Xzibit

Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his alias Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television host and record producer. He is known as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, which brought him mainstream success. Before hosting the show, he achieved fame in the West Coast hip-hop scene as a rapper, debuting with his acclaimed At the Speed of Life and gathering chart success with his follow-up albums Restless, Man vs. Machine and Weapons of Mass Destruction, working with high-profile artists such as Eminem, Cypress Hill, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Knoc-turn'al, Timbaland, Limp Bizkit, Alice Cooper, Game, 50 Cent and Within Temptation, as well as being one of the first rappers to work internationally, collaborating with overseas acts such as Russian rapper Timati, Raptile from Germany, Bliss N Eso from Australia and Adil Omar from Pakistan.

Early life

Born as Alvin Nathaniel Joiner on September 18, 1974 in Detroit, Michigan, Xzibit grew up with a single mother. His father left the family early to pursue a career as a preacher, forcing his mother to raise a young Alvin and his four siblings (an older sister and brother as well as a little brother and younger sister) alone. After her death he had to move in with his father. His father remarried and relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Joiner lived in Albuquerque from age 10 to 17, and began writing rhymes. However, he had numerous run-ins with the law and ultimately ended up moving to California to live with his sister. It was here where he first began to rap and pursue a music career. He later reconciled with his father, who can be heard on his second studio album.

WC (rapper)

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William Loshawn Calhoun, Jr. (born February 3, 1970), better known by his stage name WC (pronounced "Dub-C"), is an American rapper. He was born in Houston, Texas, but moved to South Central Los Angeles at an early age. He originally was a rapper in the group Low Profile, and later formed his group WC and the Maad Circle, who first succeeded with the single "Curb servin'". He later started a solo career and has released four solo albums. He is also well known for being a member of the rap supergroup Westside Connection with Ice Cube And Mack 10.

Early life

William Loshawn Calhoun, Jr. was born on February 3, 1970 in Houston, Texas. He moved to South Central Los Angeles at an early age and became a member of the Westside 111 Neighborhood Crips. With DJ Aladdin, WC formed the group Low Profile in 1987.

Music career

Early career

A longtime staple of the gangsta rap scene, WC began his career pairing with DJ Aladdin in the group Low Profile. The group released one album called We're in This Together in 1989. He later formed his group WC and the Maad Circle, which also included fellow rapper & mentor Big Gee, Coolio, producer Sir Jinx and DJ Crazy Toones. He released two albums with his group, Ain't a Damn Thang Changed in 1991 and Curb Servin' in 1995.

Snoop Dogg

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper and actor from Long Beach, California. His music career began in 1992 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre of N.W.A and, as a result, was prominently featured throughout Dr. Dre's solo debut album, The Chronic (1992). He has since sold over 21 million albums in the United States and 35 million albums worldwide.

Snoop's debut album, Doggystyle, was released in 1993 under Death Row Records, debuting at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Selling almost a million copies in the first week of its release, Doggystyle became certified 4× platinum in 1994 and spawned several hit singles, including "What's My Name?" and "Gin & Juice". In 1994, Snoop released a soundtrack on Death Row Records for the short film Murder Was The Case, starring himself. His second album Tha Doggfather (1996), also debuted at number one on both charts with "Snoop's Upside Ya Head", as the lead single. The album was certified double platinum in 1997.

Young Maylay

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Christopher "Chris" Bellard (born June 17, 1979) also known by his stage name, Young Maylay, is an American hip hop recording artist, record producer and actor from South Central, Los Angeles, California. He is best known for providing the voice of Carl "CJ" Johnson in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Early life

Christopher Bellard was born and raised in Los Angeles amidst the gang violence and the gangsta rap peak of the 1980s and 1990s in a crime riddled area in poverty which inspired his rapping career.

Music career

Early days: 2000–05

His rapping career eventually took off in 2000. With help from King T, Maylay made his first appearance in Killa Tay's Thug Thisle, with the song #1 Hottest Coast (Killa Cali) in 2000. Later he appeared in Rodney O & Joe Cooley's Summer Heat in 2002. Since then, he has been featured on many releases across the West Coast. Maylay wrote the majority of King T's album Ruthless Chronicles. He founded his independent label in 2005 with the money from GTA San Andreas and released his debut album in the same year.

Sound the Alarm (Saves the Day album)

Sound the Alarm is the fifth studio album by the rock band Saves the Day. It was released by Vagrant Records on April 11, 2006.

Composition

Sound the Alarm was named after one of the songs on the album that, according to Conley, "sums up the mood of the record." Conley kicked bassist Eben D'Amico out of the band due to him not being on the "same page creatively" as Conley, David Soloway, and Pete Parada. Manuel Carrero was brought in to fill on bass, Conley had known about Carrero for a while due to the band playing shows with Glassjaw.

This album was welcomed by many as something of a return to the band's classic sound, after the sonic departure of In Reverie in 2003. Sound the Alarm is part one of a three-part concept that Conley described in an interview with Punknews.org.

Recording

The album was recorded at the band's home studio, Electric Lady Bug. It was produced by Steve Evetts who also produced Saves the Day's first two albums, Can't Slow Down and Through Being Cool. All of the album's lyrics were written by Chris Conley.