Chino XL

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Chino XL
Birth name	Derek Keith Barbosa
Born	April 8 1974 (1974-04-08) (age 35)
Origin	East Orange, New Jersey
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Years active	1991–present
Label(s)	American Recordings/Warner Bros. Metro Records Activate Records Bungalo Recordsmachete music universal

Chino XL (born Derek Keith Barbosa, April 8, 1974, in The Bronx, New York) is a New Jersey rapper and a nephew of Bernie Worrell of Parliament/Funkadelic. He is known for his technically accomplished style and battling abilities. His style incorporates self-consciously over-the-top punchlines (which usually take the form of puns or similes) and exaggerated egotism. He is also known for his brief feud with Tupac Shakur. He cites his biggest influence as LL Cool J. He is a member of the intellectual collective MENSA.^[1]

1 Career
2 Collaborations
3 Discography
- 3.1 Albums
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Career

After a short time with the group Art of Origin, the half African-American/Puerto Rican rapper released his debut album Here to Save You All in 1996. The debut was a diverse work which included conventional battle rap tracks (featuring Kool Keith and Ras Kass) alongside autobiographical tracks such as What Am I (which dealt with his heritage).

While building his reputation further by making several famous appearances freestyling on the Wake Up Show radio show, Chino freestyled, "In this rap game, I'm trying not to get fucked like Tupac in jail." The ambiguity over where the simile begins caused confusion. While there was speculation that Chino was referring to the numerous rumors that Shakur had been repeatedly raped while serving a prison sentence for rape, others translated it in a more political sense. Shakur himself responded at the end of his "Hit em up" track by shouting, "Chino XL, fuck you, too." Soon afterwards, Chino continued the feud with a 3 minute radio freestyle about Shakur. Chino XL has since explained that he greatly respected Shakur and settled the dispute.

Following a long period of inactivity, Chino's second album I Told You So was released in 2001. It was 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 in great numbers. 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 third album, entitled Poison Pen, was released in March 2006.

Chino XL is signed to Sway & Tech's Bolo Entertainment and released a mixtape album entitled The Warning. He just released the first single Hands in the Sky (Diss Me) featuring Chamillionaire from his upcoming album Confirmation. He also has a group album coming out with the rap artist Playalitical entitled "Something Sacred" on January 15 2008. Aside from music, Chino has also recently began 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.

[edit] Collaborations

Chino has worked with artists such as Ras Kass, Kool G Rap, Royce Da 5'9, Canibus, Proof, Beatnuts, Killah Priest, Common, B-Real of Cypress Hill, Crooked I, Slept On Fam, Snoop Dogg, KRS-One, Tech N9ne, WC, Saafir, Nas, Organized Konfusion, Lauryn Hill, Shyheim, Xzibit, Jayo Felony, Tha Mexakinz, Roc C, and Kool Keith.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Album cover	Album information
Image:Heretosaveyouall.jpg	Here to Save You All Released: April 9, 1996 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #56 Singles: "No Complex"/"Waiting to Exhale", "Thousands"/"Freestyle Rhymes", "Kreep", "Rise", "Deliver"
Image:Itoldyouso.jpg	I Told You So Released: November 13, 2001 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #98 Singles: "Last Laugh", "Let 'Em Live", "What You Got"
Image:PoisonPen.jpg	Poison Pen Released: March 21, 2006 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles:
Image:ChinoXL Warning.jpg -->	The Warning: Hosted by King Tech (Mixtape) Released: 2007 Billboard 200 chart position: R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: Singles: "Don't Run From Me"/"Warning"
Image:Chino XL & Playalitical-Something Sacred.jpg	Something Sacred Releasing: January 15, 2008 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: Singles: "Chow Down"
	"Confirmation" Releasing: TBA Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: Singles: "Hands in the Sky(Diss Me) ft. Chamillionaire"