Album Review: "Here To Save You All" - Chino XL (1996)

INTRODUCTION

First of all, I would like to apologize for the lack of activity here lately. I just haven't had much time to post any reviews.

Anyway, you have already read my review of Chino XL's sophomore release, I Told You So (or, at least I think you did), so now let's go back to where it all began for the "lyrical messiah": Here To Save You All, Chino's debut.

Of course, Here To Save You All is home to the track where some feel Chino XL was dissing 2Pac (you can read about that here), "Riiiot!," which features Ras Kass, but that is far from being the album's only notable (even though it actually is the best song on the project). Here To Save You All is much more than a record by a new artist just looking for attention (as many 2Pac fans felt/feel Chino was trying to do in the aforementioned "Riiiot!").

To put it plainly, Chino XL's first album is a masterpiece on many levels. Lyrically, he displays that he is in another stratosphere (I already mentioned in my I Told You So review that he is a part of MENSA, so that should explain that). Not only is his vocabulary astonishingly extensive, but he does a wonderful job of invoking true emotion into his songs, not to mention that he just doesn't give a damn about who he insults. In terms of production, the project is, in my opinion, outstanding, although some actually criticize it, saying that it is too bland. Whatever.

But I can sit here and fawn over Here To Save You All all day, so I'll save your eyes some straining (and perhaps your stomach some nausea) and just jump right into the review.

TRACK-BY-TRACK

1. Deliver
Okay; you can knock the production on this album all you want, but if you seriously rip this beat, then something is wrong with you. Produced by the fairly well-known KutMasta Kurt, "Deliver" contains an eerie and urgent feel with banging drums (and I mean "banging" in every sense of the word; well, every sense except that, you perverts), and Chino XL's intimidating mic presence is evident right from the start: "Clear the runways, 'cause I’ma make you rappers my examples, avoiding battling me like I’m Eazy-E’s blood samples." What an effing way to introduce yourself to the rap world.

2. No Complex
This was the album's lead single, and it marked the time where Chino first made himself known to the public. Chino XL raps his ass off for four minutes and forty seconds over a bouncy, fast-paced beat by B Wiz. "Euphorically, categorically, Chino rips shit historically," he spits early on. And he does just that on this cut.

3. Partner To Swing
B Wiz lays down another good beat for Chino XL on "Partner To Swing," throwing on some tough kicks and snares over varying background sound effects. "Surrounded by more mysteries than the Stone Hedge, warning your friends, Chino X could make the coroner cringe" is one of the many sick punchlines Chino comes up with on this track.

4. It's All Bad
This is another B Wiz production (he produces most of the songs on Here To Save You All). It's somewhat similar to "No Complex," but better. As evidenced by the title of the record, Chino XL explains all of the unfortunate things that have happened to him throughout his life on "It's All Bad," and states that it takes an intelligent individual to understand his music: "The ill eagle, twisted, war novelist, the problem swallowed us, it takes an activated mind to follow this." Oh, and Chino also manages to work his SAT score into the cut. He got a 1430, so I guess it isn't all bad.

5. Freestyle Rhymes
I love Bird's beat on this. It's simple, but it encompasses hip-hop to me, if that makes sense. "I show more blind rage, than Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles wrestling in a steel cage," spits Chino right off the bat. He then follows that up with: "Reject my single I ain't mad at it, like O.J. getting married again, I'll takes another stab at it." Who else would come up with that?

6. Riiiot!
That brings us to the 2Pac "diss," as Chino XL raps, "By this industry, I'm trying not to get fucked like 2Pac in jail," early on in the cut. Now, as I stated in my I Told You So review, Chino insists that he meant both he and 2Pac were trying not to get fucked rather than 2Pac actually got fucked, but honestly, who cares? This track is ill times infinity. Ras Kass makes a guest appearance, and both he and Chino rip Bird's sick beat, consisting of constant shakers and ominous piano hits, to shreds. "Iconoclysmic, twisted without the use of fiber optics, knock his eyeballs out their sockets, I got your Adam's apples in my pockets," spits Chino. Best song on the album.

7. Waiting To Exhale
I love the production on Here To Save You All, but B Wiz's beat on "Waiting To Exhale" is probably the weakest link on the project. It's just way too "busy" and detracts from the verses of Chino XL and the guest artists of the group Gravitation, which Chino used to be a part of.

