Chino XL

Chino XL
Birth name	Derek Keith Barbosa
Born	April 8, 1974 (1974-04-08) (age 37) The Bronx, New York, United States
Origin	New Jersey
Genres	Rap
Years active	1991-present
Labels	American Recordings/Warner Bros. Metro Records Activate Records Bungalo Records Machete Music/Universal Records[1]

Derek Keith Barbosa (born April 8, 1974), better known by his stage name Chino XL, is an American hip hop lyricist, battle rapper, and actor of Puerto Rican and African American descent. The nephew of Bernie Worrell of Parliament/Funkadelic, Chino is known for his technically accomplished style, consisting of self-consciously over-the-top punchlines, exaggerated egotism, complex rhyme schemes, and use of multiple similes, puns, metaphors, and word play. He is a member of the intellectual collective MENSA and has collaborated on various projects with some of the most well known artists in Hip Hop.^[2] Chino is also an avid bodybuilder.

Aside from music, under the guidance of Hollywood talent manager Stacey Castro, Chino also 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.^[1] He has starred in films alongside Kate Hudson, Luke Wilson, and Rob Reiner and had a solo project debut at Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival.^[3]

Career

After co-founding the duo Art of Origin, the emcee was signed at age 16 by music impresario Rick Rubin to Rubin's American Recordings imprint, which was once part of the Warner Bros. Records family.^[1] He released his debut album Here to Save You All in 1996. The debut was released to critical acclaim and major airplay by radio and MTV.

Chino is specifically targeted and verbally attacked by rapper 2pac near the end of the 1996 diss track "Hit 'Em Up", due to Chino's song "Riiiot!", which had contained a mention of Shakur which Shakur believed mocked him.

Following Prince's departure from Warner, Chino was released by the label as well, and he released his second album. I Told You So in 2001, and his third album Poison Pen in 2006.^[1]

In 2007, Chino signed a contract with urban Latin record label and Universal imprint Machete Music.^[4]

In 2009 during a controversial interview with Allhiphop.com writer Han O'Connor, Chino revealed that his fifth studio album The RICANstruction is to be released in 2011. The album will be released via his own joint venture CPR/Universal and will feature the likes of Immortal Technique, Tech N9ne, Ras Kass, Crooked I and Bun B. The RICANstruction will also feature an unreleased collaboration with D12's Proof and a song with Big Pun. The album will be executive produced by Focus... and also feature production from DJ Khalil.^[5]

On August 19, a song titled "N.I.C.E." and produced by Nick Wiz was leaked.^[6]

Discography

Albums

Album information
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"
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"
Poison Pen Released: March 21, 2006 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: "Messiah"
Something Sacred Released: January 15, 2008 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: Singles: "Chow Down feat Playalitical"
The RICANstruction: The Black Rosary Release Date: December 8, 2011 (iTunes) Single: "N.I.C.E."

Mixtapes

Mixtape Information
Warning Released: 2007 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: "Jump Back"

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Chino XL Interview - "Return of the Poison Pen"
2. ^ rapindustry.com, Chino XL Interview, with Sway and King Tech, accessed, September 14, 2008
3. ^ imdb.com, Chino XL - Biography, accessed, September 14, 2008.
4. ^ Chino XL Signs New Record Deal
5. ^ http://allhiphop.com/stories/features/archive/2009/09/11/21933265.aspx Chino XL 'I'd S**t on Shakespeare!' by Han O'Connor (Allhiphop)
6. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/singles/id.16332/title.chino-xl-nice-prod-nick-wiz Chino XL "N.I.C.E. [Prod. Nick Wiz]"

External links

• Official Chino XL Website
• Official Chino XL MySpace
• Chino XL at the Internet Movie Database
• Chino XL: 'I'd S**t On Shakespeare by Han O'Connor (Allhiphop)

Persondata
Name	Derek Keith Barbosa
Alternative names	Chino XL
Short description	Rapper
Date of birth	April 8, 1974
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death