Chinx: 5 things to know about late rapper killed this weekend

Lionel Pickens, a musician better known by his rap moniker Chinx, died in a fatal shooting in his hometown Queens, New York early Sunday morning.

Mr Pickens, 31, a member of French Montana;s Coke Boys, died Saturday night after a drive-by shooting in Queens, New York.

"We are very sadden (sic) at the loss of our brother Chinx. Please keep his family & friends in your prayers," the Coke Boys' official wrote in a Facebook statement on Sunday afternoon.

Here are five things to know about the late artist:

1. He told his family that his violent lyrics were merely fiction.

According to Hot 97, Mr Pickens told his two young children children that his lyrics of drug dealing and crimes were just storytelling.

“What dad’s doing is nothing different than what you see in the movies,” he said. “This is a movie with no picture. I’m just talking about it. This is not real.”

2. He was born and raised in Queens, New York.

Chinx was born in Far Rockaway, Queens and began rapping at a young age.

“(I) started rapping at the table in junior high school for fun with the homies and then by 9th grade is when I started taking music seriously," he told XXL Mag. "At that point is when I started investing my street money into my studio time and trying to find my sound."

3. He planned on releasing his debut album “Welcome to JFK” in 2015.

The rapper was affiliated with French Montana's Coke Boys, and appeared on the “Excuse My French” album. He’s also featured on the bonus tracks "Throw It in the Bag," "I'm a Coke Boy" and "Off the Rip."

4. Jay Z paid his respects to the rapper during the second night of his B-Sides concert series.

Jay Z paying his respect to Chinx. RIP pic.twitter.com/29MA4uFjF4

hyphen; HIP HOP FACTS (@OnlyHipHopFacts) May 18, 2015

“Young man got killed in Queens, his name was Chinx. I can’t understand that we’re seriously under attack like never before," he said. "Rest in Peace to Chinx and we’re still killing each other. We need to understand that we are kings and queens.”

Family and friends held a memorial service in Queens late Sunday night and celebrities such as Meek Mill, P. Diddy, Khloe and Rob Kardashian posted their own tributes to the late rapper on social media after the news broke.

5. He was given his rap name by a friend during a smoke session.

According to UrbFeed, Mr Pickens received the name Chinx because he "used to smoke a lot of weed back in the day, and this older chick used to call me chinkey and it stuck, the drugs well that’s self explanatory, I been slangin’ on these corners.”