KRS-One as the hype man (sorry no verse from the Blastmaster). Xzibit actually flows pretty nicely in this format.



"Don't Approach Me" is a great track were both Em & Xzibit just rail on critics. It's kinda annoying that Em sets himself up to outshine X, but that's just how it happens when you put him on as a guest. "Get Your Walk On" is one of those neck-breaking tracks and X drops some classic rhymes within rhymes to add to it ("Recognize all men are not created equal/ I'm lethal, all y'all faggots remain see-through/ Only the kid from `The Sixth Sense' can peep you (DEAD PEOPLE!) ").

"Sorry I'm Away So Much" is a DJ Quick production about their kids that actually doesn't come off sappy (especially with Quick's hilarious adlibs at the end). The smooth groove of the track makes this one a repeat listener.



When Dre has his hands on the track, it brings Xzibit to the next level. "U Know", "X", & "Best of Things" are the best tracks on the album. The latter two are two of Dre's finest beats and Xzibit doesn't waist `em dropping lines like "It's funny how things change overnight when you thinkin right/ I beat the odds like Ike beat on his first wife" or "Shine bright, make sure that X stay tight/ Cause tonight I might meet my next X-wife".



There are some really big problems on the album though. "D.N.A." waists Snoop Dogg's guest spot, it's an uninpired lack-luster track. "Rimez & Tirez" isn't really bad production wise with the nice laid back beat, but the chorus is just AWFUL & X is only on the mic for 40 seconds. "F'in You Right" has a horrible beat and is really silly. Easily the worst song on the album.



Xzibit manages to make a hardcore album that easily listenable for the masses. Yet, he still hadn't gotten to the point of his career where he "dumbed down" his lyrics for popularity. I don't really care about him "selling-out" or whatever you want to call it, the guys trying to make money however he can get it. I will say that it's unfortunate for his fans from "At The Speed of Life", "40 Dayz", and even "Restless" that he's clearly not as focused on making great albums anymore. It's unfortunate the he didn't change the game, because this is a great album: the solid material tremendously outweighs the bad ... instead of continuing on this path, X lost his rugged sound after this. But, when his efforts are focused on his music and he's got that hunger, which is the case for "Restless", no one does it like Xzibit. (8/10)

Restless

This album is definately one of my favorite West Coast albums of all time, and is highly reccomended.



1.Intro/Restless

2.Front 2 Back-Produced by Rockwilder-5/5-Hot production and great flow/lyrics from XZ, one of the best songs on the CD

3.Been A Long Time featuring Nate Dogg-Produced by Battle Cat-4/5-Hot production, and the chorus by Nate is a great addition, but Xzibit isnt at the top of his game lyrically

4.U Know featuring Dr. Dre-Produced by Dr. Dre, Nottz & Scott Storch-5/5-Great song, Dre shows he can still drop a nice verse

5.X-Produced by Dr. Dre, Mel-Man & Scott Storch-5/5-Xzibit's first big single, the song that launched him into the mainstream. Hot song, too.

6.Alkaholik featuring Erick Sermon and J-Ro & Tash of Tha Liks-Produced by Erick Sermon-5/5-Great Erick Sermon production, on an overall great song

7.Kenny Parker Show 2001 featuring KRS-One-Produced by Xzibit & Thayod-5/5-Remake of BDP's 'Kenny Parker Show' (same beat, too), with KRS playing the role of hypeman this time, one of the best songs on the CD

8.D.N.A. (Drugs N Alchohol) featuring Snoop Dogg-Produced by Rick Rock-5/5-I love the production on this one, great guest apperance by Snoop, too

9.Double Time-Produced by Erick Sermon-5/5-More top notch production from Erick Sermon, and Xzibit shows why he's a top 50 MC

10.Don't Approach Me featuring Eminem-Produced by Eminem-5/5-I really don't like Eminem's solo stuff (with the exception of Slim Shady LP & some other songs), but I usually love his guest apperances for some reason

11.Rimz & Tirez featuring Defari, Goldie Loc & Kokane-Produced by Soopafly-4/5-Very good song, pretty basic beat with a little west coast flavor

12.F***in You Right-Produced by Soopafly-4.5/5-Some of the best production on the CD (courtesy of Soopafly) and Xzibit's flow is great on this one

13.Best Of Things-Produced by Dr. Dre-5/5-Nice production by Dre, and one of Xzibit's best tracks lyrically

14.Get Your Walk On-Produced by Mel-Man & Battle Cat-5/5-Best produced song on the album, and one of the best overall

15.Sorry I'm Away So Much featuring DJ Quik & Suga Free-Produced by DJ Quik-5/5-Great track dedicated to Quik & Xzibit's kids, nice change of pace and one of Xzibit's best tracks lyrically

16.Loud & Clear featuring Butch Cassidy, Defari & King T-Produced by Battle Cat-4/5-A nice beat, some hot verses and Butch Cassidy's smooth chorus make this a very good song



Highly reccomended

Restless is not that worth a solid 4 1/2 Mics

"Front 2 Back" has a great lyrical showcase by X man him self the next track features and Nate Dogg "Been a long time"."U Know" has a solid beat and great lyrics and has the man Dre on it also has a nice spirit with it to."X" was a big hit at the time of the release but I did not really love it but it is good.

"Alkaholics" features Erick Sermon and Trash who is a member of tha Alkaholics the hook sounds like a D-12 song."Kenny Parker Show 2000" has the man KRS-One on it so you know it is tight."D.N.A." is tight and has Snoop Dogg."Don't Approach me" has a beat Eminem wished he could make but Slim Shady sounds like pre Marshall Mathers PHD and more of Slim Shady Crazy mofo."Best of Things" he talks about how he was likely to have a Psychic evaluation."Get your walk on" was one of my favorite singles at the time of the albums release."Sorry I'm away so much" is as strong lyrically as it is beat wise."Loud and Clear" ends off the album.Have to here all away through to appreciate.This had great raps by Xzibit and great beats by Dr.Dre if it is not in my Top 50 of 01 it will be.

Lyrics 9 Production 9 X Factor 9 Classic 9 Replay 9