After much underground hype and two largely underrated and slept-on albums, Xzibit burst straight out of the California underground in 1999 thanks to his numerous collaborations with Dr. Dre and Snoop.

All of a sudden, the emcee with the unmistakably gruff voice was being mentioned as one of, if not the, preeminent lyricists on the left coast. With the newfound respect he had garnered in the hip-hop world, all that remained was to put out a mainstream album whcih would cement his place with America’s fickle commercial masses.

Announcements that the good Dr. would executive-produce only further escalated expectations for the 2000 release. However, while not a disappointing album, the uneven Restless ultimately failed to elevate X to the level of stardom for which he had been touted.

He was left in hip-hop purgatory, somewhere between respected lyricist and superstar. Man Vs. Machine is the result of his efforts to finish where Restless started.

Man Vs. Machine sticks to the strict bass-heavy, lyrically aggressive gangster-rap blueprint Xzibit laid out on Restless. The first single, “Multiply,” is a classic-X banger outfitted with a predictable-but-catchy hook sung by Nate Dogg and filled with standard Xzibit boastful rhymes.

This formula pretty much dictates the pace throughout the album. Highlights include the Dre-produced, introspective prison diary “Release Date,” the addictive “Losin’ Your Mind” and “My Name,” another chapter in X, Dre and Eminem’s verbal assault on the painfully overmatched Jermaine Dupri.

Another standout is “Symphony in X Major,” which is endowed with an operatic chorus that either makes or breaks the song, depending on the listener. However, the high point of the album may be the “The Gambler,” on which ridiculously smooth crooner Anthony Hamilton blends perfectly with X’s “life ain’t easy as a hustla” lyrics. Produced by Bink, one of the men responsible for Jay-Z’s last album, the track brings some much-needed soul to the album.

Since his early days, Xzibit he has been very solid lyrically, and on his last two albums he has been blessed with a squadron of producers most rappers can only dream about.

The cinematic soundscape of Man vs. Machine is constructed by standout producers, among them Bink, Rockwilder, Rick Rock and Ty Fiffe. The problem is that while there aren’t that many weak tracks on Man Vs. Machine, at the same time there aren’t enough standout ones, either.

Weak hooks and predictable rhyme and subject matter plague much of the album. A perfect example of this is “Heart of Man,” X’s attempt at explaining the world. The song is doomed from the beginning with a weak, overused sample and a lame hook that is more suspect than Anna Nicole Smith sneaking around at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

“Somewhere in the heart of man / there comes a time when he must understand / the strong will stand, the weak will fall / ’cause tomorrow may not come at all.” Wow, pure philosophical genius.

There can be little doubt to his position as one of the foremost lyricists in the rap game, and Man Vs. Machine certainly helps to solidify this position. However, at the end of the album too many similar and unimpressive songs blend together to create a work that keeps up the unfulfilled legacy of Restless.

Grade: B