Derek Keith Barbosa – Chino XL – died on July 28, 2024, aged 50. Born in the Bronx, raised in East Orange, New Jersey. His debut album "Here to Save You All" (American Recordings) defined in the mid-90s what evocative wordplay and technical complexity could mean in rap. His career was shaped by an infamous beef with Tupac, collaborations with R.A. the Rugged Man, Stu Bangas, and a catalog that includes the HHUG Album of the Year-winning "Ricanstruction: The Black Rosary". "TIMELESS" – subtitled "Requiem For A King" – is the posthumous tribute single: a ten-feature monument assembling collaborators, West Coast underground heavyweights, and battle rap veterans to honor the legacy. The lineup is precisely curated: Equipto (San Francisco legend, Bored Stiff), Rakaa Iriscience (Dilated Peoples), Scarub (co-founder of Living Legends), Kemo the Blaxican (Delinquent Habits), Tef Poe (St. Louis activist-MC), Real Deal (Pittsburgh battle rapper), DJ Romes (Lootpack, Stones Throw), Affion Crockett, Somaya Reece, and Alllyrical. The artwork carries an infinity symbol shaped as an hourglass and reads "IN LOVING MEMORY OF Chino XL". Since his passing, multiple posthumous projects have arrived – "Darkness and Other Colors", "Map of Bones", "Ascen7ion", "Prelude to the Mantis", and most recently a collaborative EP with Canibus, "Necksnapper", via 1332 Records.
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