Chino XL – I Told You So

Chino XL - I Told You SoChino XL is reverred as one of the best lyricists of all time. KRS-One and Kool G. Rap consider him the metaphor and punchline king. He is often compared to only Ras Kass and Vakill. His debut album in 1996, called Here To Save You All surprised everyone, with amazing battle raps and incredible lyrics and delivery. It is also said he has never lost a battle. Hes been on the Wake Up Show Anthem. This his second album out in stores, and supposedl;y theres two other albums, Kreep and Poisen Pen (i think, not exactly sure), that have been held back due to label issues. This album came out in 2001, and he is now workin on a new one.

 

1. Rude Awakeing

Just and Intro, Done by someone named AZIZ, basically just states how Chino came and destroyed.

2. What You Got

Great start off song. The beat is dope, very hard hitting. Chino comes very hard in this, great delivery, unbeatable rhyme scheme, the punchlines and metaphors are very on point. The chorus basically states he has way better things than you. Just the beginning line states “Don’t start me/or you’ll be the only entertainer with less groupies than Biz Markie/”
Rating:8/10

3. History (Skit)

4. Nunca

This track is straight dope. The beat is dope, starts off with some lady talking how there will never be another Chino XL. His flow is dope, his delivery is untouchable again. The first verse is very, um, amazing maybe, and the second verse is much better. Punchlines and wordplay is amazing. Probably one of the best songs on the album. “im sick of yall fake drug dealin tales/the only time yall Sea-Grams is when you drink them gingerales/
Rating: 10/10

5. Concert Skit/ Asshole Intro

Funny ass skit basically saying how everyone sucks and hes the greatest.

6. Asshole

Pretty dope beat, not the best on the album. Chino rips in in every aspect again. Chorus is pretty funny, basically states how much he’s a “*****in asshole”. He has some pretty dope lines in here tho like “hes wack, slow down the pace/im wack? then ill retire and blame it on God, like Ma$e/” and “they tell me to kill it every time i write a rhyme/ but how many murders can i commit in one lifetime/”. Overall, beat isnt bad, could be a little bit better, these ratings are gunna start being based on beats, cuz he never comes wack.
Rating: 9/10

7. That Would Be Me

The beat is pretty dope, could be a little better, but it fits it well. this song is basically how you can recognize him. Dope delivery, lyrics, and concepts. He says “ill kill a handicapped man for parking in a regular parking space” and “try me metal detectors goin off the rest of your life”. Overall pretty dope track.
Rating: 8/10

8. Last laugh feat. B-Real

This track features B-Real from Cypress Hill. B-real comes pretty dope on this, I don’t personally like is voice a lot, but he did pretty well in this. no comparisson to Chino tho. Chino is again unbelievable on this. the beat is dope, i like the beat, pretty cool. there are a lot of dope lines in this song, so i can’t do it justice by showing a couple.
Rating: 8.5/10

9. Let em live feat. Kool G rap

Featuring Kool G. Rap, this is a dope track. They both come very dope in this song. The beat is one of my favorites on the cd. Basically about how “they let you cowards to live”. one line from Chino that stands out is “im top notch/the only thing y’all outline in chaulk is a game oh hop skotch”. Overall one of my favortie tracks on the album.
Rating: 10/10

10.Baby Mama ( skit )

It is just a skit, but its funny as hell.

11.Sorry

this is featuring some chick named Shaunta. This song is basically about a relationship about two people, they are apologizing to eachother about what they’ve done. Chino shows his story telling skills on this one. Beat is dope, kinda retro like, very cool and chilled. They both come pretty well on this. Overll pretty ill song.
Rating: 9/10

12. Chino XL

Straight Dope Song. One of my favorites. Beat is straight hard. Chino is flawless on this track. “lets gte it on/ birds fly over your head upside down cuz you ain’t worth shitting on”, “put your money where you mouth is make my crotch a millionaire”, ‘***** smoking weed im smoking Bob Marley’s ashes”, and “Jesus’s tears couldnt dampen me, horses could barely trample me, you bite me so much why don’t you just sample me” are just a few of the dope lines in this song, straight fire.
Rating: 10/10

