Man vs. Machine
2002 studio album by Xzibit
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 59/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Blender | |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− |
| HipHopDX | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| NME | 7/10 |
| RapReviews | 8.5/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Uncut | |
Man vs. Machine is the fourth studio album by American rapper Xzibit. It was released on October 1, 2002 through Columbia Records, Loud Records, and Xzibit's Open Bar imprint. Special guests include Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, M.O.P., Nate Dogg, Anthony Hamilton, and Eddie Griffin. Producers on the album include Rick Rock, Bink, Rockwilder, Erick Sermon, DJ Premier, and Dr. Dre (who was also the executive producer). The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with over 156,000 copies sold in its first week. Since then album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). To date, it is the last album released by Loud Records.
01Music
The track "My Name" which features Eminem and Nate Dogg, is a diss track aimed at Canibus, Jermaine Dupri, and Moby.
Two of the songs from Man Vs. Machine were featured in the 2005 film Domino. The specific songs were "Choke Me, Spank Me (Pull My Hair)" as well as "The Gambler", which played during the film's opening credits.
Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg, makes a guest appearance on the album by performing a "Paul" skit (which is a skit that is commonly used for Eminem's studio albums).
02Commercial performance
"Man vs. Machine" debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, selling 156,000 copies in its first week of release. The album spent a total of 19 weeks on the "Billboard" 200 chart. On November 12, 2002, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies. It was certified shortly after a month of being released. As of November 2004, the album has sold 593,000 copies in the United States.
03Reception
In a retrospective review, Mitch Findlay from HotNewHipHop said: "Once again executive produced by Dr. Dre, who provided production on two tracks and mixing engineer credits on seven, Man Vs. Machine emerged at the peak of Xzibit's musical popularity. His work on Restless had ushered him from an acclaimed underground presence to a household name, an equal affiliate to Snoop Dogg, Dre, Eminem, and his Golden State Project groupmates Ras Kass and Saafir. With Man Vs. Machine, Xzibit continued to build on the foundation of its predecessor, albeit with a slight gaze toward a more futuristic aesthetic; such qualities were largely realized by Rick Rock, who contributed production on tracks like "Symphony In X Major" and "Break Yourself.". He singled out songs like "Multiply", the Dre-produced songs "Losin Your Mind" and "Choke Me, Spank Me (Pull My Hair)", "BK To LA", "My Name" and "Harder" as highlists. He also said: "If there's anything keeping Man Vs. Machine from unmitigated greatness, it might very well be the inconsistent hooks. Slight blemishes aside, X's fourth studio album is an insanely listenable, crisply mixed, and nostalgic reminder of a classic musical era."
04Track listing
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Release Date" | Rockwilder | 4:06 | |
| 2. | "Symphony in X Major" (featuring Dr. Dre) |
| 3:55 | |
| 3. | "Multiply" (featuring Nate Dogg) |
| 4:08 | |
| 4. | "Break Yourself" |
|
| 3:11 |
| 5. | "Heart of Man" |
| Jelly Roll | 4:08 |
| 6. | "Harder" (featuring the Golden State Project) |
| Jelly Roll | 4:10 |
| 7. | "Paul" (Interlude) (performed by Paul Rosenberg) | 0:27 | ||
| 8. | "Choke Me, Spank Me (Pull My Hair)" |
| Dr. Dre | 3:28 |
| 9. | "Losin' Your Mind" (featuring Snoop Dogg) |
| Dr. Dre | 4:16 |
| 10. | "BK to LA" (featuring M.O.P.) |
| 4:57 | |
| 11. | "My Name" (featuring Eminem and Nate Dogg) | 4:32 | ||
| 12. | "The Gambler" (featuring Anthony Hamilton) | Bink! | 4:55 | |
| 13. | "Missin' U" (featuring Andre "Dre Boogie" Wilson) |
| Rick Rock | 5:22 |
| 14. | "Right On" |
| Erick Sermon | 3:29 |
| 15. | "Bitch Ass Niggas" (Interlude) (featuring Eddie Griffin) | 1:43 | ||
| 16. | "Enemies" |
| J-Beats | 5:00 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17. | "My Life, My World" |
| Bink! | 3:49 |
| 18. | "What a Mess" |
| DJ Premier | 3:32 |
| 19. | "(Hit U) Where It Hurts" |
| Rockwilder | 2:59 |
| 20. | "Multiply (Remix)" (featuring Busta Rhymes) |
| Just Blaze | 4:03 |
Notes
Sample credits
- "Heart of Man" contains an interpolation of "Africa", written by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro.
05Singles
|
"My Name"
"Multiply"
|
"Symphony In X Major"
"Choke Me Spank Me (Pull My Hair)"
|
06Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
07Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 60,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Man vs. Machine”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Man vs Machine (album).jpg by Unknown author, Fair use
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