by Ran
December 3, 1983 – May 17, 2015
Chinx with Riot Squad (Stack Bundles, Bynoe and Cau2G$)
Stack Bundles
Chinx and French Montana
French Montana, Jadakiss and Chinx
Chinx, The Weeknd, French Montana and DJ Khaled
Chinx, DJ Envy and French Montana
Khloe Kardashian, Cassie, French
Montana, Chinx and Malika Haqq
Chinx with French Montana, Malika Haqq and
Khloe Kardashian
Khloe Kardashian, French Montana, Chinx Drugz
and Malika Haqq
Antar "Yemen Chee$e" Alziadi
Quincy Homere (left) and Jamar Hill (right) at their
arraignment in Queens Supreme Court
Chinx's Porsche Panamera
Hurry Up & Die Vol. 1: Get Ya Casket On - 2009
Hurry Up & Die Vol. 2: From The Cage To The Stage - 2010
Flight 2011 - 2011
Cocaine Riot - 2011
Cocaine Riot 2 - 2012
Cocaine Riot 3 - 2013
Cocaine Riot 4 - 2014
Lionel Pickens was born on December 4, 1983 in New York City, New York. He grew up in the Edgemere public housing project (now known as the Ocean Bay Apartments) in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens. Pickens' mother, Veronica Clinton, supported the family by working as a clerk. His father died when he was a teenager.
Pickens made his first foray into hip hop as a junior high school student rapping with friends at lunch tables. Pickens, who was inspired to rap by fellow Queens lyricist Nasir "Nas" Jones, began thinking of rap music as a viable career choice while in the ninth grade. Another of his musical influences was rapper Jordan "Juicy J" Houston of Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia.
Pickens met fellow aspiring rapper Rayquon "Stack Bundles" Elliott when the two attended August Martin High School in Queens' South Jamaica neighborhood.
After "Bishop" and "Mike Millz" left his rap collective, S5, Elliott and the remaining members of the group (Darryl "Bynoe" Bynoe and Cau2Gs) recruited Pickens and changed its name to Riot Squad.
Pickens' stage name, "Chinx Drugz", was derived from an older female acquaintance's habit of describing his look after smoking marijuana "chinkey". The second half of his professional name was derived from his drug dealing.
Pickens quit high school in the 11th grade and focused on generating income from committing robberies and selling drugs.
In 2005, Pickens was sentenced to prison for a 1999 Far Rockaway robbery during which he and an associate shot a 57-year-old man in the torso and stole his gold chains. In 2006, Pickens married Janelli Caceres while still serving a four-year prison sentence at Upstate New York's Mid-State Correctional Facility -- where he earned his GED.
Pickens served a four-year prison sentence at Mid-State Correctional Facility.
During his incarceration, rapper Joseph "Jim Jones" Jones recruited Elliott into his Byrd Gang collective, which also consisted of himself and rapper Charly "Max B" Wingate. Following Elliott's 2007 murder in the lobby of his Far Rockaway apartment building and Pickens' release from prison, the latter attended Wingate's performance at a local nightclub, where the two were introduced by one of Wingate's associates. Wingate subsequently introduced Pickens to rapper Karim "French Montana" Kharbouch at the former's home and Pickens and Kharbouch later formed the Coke Boys rap collective.
In 2009, Pickens was briefly incarcerated following a parole violation.
In 2011, Pickens released his Cocaine Riot mixtape, which features his breakthrough song "Flexin' Hard" featuring Kharbouch and Jason "Jadakiss" Phillips. That same year, he released his mixtape Flight 2011, overseen by producer Rory "Harry Fraud" Quigley and featuring only one guest appearance, by fellow Coke Boy Kharbouch. The following year, on April 13, the collective released the Coke Boys 3: Niggas Wit Coke mixtape. Pickens' signature song, "I'm a Coke Boy", was released in 2012 as well. It's featured on his May 2013 mixtape Cocaine Riot 2. Besides Kharbouch, the accompanying music video for the song's remix features William "Rick Ross" Roberts, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Khaled "DJ Khaled" Khaled and Cassie Ventura. That November, Pickens released his EP I'll Take it From Here.
