BY BONITA • DECEMBER 12, 2018

From 2004 to 2007, Pimp My Ride brought custom car culture makeovers into living rooms around the world. It was hosted by Xzibit and the show further introduced the platinum-selling Los Angeles, California MC to a worldwide audience as a media personality. Centering around L.A.’s car culture, the series hooked up drivers of vehicles in dire need of restoration with West Coast Customs, an auto-repair shop that’s been around since the 1990s. Each episode followed X as he surprised drivers by showing up at their houses and announcing they were chosen to have their rides pimped. It became a pop-culture phenomenon, reportedly ranking second only to MTV’s most iconic reality show of all time, The Real World.

Despite the show’s success, however, its host claims he didn’t profit as much from it as others. In speaking with The Breakfast Club, Mr. X-To-The-Z explains how the show affected his career and legacy. After DJ Envy says that “a lot of the kids don’t necessarily know you as a rapper” due to Xzibit’s success in film and television, the rapper who worked closely with Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Snoop Dogg tells his hosts why he did the show in the first place. “When we did [the show], I was already getting my cars done at West Coast Customs. The producer, Rick Hurvitz, came in and asked if I wanted to host a show. I had never hosted anything before. It just happened to happen like that,” he says at 1:50.

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