Chino XL‘s family has broken their silence around his sudden death in July … revealing the veteran rapper died of suicide.
His family is hoping to turn the tragedy into a healing and preventable moment for anyone battling mental illness, and released a statement Friday.
The statement reads … “With the most profound sadness imaginable, we share the news that our beloved father decided to end his own Life. It’s been the most painful and personal experience of our lives but in honor of Suicide Awareness Month, we decided to share this truth. Dad would hope that this news may help someone else stay alive.”
Barbosa battled lifelong depression and in 2020 was diagnosed with congenital heart failure.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s office lists his official cause of death as asphyxia as a result of ligature hanging.
In the collective words of his daughters: “Our father was our rock and our best friend. Papa Bear loved us and taught us so much. Hundreds of emails, texts, chats and beautiful posts and comments on social media, have shown us that Dad was a fountain of strength to so many. He encouraged and comforted pretty much everyone in his path and left this dimension with an untouchable creative legacy. We are grateful beyond words for our time with Dad and are overwhelmed by the immeasurable global outpouring of love from around the world. We will forever navigate this catastrophic loss and ask for continued privacy.”
The Hip Hop community was in shambles at the time of Chino’s death … and fans are now highly anticipating his upcoming posthumous album, scheduled for an October release.
Chino was 50 years old.
RIP
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
