Pilot - Yxng Chino
One person I’ve really looked up to and studied in the last ten years is Rick Rubin. Rubin, co-founder of Def Jam and Columbia Records, was a student at New York University when he initially started Def Jam with Russell Simmons in 1984, which then kicked off a nearly forty-year career in music that hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down (Rubin won a Grammy in 2021 for Best Rock Album for the Strokes The New Abnormal). Though his success and accolades speak for themselves, I keep finding myself becoming more in tune with who he is, because Rubin is, defined by others, unique. “Rick’s just Rick,” Jay-Z said when they were creating the Black Album, and it’s that uniqueness, time and time again, that’s helped create new standards for the artists he’s worked with throughout his storied career.
“When I talk, go’n listen to me”, and when you first hear Yxng Chino, it’s hard not to give him the attention he commands. His voice is so deep, it sounds like something you might find at the bottom of the ocean, but in the time from my first introduction to this song “Pilot”, it’s clear that Chino’s working, and like Rick, there is no sign of him slowing down. You’re immediately hit with this sort of “New Wave Rap” combo of soft, melon collie synthetic chords layered with an alluring vocal, the type you might hear on a classic Drake record. With a slight “Yeah”, Chino gets his bearings, squares up, punches in, and proceeds to float like a butterfly (or maybe a pilot).
Off the jump, he’s smooth, but that's what you get when you’re from Tennessee. Tennessee swag is different, Southern swag is different, and you can feel that infectious energy in the way he flows, in the way he speaks; Chino really is that guy, but his strength lies in his storytelling. Rick Rubin at one point (in some video on the Internet, I promise it’s real) said something along the lines that he “doesn’t know exactly how Jay-Z tells these stories,” basically saying that he (Jay-Z) must have lived a lot of life to be that distinct and poignant in his storytelling ability, and I’d say that sentiment is similar for Chino. Although he’s only eighteen, he’s able to eloquently paint his history, the good and the hollow, and I hope he keeps on this route. The recipe he’s refining could define him for the coming months/years.
I think both Chino and I understand that peace in life is really a luxury, and it’s a luxury that not everybody can afford. You at least need to find peace with yourself. I use to either get mad or existential when people would make decisions that I couldn't understand, but I’ve slowly figured that people really can’t be explained. I like to think that’s growth, or maybe it’s ignorance; either way, it’s made my flight smooth.
