"Chino's Book": Chilltown rapper Constant Flow's latest is ode to hip hop's Puerto Rican Superhero

Toed line between Jersey and NYC

By Chilltown Blues

It’s always a time of loss somewhere, and when it happens, it often does so in ways that are unforeseen. No one ever knows exactly what else is going through, and maybe it’s the case that in the stream of “let’s keep it moving,” no one is particularly encouraged to reflect on that.

Chilltown rapper Constant Flow (CF), aka Nelson Morales, toured the world with Chino XL, the MC who tragically took his own life in 2024. In a statement afterward, his family expressed they were sharing the news about the nature of Chino’s death because “(Chino) would hope that this news may help someone else stay alive,” they said.

Earlier this year, CF released “Chino’s Book” — partly an attempt to come to terms with the loss of a trailblazer. CF was introduced to the artist whose nicknames included the “Puerto Rican Superhero” of hip-hop by his gone-too-soon best friend. Chino XL was someone who cast a long shadow but was similar to the two teenagers: Chino also grew up in North Jersey (he was born in the Bronx but grew up in East Orange with his African-American mother) and, whether the Jersey side was appreciated or not, wore his roots on his sleeve.

“Chino XL is half-Black and half-Puerto Rican.” With rap’s origins in the South Bronx, “he’s like the child of hip-hop,” CF told Chilltown Blues.

When CF made a name for himself and got to tour with Chino, the figure he considered so larger-than-life telling him he liked his work was a highlight. But conceptually “Chino’s Book” is about how Chino helped to teach him that he needed to write his own book and not hold anyone else’s as gospel.

The album starts out with “Exit 14C.” (For those outside of North Jersey, 14C is exit to Jersey City on the New Jersey Turnpike.) It’s song where CF explores corruption in various corners and institutions (like a church with a confession booth) in what he’s referred to as the Soprano State; and the style serves as a tribute to the energy of a rapper considered one of hip hop’s most artfully confrontational MCs.

“I understand the hate from them. Why I get it from you?” - CF on “Cafre”