Chino XL (born Derek Keith Barbosa, April 8, 1971, in The Bronx, New York) is a New Jersey rapper well respected among hip-hop enthusiasts for his technically accomplished style and battling abilities. He is notorious for his usage of self-consciously over-the-top punchlines (which usually take the form of puns or similes) and for his exaggerated egotism. He is also well known to many for a brief feud with Tupac Shakur.
After a spell with the group Art of Origin, the half African-American/Puerto Rican rapper released his debut album Here to Save You All in 1996 (see 1996 in music), a diverse work which included more conventional battle rap tracks (featuring Kool Keith and Ras Kass) alongside autobiographical tracks such as What Am I (which dealt with his heritage). It is regarded by some underground hip-hop fans as one of the better underground hip-hop albums of the nineties.[citation needed]
While building his reputation further by making several famous appearances freestyling on the Wake Up Show radio show, Chino incurred the wrath of Tupac Shakur in Shakur's track "Hit 'Em Up". The ambiguity over where the simile begins possibly caused confusion, but nevertheless Chino soon responded in a radio freestyle. Chino XL has since explained that he greatly respected Shakur and settled his dispute with Shakur.
Following a long period of inactivity, Chino's second album I Told You So was released in 2001 (see 2001 in music). It was decidedly more battle rap-oriented than his debut, and featured a slightly more commercial production style. It received reasonably positive reviews but little promotion and did not sell particularly well. Despite the positive underground reaction to I Told You So, another period of relative inactivity followed the album's release, during which Chino moved to California and proclaimed himself officially a West Coast artist. His highly anticipated third album, entitled Poison Pen, was eventually released in March 2006.
Chino XL is currently signed to Sway & Tech's Bolo Entertainment and released a mixtape album entitled The Warning. His latest single is called "Don't Run From Me" featuring Snoop Dogg. He has a group album coming out with the rap artist Playalitical entitled "Something Sacred".
Aside from music, Chino has also recently forged a career in acting, appearing in several films and making guest appearances on the Comedy Central series Reno 911! and the CBS series CSI: Miami.
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Album cover
Album information
Here to Save You All
I Told You So
Poison Pen
The Warning: Hosted by King Tech (Mixtape)
Chino XL & Playalitical "Something Sacred"
