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One of the brightest stars of the NY rap scene was carrying the legacy of those before & pushing its sound further. Building on the sound laid out by pioneers like French Montana & Stack Bundles, Chinx genuine ability to skillfully craft hooks was unlike any other. He struck the perfect balance, able to have truly impressive verses & wordplay, an actual singing melodic skill (in comparison to French), killer bouncy snare-heavy production. All this boiled down into one of the most impressive soon-to-be stars.
Chinx – I’m A Coke Boy (ft. French Montana)
By the time of the release of CR5, he had multiple releases & huge hits under his belt. Those prior achievements were only setting the stage of what was to come though. With the release of CR5, his last release while alive, he still was pulling out fantastic hits.
While the tracklist is packed with potential hits, easily the biggest here became the Jadakiss-backed track “Dope House.” This track featured all the hallmarks of his music along with the cosign from a NY legend. He displays his lyrical ability while maintaining street-focused, a skill seemingly lost on many other rappers. All this with a one of the best beats of that year made for an amazing collaboration.
His love for NY runs throughout the tape, as it features many features from Coke Boys members such as French Montana, Zack, Meet Sims, but the connection to Atlanta is there as well. Featuring prime-era Migos, seeing a hook from Quavo & a verse from Takeoff, the track “Winner” see them play off each other impressively well. The beat, provided by other legendary players Zaytoven & Honorable C.N.O.T.E., keep everything held together as the trio unleash all their triplet flows upon it. Quavo also delivers the now-rare rap verse, where he leaves the melodies for the hook & unloads his bars on the verse.
Chinx – Winner (ft. Migos)
With this project, we see the more melodic side of his skill-set. Previous in the series of Cocaine Riot see Chinx fall into his more street-anthem focused tracks, with him rapping more than singing. The trade off on this project is clear, as this project would’ve opened the doors to an even larger audience, but his integrity holds throughout.
Chinx’s trajectory was only on the up. Following this came his posthumous, which is arguably one of the best hip hop posthumous albums to ever come out. Its an album that felt personal & victorious, but here we capture him in the mindset of being on the way to the top. This release laid the groundwork for him being one of the most sought-after hook men, a duty that did seemingly wind up in the hands of artists like Quavo.
The work done here though made for one of the most underrated releases to have come out that year. With the correct promotion, who knows what would have come of tracks like “Young Abu Dhabi” or “America.” His death is tragic, but the music he gave will always be held in great memory.
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