8. What Am I?
This is a solid cut, as Chino XL reflects on his upbringing and how he never fit in anywhere. He also talks about his stressful move from Middlesex County, New Jersey to Newark (also in New Jersey): "Torn lives, I've never seen so many people depressed, my mental gets molested, physical takes violent threats, stress, walkin' home from school's like a terrorist test, I learned blacks could be racist too, somehow still I felt I was blessed." The B Wiz produced beat is alright.

9. Feelin' Evil Again
Back to some great production. B Wiz lays down a beat very fitting for Chino XL's subject matter: "Slice like a Cesarean, shoot like insulin, hip-hop lives at no radio station, penetrate you like a vaccination, fascination, do you like styrofoam and crush ya, needles inserted in pressure points, acupuncture." Slightly disturbing, but absolutely ill. Great cut.

10. Thousands
"Thousands," produced by DJ Homicide, possesses a jazzy, piano-driven beat backed by booming hours, and Chino's punchlines are more than prevalent: "I'm so full of shame, it's awful strange, local crew complain I'm spitting out more keys than an opera singer's vocal range." This is one of Here To Save You All's more laid back tracks, so it represents a great change of pace.

11. Kreep
This was the cut that got the most airplay on Here To Save You All. On the chill, jazzy beat by Erik Romero, Chino raps about how his girl did him dirty, and now he feels like a loser (I mean, he actually says he's a loser in the hook, so those aren't my words). If you just broke up with your girlfriend and want to listen to a sappy, all-love-is-lost type of song, you can't go wrong with "Kreep." That's not to knock it, though; this record is really good. Oh, and how about this punchline: "I'm throwing you off the deep end, you better pray shit floats." Damn.

12. Many Different Ways
"I'm knockin' niggas out like they homosexual boxers." Think about that line for a second, and then tell me how sick of a punchline that is. This cut, produced by B Wiz, knocks; even the female vocal sample on the hook is great. Chino XL spits three extremely violent and, unsurprisingly, disturbing verses on "Many Different Ways," going through each of the, well, different ways he can wreck you. This is ridiculously good.

13. The Shabba-Doo Conspiracy
Outside of having a very stupid name, this track is pretty nice. The famous Kool Keith is featured, but he is rendered subpar by Chino XL's effort: "I be the receiver, of strange mind patterns, no type of compassion, endless my thought process is like a dark cavern, I was bred of toxic parents, embryonic stages, underdeveloped fetal pages that I burnt like phasers." The smooth, head-nodding production is done by (surprise, surprise) B Wiz.

14. Ghetto Vampire
Okay; this song is seriously creepy. B Wiz's beat, which changes three times throughout, is very, very eerie, and Chino's hook simply adds on to the overall spookiness of the track. Chino literally talks about himself as a vampire for the duration of the cut, once mentioning how he'll "consume your blood and leave you dead" in order to keep his health. Despite the fact that it may cause some 10-year olds to lose some sleep, "Ghetto Vampire" is a classic record, as the production combined with Chino XL's lyrical performance makes for an incredible listen.

15. Rise
Nice segway, Chino. No; seriously. He goes from talking about being a vampire to his spirit rising when he perishes. This song really is fantastic. "Rise" demonstrates the most introspective you will ever hear Chino XL, or any rapper, for that matter. Throughout the record, Chino refers to The Great White Throne Judgment, him being murdered (hypothetically, of course), and then him returning to earth in spirit form with the intent of taking revenge on his killer, but then refusing to do so because he does not want to "destroy another man." Dan Charnas' illusory beat fits Chino's concept like a glove, helping make for one of the best songs on the album. Great finish.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here To Save You All is, without question, one of the greatest albums in hip-hop history, in my opinion. Chino XL excels (no pun intended) in every possible category that pertains to an emcee: lyricism, flow, breath control, voice, mic presence. You name it, and Chino does it seamlessly on his debut album.

The production is very impressive throughout Here To Save You All, as well. Nearly each of the 15 tracks contains a solid, head-banging beat, this despite the fact that the production was handled, for the most part, by lesser-known producers. Each beat suits Chino perfectly, and he proves he can sound comfortable over essentially anything.

What I also love about this project is the limited guest appearances. Only Ras Kass, Kool Keith, and Gravitation are featured, and Chino's collaboration with Ras is one of the best I've ever heard. Clearly, Chino XL knows how to construct an album.

While Here To Save You All mainly contains battle raps, Chino also engages in some great storytelling and picture-painting, as seen particularly on "What Am I?," "Kreep," "Ghetto Vampire," and "Rise." Despite what some of his critics may say, he is a versatile artist who can adapt to any circumstances.

