Xzibit - Weapons Of Mass Destruction CDs • Vinyl Records • LPs • Music Albums

Bush-bashing righteous anger into his muscular, dextrous rhymes. "Cold World" draws parallels between an inner-city hustler and an Iraqi family who couldn't escape our bombs, and the ghetto-soul "Judgement Day" sells X's soft side. Among the more conventional hip-hop tracks, the highlights are the Timbaland-produced "Hey Now (Mean Muggin')" and "Muthafucka," in which Xzibit spits dense, syncopated fire over souped-up Seventies funk. Weapons is dragged down by too much unremarkably brawny fare, but Xzibit works enough variations on hard and heavy to ensure that rapping will remain his main gig.

Just when it seemed Xzibit was in danger of falling off for good, he reinvents himself through MTV and is now bigger than ever. On his sixth LP, the seasoned rhyme slinger delivers some of his best work in years. Flexing heavy beats and rugged raps aplenty, "Criminal Set" and "Tough Guy" (with Busta Rhymes) are standouts.