apper Chino XL has announced the release date for RICANstruction: The Black Rosary, his first album in over six years.
RICANstruction will be a double-CD release that is being released by Viper Records, the label that is owned by Immortal Technique.
Immortal Technique is one of the guests who appear on the 35-track effort, while rappers/artists like Travis Barker, Bun B, Tech N9ne and B Real round out the album.
According to Chino, RICANstruction is his most introspective work-to-date, delving into serious matters like the abuse he suffered as a child, failed relationships, suicide and his daughter’s battle with cancer.
“It’s a complete unbottling of a lot of stuff, things that I probably had suppressed,” Chino XL explained. “The human psyche has the ability and the power to do that in order to keep it functioning. I felt that it was time to let most of it out so I could move on and get past some of those issues. Whilst on tour last year, I realized how many people I connected to when I expressed a lot of those more painful, emotional songs. It seemed like a lot of folks really needed to hear them. I can learn from that to help them relate so they can also get past what they had going on. I realized that’s part of my journey.”
Chino hopes the main focus of RICANstruction will be what he has become famous for – complex lyrics and rhyme patterns.
“I believe that it’s my contribution to the art form, to art in general and to music,” Chino XL continued. “I feel like if you’re not going to try to raise the bar, then what are you doing it for? I try to do it because I feel like that’s part of my blessing and to share my blessing, I have to propel the art form and push the boundaries of language.”
RICANstruction: The Black Rosary is due in stores on September 25.