Rest in Peace, Chinx: In Memory of the Rising Star

A look at the life of the Far Rockaway MC.

497171519BB072_106_Park

1 / 11

The Good Die Young - Coke Boys spitter Chinx was tragically gunned down early Sunday morning just as his career was about to hit that upper echelon. Let's take a look at the brief life of this talented MC who was taken way too soon. -- Michael Harris (@IceBlueVA) (Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images for BET)

Photo By Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images for BET

Street Certified - Chinx was born on Dec. 3, 1983, as Lionel Pickens and reared in Far Rockaway's Edgemere Projects. The Queens lyricist hit the ground running in 2009 after a jail stint with the launch of his Hurry Up & Die mixtape series and never looked back. (Photo: MPI613/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

2 / 11

Street Certified - Chinx was born on Dec. 3, 1983, as Lionel Pickens and reared in Far Rockaway's Edgemere Projects. The Queens lyricist hit the ground running in 2009 after a jail stint with the launch of his Hurry Up & Die mixtape series and never looked back. (Photo: MPI613/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

488112645JN014_Take_It_Pers

3 / 11

Rockaway Riot Squad - Chinx was on the grind for a minute and made a name for himself early on in the early 2G, representing Far Rockaway Queens on the mixtape grind as part of the group Riot Squad. Formerly known as RRS (Rockaway Riot Squad), the crew also consisted of Stack Bundles, Bynoe and Cau2Gs.Chinx ended up doing a four year bid from 2005 to 2009 as Stack held down the crew and started running with Jim Jones' Byrdgang click before he was tragically murdered as well in 2007. Chinx always paid homage to Stack, who passed while Chinx was in jail, but kept his name ringing while alive through his music.  (Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

168450390SZ016_French_Monta

4 / 11

Birth of a Coke Boy - Chinx Drugz really started making a name for himself after linking up with French Montana. The two initially met through mutual friends Stack Bundles and Max B. After Stack's death and Max's incarceration, the two continued to work, making the Coke Boys one of the hottest crews on New York's underground scene.  (Photo: Shareif Ziyadat/FilmMagic)

181942995JN009_Nelly_Listen

5 / 11

Deeper Than Rap - Though he may have earned his stripes as a Coke Boy, his name came about from a different type of high. The Queens MC credited a homegirl for blessing him with the alias because his eyes used to look "chinky" after burning weed outside his project building all day.The Drugz was later added for flavor "because the music was addictive." Taking it even further, Chinx told Thisis50 that the alias eventually took on an acronym meaning Coward Hearted Individuals Never Exist. "That basically means if you're a sucker and scared to go out there and get what God's got for you, then you gone miss out." (Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

ADVERTISEMENT
Hold U Down - A devoted father, Chinx leaves behind a young son and daughter he was grinding hard for. (Photo: Chinx via Instagram)

6 / 11

Hold U Down - A devoted father, Chinx leaves behind a young son and daughter he was grinding hard for. (Photo: Chinx via Instagram)

160991903JN166_COMPOUND_ENT

7 / 11

Moving Weight - Chinx Drugz gained the respects of the big dogs Ross and Diddy when they hopped on his "I'm a Coke Boy (Remix)" as he and French pushed their movement to the mainstream.  (Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

142618752SM075_XXL_2012_FRE

8 / 11

Cocaine Riot - Chinx had the hood on smash when he dropped the first installment of his Cocaine Riot mixtape series in 2011. The street chronicles saga continued up to 2014 with the release of Cocaine Riot 5 and spawned such anthems as "Dope Music" and "Hitta" as well as collaborations with his respected peers like Jadakiss, Diddy, Rick Ross, Migos, Lil Durk, Young Thug and French during the three year span. (Photo: Steve Mack/FilmMagic)

Roads 2 Riches - Forever the hustler, Chinx wasn't going to miss out on that sponsorship money and dropped "Drugz" in 2013 as he moved forward, so his future material wouldn't have a problem getting placed on the shelves of music retailers like Target and Walmart.(Photo: Chinx via Instagram)

9 / 11

Roads 2 Riches - Forever the hustler, Chinx wasn't going to miss out on that sponsorship money and dropped "Drugz" in 2013 as he moved forward, so his future material wouldn't have a problem getting placed on the shelves of music retailers like Target and Walmart.(Photo: Chinx via Instagram)

182179268JN00051_BET_Hip_Ho

10 / 11

My Time to Shine - Chinx dropped the EP I'll Take It From Here in 2013 and had everyone going crazy over "Feelings" with his Coke Boy homie French on the hook.(Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

483107565DK006_Power_105_1_

11 / 11

Riot Music Group - Chinx also had his own label, Riot Music Group, and released his 2013 EP through a partnership with NuSense Music Group and the Coke Boys label. His first full length album, Welcome to JFK, was on deck to hit the streets in the near future prior to being cut down.  (Photo: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)