Pickens also released Cocaine Riot 3 in 2013. His 2014 follow-up was Cocaine Riot 4: Woulda Been Here Sooner.
On May 17, 2015, Pickens arrived at Club Red Wolf, in southwestern Brooklyn's Dyker Heights, accompanied by an entourage of 4-5 associates before giving a performance that began at 2:30 a.m. After leaving, he and producer Antar "Yemen Chee$e" Alziadi, who was riding with him at the time, headed to the Cloud 9 hookah bar on Queens Boulevard, which happened to be closed by the time they arrived. At approximately 4 a.m., Pickens was shot to death while driving home to his Ozone Park residence in his four-door, silver Porsche Panamera. The assailants pulled next to the Porsche and opened fire while the rapper was stopped at a red light. Pickens did, however, manage to steer the car to the curb in front of a Dunkin' Donuts store, where he succumbed to his injuries. Alziadi was shot twice in the back and transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for treatment. Pickens was struck eight times. Police recovered 12 shell casings at the scene -- 84th Drive, near Queens Blvd. One casing, from a 9-millimeter weapon, was found on the front seat of the car. A witness said that he spotted a black, four-door Mercedes Benz make a U-turn and speed down Queens Blvd after he heard gunshots.
While Pickens was routinely driven by a bodyguard, he had opted to have two security guards drive ahead of him in another vehicle on the morning of the shooting. After news of the shooting spread, rapper Robert "Meek Mill" Williams posted, "The hood gotta stop glorifying suckas that kill good people!" on his Twitter account. Reality television star Khloe' Kardashian posted the message, "I miss you Chinxy," on Instagram later that day. The following day, rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter spoke about Pickens' murder during a concert performance at New York's Terminal 5. Carter said from the stage: "A young man got killed in Queens, his name was Chinx." He continued, "I can't understand that we are seriously under attack like never before. Rest in peace to Chinx."
Two days later, Alziadi, whose injuries included a punctured lung, posted a video to Instagram from his hospital bed in which he announced: "All you motherfucking fake-ass motherfuckers that's hating and talking shit on my fucking page, get the fuck out of here with that shit..." He continued, "I'm alive. And I'm coming home."
Pickens' May 26 funeral at the Greater Allen AME Cathedral of New York in Jamaica, Queens, was attended by a number of his celebrity friends, including: LaRon "Juelz Santana" James; Mysonne "Mysonne" Linen; Gregory "Skyzoo" Taylor; and Teeyon "Vado" Winfree.
Pickens' collaboration with Kharbouch and rapper Victor "N.O.R.E." Santiago, the song "Off the Rip", garnered over 2.9 million views on YouTube in the two months following its June 2015 release. The accompanying music video features tributes to Pickens. His debut album, Welcome to JFK, was posthumously released by eOne Music on August 14, 2015. The album features the track "Far Rock", a collaboration with Elliott.
On December 14, 2017, the NYPD arrested two men, aspiring rapper and Baldwin, Long Island resident Quincy Homere and Valley Stream, Long Island resident Jamar Hill, in connection with Pickens' murder. According to police, the men, who they say were involved in a feud with Pickens, followed him when he left Club Red Wolf on the morning of the shooting. According to police, Homere and Pickens were involved in an altercation in September of 2009 while the two were serving time together. On April 24, 2015, the hostilities were reignited when the two became involved in a heated argument at Philadelphia's Sound Garden Hall, where Pickens gave a performance. After tracking Pickens' via a flyer found on Instagram, Homere and Hill tailed him after his show at Club Red Wolf. When Pickens stopped for a red light, Homere allegedly opened fire into his vehicle with a 9mm handgun. Homere and Hill were each charged with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Both suspects entered pleas of not guilty and were denied bail. Each suspect was already in custody for unrelated charges when arrested for Pickens' shooting.
