At the Speed of Life

1996 studio album by Xzibit

Studio album by

Xzibit

Released

October 15, 1996 (1996-10-15)

Recorded

1995–96

Studio

Tha Concentration Camp (Los Angeles, CA)
Ameraycan (North Hollywood, CA)
The Compound (Los Angeles, CA)

Genre

West Coast hip hop
hardcore hip hop

Length

49:14

Label

Loud
RCA

Producer

Xzibit (exec.)
E-Swift (also exec.)
Craig Sherrad
Diamond D
DJ Muggs
DJ Pen One
Saafir
Thayod Ausar

Xzibit chronology

At the Speed of Life
(1996)

40 Dayz & 40 Nightz
(1998)

Singles from At the Speed of Life

"Paparazzi"
Released: May 27, 1996
"The Foundation"
Released: November 11, 1996

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Muzik	^[2]
Q	^[3]
RapReviews	8.5/10^[4]
The Source	^[5]

At the Speed of Life is the debut studio album by American rapper Xzibit. It was released on October 15, 1996, through Loud/RCA Records.^[6] The recording sessions took place at Tha Concentration Camp and The Compound in Los Angeles and Ameraycan Studios in North Hollywood. The album was produced by Craig Sherrad, E-Swift, Thayod Ausar, Diamond D, DJ Muggs, DJ Pen One, and Saafir. It features guest appearances from Hurricane G, J-Ro, King T, Ras Kass, Saafir, Tash and Ron Hightower.

In the United States, the album made it to number 74 on the Billboard 200 and number 22 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It also peaked at number 19 in the Netherlands, number 35 in Switzerland, number 36 in Finland, number 57 in Sweden and number 74 in Germany.

Its lead single, "Paparazzi", peaked at No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 39 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, No. 61 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 9 on the Hot Rap Songs in the United States. It found more success in Europe, reaching Top 20 in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Finland and Austria, and received Gold certification by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie. The instrumental version of "Paparazzi" can be heard in the end of "Pax Soprana", the sixth episode of the first season of crime drama television series The Sopranos. The song was used for the soundtrack to 2001 video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.

The song "Eyes May Shine" was released as a promotional single on October 15, 1996 with its remix version featuring Mobb Deep.

The album's second single, "The Foundation", was less successful only peaking at No. 1 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, No. 29 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, No. 58 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 16 on the Hot Rap Songs in the United States.

The song "Just Maintain" off of the album appeared in Richard Donner's 1997 film Conspiracy Theory.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[7]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Grand Opening" (Interlude)		Craig Sherrad	1:32
2.	"At the Speed of Life"	Alvin Joiner Eric Banks	Thayod Ausar	3:45
3.	"Just Maintain" (featuring Hurricane Gee)	Joiner Gloria Rodriguez Eric Brooks	E-Swift	3:20
4.	"Eyes May Shine"	Joiner Brooks	E-Swift	3:57
5.	"Positively Negative" (featuring King Tee)	Joiner Roger McBride Craig Sherrad	Craig Sherrad	3:36
6.	"Don't Hate Me" (Interlude)		Thayod Ausar	1:31
7.	"Paparazzi"	Joiner Banks	Thayod Ausar	3:56
8.	"The Foundation"	Joiner Lawrence Muggerud William Martin Joel	DJ Muggs	3:55
9.	"Mrs. Crabtree" (Interlude)		E-Swift Saafir	1:16
10.	"Bird's Eye View" (featuring Catashtraphe and J-Ro)	Joiner Rico Smith James Robinson Joseph Kirkland	Diamond D	4:41
11.	"Hit & Run (Part II)" (featuring Ron Hightower)	Joiner Sherrad	Craig Sherrad	3:49
12.	"Carry the Weight"	Joiner Banks Trevor Jones	Thayod Ausar	4:13
13.	"Plastic Surgery" (featuring Ras Kass and Saafir)	Joiner John Austin Reggie Gibson Brooks	E-Swift	4:40
14.	"Enemies & Friends"	Joiner James Haynes	DJ Pen One	4:00
15.	"Last Words" (Interlude)		Craig Sherrad	1:00
Total length:				49:14

Personnel

Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner – vocals, executive producer
Gloria "Hurricane G" Rodriguez – vocals (track 3)
Roger "King Tee" McBride – vocals (track 5)
Rico "Tash" Smith – vocals (track 10)
James "J-Ro" Robinson – vocals (track 10)
Ron Hightower – additional vocals (track 11)
John "Ras Kass" Austin – vocals (track 13)
Reggie "Saafir" Gibson – vocals (track 13), producer (track 9)
Craig Sherrad – producer (tracks: 1, 5, 11, 15)
Eric "Thayod" Banks – producer (tracks: 2, 6, 7, 12), engineering (tracks: 1-6, 9-15)
Eric "E-Swift" Brooks – producer (tracks: 3, 4, 9, 13), engineering (tracks: 1-6, 9-15), executive producer
Lawrence "DJ Muggs" Muggerud – producer & engineering (track 8)
Joseph "Diamond D" Kirkland – producer (track 10)
James "DJ Pen One" Haynes – producer (track 14)
Ross Donaldson – engineering (track 7), mixing (track 8)
Jean-Marie Horvat – mixing (tracks: 1-7, 9-15)
Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering
Ola Kudu – art direction, layout
Brian "B+" Cross – photography
Noa Ochi – album coordinator
Bill "Bigga B" Operin – A&R
Che Harris – A&R
Lisa Duvernay – A&R

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Chart (1996–97)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[8]	19
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[9]	36
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[10]	74
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[11]	57
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[12]	35
US Billboard 200^[13]	74
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[14]	22

Year-end charts

Chart (1997)	Position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[15]	99

References

^ Stanley, Leo. "At the Speed of Life - Xzibit | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
^ Ashon, Will (November 1996). "Trainspotting: Xzibit – At the Speed of Life" (PDF). Muzik. No. 18. London: IPC Media. p. 141. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
^ "Xzibit – At the Speed of Life". Q. June 2000. p. 132.
^ Mennella, Dan (August 19, 2003). "Xzibit :: At the Speed of Life :: Loud/RCA". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
^ Morales, Rigoberto "Riggs" (September 1996). "Record Report: Xzibit – At the Speed of Life". The Source. No. 84. New York. pp. 150, 152. Archived from the original on November 28, 1999. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
^ Ducker, Jesse (October 14, 2021). "Revisiting Xzibit's Debut Album 'At the Speed of Life' (1996) | Tribute". Albumism. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
^ At the Speed of Life (booklet). Loud Records. 1996.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Xzibit – At The Speed Of Life" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
^ "Xzibit: At The Speed Of Life" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Xzibit – At The Speed Of Life" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Xzibit – At The Speed Of Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Xzibit – At The Speed Of Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
^ "Xzibit Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
^ "Xzibit Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1997". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 19, 2020.