Last Year, Hip-hop grieved an unfortunate loss with the unforeseen passing of young artist, Lionel Pickens, known to his fans and colleagues simply as Chinx. The young rapper’s decorated fifteen-year career came to an end at the hands of an unknown assailant after a tragic shooting in Jamaica, Queens.
Though Pickens has left the scene, fans gather around his legacy, which lives on with the release of his second posthumous album, Legends Never Die.
Fans have endured a long silence since Chinx’ first album Welcome to JFK, only to become more anxious at the numerous reports of pushed-back release dates. Manager, Douglas “Bliggs” Ellison reasoned his ambition to accomplish perfection with the late-rapper’s second release, and esteemed this as chief reason.
Despite the push-backs, Chinx’ second record showcases solid production as well as his “Coke Boy bravado he left behind [which will] truly live on”. And according to Bliggs, Chinx’ latest collection exhibits more as a “heartfelt story” transcending above well-managed and well-constructed artistry.
Although the album in its entirety does well in capturing the rapper’s high-caliber skills, what won me over was the fact that each song paints different images, all distinct but overall alluding to Chinx’ diverse collection of artistic facets—as opposed to initial critiques as being one-dimensional.
XXL Magazine catalogs a well-versed description on their take on the album: “His natural progression as an artist can be heard from a mile away on each and every track. The real beauty with this approach is that every kind of fan can enjoy the project in some capacity. With a strong 14-song tracklist, there’s ample opportunity for fans to choose the Chinx they like best”—and in my opinion, the album does well in presenting a multi-faceted version of the late rapper.
“Crown Royal” and “Match That” provide the perfect set of beats as you chillingly cruise down city streets. Tracks like “Yeah I Do”, on the other hand, settles you within Chinx’ passionate side. Significantly, “All Good” expresses his affectious bond regarding family ties, with the song featuring a memorable Riot Squad reunion. Or perhaps you’re simply in the mood for a turn-up; that being the case, I strongly recommend “Top of the Year”, “Around Me”, and “For the Love”.
In retrospect to the album, Bliggs did in fact manage well as each song blends into a well-defined story. On the other hand, I’d like to see it more as a collection of well-written ones, like an omnibook catering with different chapters but all-in-all tied into one epic saga.
And although the album enabled me into numerous variants along the artist’s mind that is Chinx, the story impacted me the most with a simple, powerful phrase: Legends Never Die—and indeed, he never will.
By Jods Arboleda for RAPStation.com
