Chino Cappin is a student of the game, immersing himself in the music of his idols to inform his own burgeoning artistry. Showcasing his smooth melodic raps over classic beats from hip-hop and R&B hits, Chino shares F*CC It BaCC To The BasiCs, a new mixtape. The new mixtape features instrumentals from all eras, but focuses on the turn-of-the-millennium, a moment when hip-hop and R&B closely intertwined and took cues from one another. Chino’s style fits perfectly into that hybrid era–he has a rapper’s sense of rhythm and pipes as smooth as an R&B idol’s.

F*CC It BaCC To The BasiCs features instrumentals from songs that the Fort Valley, GA native loved as a kid: Chino floats above Mannie Fresh’s handclap-heavy bounce from Cash Money Millionaire’s “I Need A Hot Girl” on “Hot Girl,” dances between Jam & Lewis’s sonorous bass from Usher’s “U Remind Me” on his “Venting,” and croons over acoustic guitars in “Missing You,” his update of Tamia’s “Officially Missing You.” The tape gives a home to “ZaKeisha,” a recently released freestyle over the beat from Moneybagg Yo’s “Wockesha,” itself employing the same DeBarge sample famously used in songs by Ashanti and The Notorious B.I.G., as well as successful singles like the Fabolous-interpolating “On My Last” and “Shine“ (430k views on YouTube), which doesn’t use a sample.

Born and raised in Fort Valley, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, Chino focused on music as a teenager as a way to escape his rough circumstances. The rapper built a cult following in the Southeast with mixtapes like Cold Hearted and Too Many Losses, which combined strong melodic instincts with braggadocious bars and clear-eyed observations about life on the streets. The 19-year-old artist built buzz with a successful college tour, turning up the heat with singles like “Lap Dance,” “NaNaNa,” “Fake Love,” and “Different,” a collaboration with YSL-affiliated rapper Yak Gotti. He’s earned praise from UPROXX and Dummy Mag, and told his story in an interview with Dirty-Glove Bastard.

Now signed to Alamo Records, Chino Cappin is ready to bring his tuneful and confident street music to the general public. F*CC It BaCC To The BasiCs is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Stream F*CC It BaCC To The BasiCs