This album tends to be very overlooked, and that may have something to do with the fact that diehard 2Pac fans have buried Chino XL so much that many people don't even give him a look because they're listening to the general public. That really isn't fair, because Here To Save You All is a timeless classic. Many great hip-hop albums lose their sense of relevance as time progresses, but this record does/will not.

TOP FIVE TRACKS

1. Riiiot!
2. Deliver
3. Rise
4. Many Different Ways
5. Feelin' Evil Again

SKIPPABLE TRACKS

I mean...

Album Review: "I Told You So" - Chino XL (2001)

INTRODUCTION

Most people know Chino XL for being the guy who "dissed" 2Pac in his song, "Riiot!," as one of his lines in said song was: "By this industry, I'm trying not to get fucked like 2Pac in jail." Whether or not this was a diss is still up in the air (Chino swears that it wasn't and that people just misconstrued the line, saying that he meant 2Pac was trying not to get fucked in jail rather than 2Pac actually getting fucked in jail), but nevertheless, 2Pac responded to Chino on his infamous diss track "Hit 'Em Up." Although it was primarily aimed at The Notorious B.I.G., Pac dropped one little jab at Chino: "Chino XL, fuck you too."

Anyway, all of that aside, Chino XL, the self-proclaimed "Puerto Rican Superhero" (he is half Puerto Rican and half African American), is a pretty sick rapper that should have garnered attention no matter what his situation with 2Pac was. He is considered by some (including myself) to be the greatest punchline rapper to ever do it, and his metaphors are ridiculously deep and thought-provoking.

Chino released his debut album, Here To Save You All, in 1996 ("Riiot!" was on the album). The project was critically acclaimed for Chino's incredible lyricism and wordplay, although some criticized the rather dull production (much like Canibus' debut, Can-I-Bus). Five years later, he dropped I Told You So, a record with much more variety in terms of beats and a Chino XL that had not lost a step as an artist.

In my opinion, Chino XL is a top three lyricist of all-time (right there with Pharoahe Monch and Canibus). I mean, the guy is so intelligent that he is in MENSA, for God's sake. You will see examples of his advanced mind on I Told You So.

TRACK-BY-TRACK

1. What You Got
Nick Wiz lays down an upbeat piano-driven production to open up the album, and Chino XL opens up with some fire: "Snatch you outta your Roots like I'm from Illadelph, what I do to push your hairline back, Rogaine won't help, my quest for the wealth, like Stone Cold Austin's quest for the belt, I mention myself as a celestial cell, an extension of hell." That's nothing, though; Chino is just getting warmed up.

2. Nunca
Over a slow, intimidating beat by Carlos Bess, Chino drops two monstrous verses, and I mean monstrous in both quantity and quality. A sample: "I spit like Ming the Merciless, blissless bliss, high risk piss, clenched fist, the masochistic sadistic from every verse on this, behold my serpent's hair like Perseus, ill impossibly, larceny, broken velocity through lightning speed viscosity, my philosophy, speak animosity, keep shit in a bag like a colostomy, I'm pro you're junior varsity." I mean, that is just effing sick.

3. Asshole
"Clark told me to just kill it when I write rhymes, but how many murders can I commit in one lifetime?" Chino XL was referring to Clark Kent (the producer of this track; not Superman) with that line, but it's really the only thing I really remembered about this track. The beat is pretty lackluster and the rest of Chino's lines are average.

4. That Would Be Me
"I roll with killers that spent more time in the pen than ink, don't even blink, and turn your voice down a decibel, or start lookin' for studios that's wheelchair-accessible," raps a scintillating Chino over a fast-paced banger produced by Nick Wiz. The production fits Chino's aggressive style perfectly.

5. Last Laugh
B-Real of Cypress Hill drops a guest verse on this track, but although he flashes some great delivery, his voice does not mesh with Chino XL's at all, and Nick Wiz's production is just meh.

6. Let 'Em Live
Kool G Rap, whom Chino has dubbed the best rapper of all-time in the past, joins Chino XL on this Nick Wiz-produced banger. Imagine; those two lyrical beasts were in the same booth. "I'm innovational, mind unobtainable, merciful vocal verbal versatile, killing these niggas recreational, universally disperse the curse, verse controversial, illest on earth so, out of this world like Captain Kirk's hoe," raps an inspired Chino XL on his second verse. The hook on this cut is sick. This is definitely one of I Told You So's best tracks.

