Xzibit claims that his former label boss, Steve Rifkind, wanted Dr. Dre to pay $11 million to buy him out of his contract to join Aftermath Records.
Xzibit spoke to Red Bull ahead of the release of his new album, Kingmaker, about his entire career. During the conversation, he reflected on the origin of his friendship and working relationship with Dr. Dre and how that nearly led to him signing to Aftermath Records — if it wasn’t for the former label boss of Loud Records.
“He asked for an $11 million buyout,” claimed Xzibit. “He just didn’t want to let me go.” That’s a massive number, so that deal never materialized.
Instead, Dre decided to be an executive producer on two of Xzibit’s albums. “He told me that no matter what he was doing or where I landed, he was gonna make sure he was there for me,” said Xzibit.
Elsewhere in the interview, Xzibit touched on the impact that Pimp My Ride had on his life. “Nobody knew Pimp My Ride was gonna be Pimp My Ride until that shit came out,” he said. “I had soccer moms coming up and pinching my cheeks and telling me how much they loved me. It turned me into a global brand. I was in people’s homes. I was in people’s lives. People still come up to me to this day and tell me I was a big part of their childhood.”
Xzibit recently opened up about why he left Pimp My Ride — revealing that it was due to executives refusing to meet his contract demands.
“You really want the truth about why Pimp My Ride only lasted six seasons?… Some people don’t want their childhood ruined,” he said. “It ended because my contract was up and I didn’t want to renew it. I was on my way out the door at 20th Century Fox after filming the last episode, and it was like, ‘Yo, all good things must come to an end.’ I’m good. I’m very good. I’m shaking hands and I’m like, ‘Okay guys, contract’s up, I don’t want to renew. I’m out.”
Xzibit also revealed that the show’s executives needed him to film an episode after locking down a partnership with Fantastic Four; the problem was that he was preparing to embark on a tour. “I was like, ‘I’m on my way to Europe. I ain’t filming no fucking Fantastic Four episode,'” said Xzibit. Soon after, executives called him and offered to cover his travel expenses on a private jet and even double his hosting fee. Xzibit, however, wasn’t happy with that.
Unbeknownst to the show’s officials, the advertising department had told Xzibit how much money that Fantastic Four was paying the studio. That ultimately played into Xzibit’s one demand.
“I had just heard the fucking number.’ I said, ‘Hey, okay, give me a million dollars. I’ll do it,'” he recalled. “They’re like, ‘Oh, Xzibit. You know that’s not in the budget, we don’t have it.'”
