Thug Life Army

West coast rap icon Xzibit has steadily maintained his status as one of hip-hop’s more enduring figures but he still gives a lot of the credit to his hit MTV show, “Pimp My Ride” for jumpstarting his career.

“It made me visible,” he said of the show. “I still have the same perspectives and views as far as my music. Now we are just so excited to be exposed like that. I have a good team with me. I’m actually doing something that’s positive on TV.”

The LA-based rapper also hopes that his new album gets the opportunity to advance his standing in the rap community with the Timbaland-produced “Hey Now (Mean Mugging).”

“It was my first time working with [Timbaland] and it came out crazy. The album was very topical and well rounded and to introduce this album as an attention grabber was good. It was real fun track. The video concept was put together by Benny Boom at the last minute and he put it together,” he said.

Weapons of Mass Destruction, X’s fifth album, hit stores last week and has guest appearances by Busta Rhymes, Nate Dogg and Strong Arm Steady, a group that includes Xzibit.

“It’s centered around my crew Strong Arm Steady Gang,” he admitted.  “I feel like its good to come with such a good album at this point of my career so I’m excited about that.”

“[Strong Arm Steady] is the premiere emcees coming out of the West Coast [and] they have everything it takes to be stars. I’ve taken them all around the world with me. And they are seasoned in and out the studio,” he explained to BET.com.

Weapons of Mass Destruction is out now. Be sure to pick it up. You won’t be disappointed.