7. Sorry
A producer by the name of "Rock The World" lays out a very light beat for Chino and guest artist Shaunta here, as the two artists play ex-husband and ex-wife and talk about all of the problems they've had/are having. Decent record.

8. Chino XL
Nick Wiz is on the boards once again, and he lays out one of the top two beats on the album. This is a typical boast record, but Chino handles it incredibly well, utilizing his ridiculous breath control to rip off three terrific verses. He concludes his final verse with: "Air fair, exotic vacations, bought my mom so many minks, animal activists plot my assassination, I'm rockin from aggravation, shit on any compilation, amazin' with rhymes written while the president was Ronald Reagan." Love it.

9. You Don't Want It
When you first look at the tracklisting, you might say to yourself, "Well, this song is going to be lame," but it isn't. Nick Wiz's beat is sick, and Chino XL's punchlines are in prime form: "You soft, I'm upper echelon, the only other hot cats I seen on a plate was at a Chinese food restaurant." Damn.

10. I Told You So
Meh. I'm pretty indifferent to this one. The beat, by Mixture, is just alright, and Chino XL has spit much better verses than he did here.

11. Don't Say a Word
The late great J Dilla produced this cut, and, what a shock, it turns out to have the best beat on I Told You So. It is very laid back and, like almost all Dilla beats, will put you in another world. Chino drops three outstanding verses, highlighted by these bars in his first one: "Vocab extensive and glossy, expose a flow so expensive it could drain a small Latin country's economy, commit a verbal sodomy with a dime on Sodom, he shot at me, rappers claiming original, but sounding just like Nas to me." His flow throughout this entire track is phenomenal. This is the best record on the album.

12. It's My World
Nick Wiz lays out a hard-hitting beat for Chino XL here, and Chino does his usual thing: "360 degree of unadulterated battle rhyme, you must be inebriated wanting to challenge mine, my distance so accurate any time-lapse cameras capture it, tearing apart time's fabric, no exaggerate." The urgency of both the beat and Chino's rhymes match up perfectly.

13. Chianardo Di Caprio
Umm...yeah; no.

14. How It Goes
This is another J Dilla beat, and it sounds like something Nas and AZ would have teamed up to rap over (that's a good thing, by the way). Saafir drops a guest verse, and both he and Chino XL rap about their game with females. Although the lyrics are pretty pedestrian for Chino's standards, the production makes this a solid cut. Also, this line from Chino was pretty nice: "So many tears shed over me, don't make a scene, make an Ark."

15. Be Here
I really like this. I can't find who produced this track anywhere, but whoever was on the boards did an outstanding job, throwing in some great guitar strums and violins throughout. The song is about Chino XL's fling with a married woman, and then she kicked him to the curb. The cut ends with the woman actually murdering her husband. Needless to say, it's pretty interesting.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I Told You So is a very good album from start-to-finish. Chino XL's rhymes, metaphors, and punchlines are on another level, and the production is pretty solid all-around. Chino's content is generally very braggadocio, but when you are able to boast with that kind of intelligence, you deserve major props.

What's also extremely impressive about Chino XL is his godly breath control. Until I first heard him rap, I thought Big Punisher couldn't be matched in that category, but Chino is right there with him. He is able to maintain his powerful voice while spitting several bars without even taking a breath in between. And with good breath control comes good flow and delivery, and Chino exhibits that on this project.

I've always thought Here To Save You All was a severely underrated debut album, as Chino XL demonstrated remarkable talent throughout the record and immediately stamped his name among rappers that no one wanted to mess with. Most people would probably agree that Chino's lyrical barrage on Here To Save You All was spectacular, but those same people would more than likely cite the album's bland production as the main reason why it isn't elite (I disagree, though, as I actually liked the beats on that project). Well, that argument does not apply to I Told You So, as the beats on this album display solid variety and truly match Chino's style.

Of course, one of the main reasons why Chino XL does not get his due respect is the fact that the good majority of 2Pac fans hate his guts. Still, even those detractors cannot deny that the man has otherworldly talent as a rapper, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they secretly bump Chino on the side when none of their friends are around.

I'd pick up this album, if I were you.

TOP FIVE TRACKS

1. Don't Say a Word
2. Chino XL
3. Nunca
4. You Don't Want It
5. Let 'Em Live

SKIPPABLE TRACKS

Chianardo Di Caprio