December 05, 2015
French Montana has shared some memories of his late friend and fellow Coke Boy rapper Chinx, and believes he would be a Top 5 MC if he was still alive today.
Chinx (real name Lionel Pickens) was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Queens, New York, in 2015. He was 31. In the latest episode of WE tv’s Hip Hop Homicides, which aired on Thanksgiving Day Thursday (November 24), French recalled meeting Chinx for the first time.
“I met Chinx in Yonkers. He used to come around the studio; he was mad humble, quiet, [he] just used to sit there and observe,” French told host Van Lathan. “Then I started hearing his music and I’m like, ‘Oh, he got something.'”
“He had just come home from jail, he was trying to get into the music and he was serious,” French Montana added, before explaining what it was that made Chinx (formerly Chinx Drugs) standout. “He loved music — that’s what me and him had the most in common. Music was our therapy.
Praising his work ethic, French said Chinx “knew what it took” while explaining that he was very good at “switching his flows” and he “knew how to adapt.”
French then said he feels Chinx was actually a better rapper than him, before putting his friend among Hip Hop’s best. “He was 10x better than me,” he said. “Because he seen all my mistakes. He was like a better version. Man, if Chinx was alive, Chinx would be Top 5.”
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