13. Chinophone Part 1

Funny ass skit. Mark brodi has won a spot on MTV’s show Fanatic to meet Chino XL. but chino had soemthing else in mind with a arsenal of weapons and a 6 inch wide louisville baseball bat, now watch as Chino gives new meaning to the phrase “Fan Club”. LOL

14. You Dont Want It With Me

Pretty dope. Beat is pretty cool, not the best. Chino comes exceptional on this. Has some dope one liners in here, “get beat and boxed like Dougie”, “Been God on earth so long the one in heaven’s pissed off”, “the only hot cats ive seen were on plates at chinese food resteraunts”. Overall pretty dope.
Rating: 9.5/10

15. Chinophone Part 2 (Skit)

16. I Told You So

I like this beat a lot for some reason. This is different though. Chino doesn’t come very hard in this, only for like 7 really dope lines, it’s not as good as his other songs. The chorus says Chino is a “fly nigga”. I mean, its good enough to be the title song, its still a lot better than most of the other songs from other artists, but it’s not as good as other Chino songs. Overall I don’t really feel like posting the dope lines, cuz it would ruin the song.
Rating: 7.5/10

17. Don’t Say A Word

This is a really slowed down beat, something to chill to. It’s a real slowed down song for Chino too, it’s toned down, not metaphor wise, but something is toned down. One line that really stood out in this is “Looks like being a fake me is better than being a real you”. No really dope lines, but every line is almost a metaphor or simile. Real chill song though, I like it personally, One of my favorites.
Rating: 10/10

18. Chino Fans (Skit ) 19. It’s My World

Dope beat, dope as hell. Hard hitting. Very nice battle track. Chorus states “Chino make the world go round” Chino is again flawless on this track, saying some very dope lines like “I got the world hemmed up my daddy should have named me Taylor”, “ill resurrect Hannibal to show Italianos how African they are for thinking of us as Animals”, and “You wish for death like Princess Di wish she wore a seatbelt”. Overall dope track.
Rating: 9.5/10

20. Ass-in-an-instant (Skit)

Pretty funny skit about what a girl should do on a date with Chino XL

21. Chianardo DiCaprio

Dope beat. This is on of the more commercial songs on the album, but its still dope. Chino tries to sing in the chorus, but he doesn’t do all that bad, his voice does change pitches a little. This is about the lifestyle of him being a sex symbol, kinda funny. Ladies and sex is the main thing in this. Metaphors are there and everything, he comes well on this.
Rating: 9/10

22. Outro Skit

23. How It’s Going Down feat. Saafir

Dope beat, another more commercial track, but even if it is commercial, Chino makes it dope, because the wordplay is still all there. Saafir spits on this, and comes well on it. He comes good with the wordplay and everything, flows well. Chino tries to sing again after the second verse, and again doesn’t do that bad. Chino does the first & fourth verse, Saafir does the 2nd and 3rd verse. Overall pretty dope track.
Rating: 8.5/10

24. Be Here

This is a dope track, one of my favorites. Beat is straight dope. Has a commercial twist to it, but the storytelling is amazing, which makes it better then any commercial songs I’ve heard. It’s about how he decided to go to this bar one night, and meets this woman. The woman is married but wants an affair with him. She helps him get a record deal, and then she doesn’t want him to blow up. The ending also has a twist I might say, and it’s like, wo. Overall great song, not just one of my favorites, but one of the best on the album.
Rating: 10/10

 

Overall
For an overall rating this got a 9/10, or 136.5/150. It really comes out to 9.1/10, but the amount of skits brought it down, but the humor in the skits helped that out. So, this album was dope, I guess the first one, Here To Save You All, is better, but this is different, more commercial, but everything was there. There were so many ill lines that i was able to quote a lot, and that was just a few. This was very ill album. You have to keep listening because you don’t know what Chino is gunna say next, you can never be sure, and this doesn’t get boring. I think you should go out and buy it now!

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