The Main Reason Deftones’ Chino Moreno Doesn’t Want to Rap Anymore

Chino Moreno, singer for Deftones and ††† (Crosses), isn't as fond of rapping as he used to be and there's one big reason it's not as big of a part of his vocal identity these days.

Although he accidentally sort of raps on "Big Youth," a yet-to-be-released song off ††† (Crosses) upcoming album Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete which features a guest appearance by Run The Jewels rapper El-P, it's not a style he's fond of anymore due to the necessary writing process behind it.

In an interview with Kerrang!, Moreno confesses, “Man, I just don’t think I really can [rap] anymore," explaining, "I have stated plenty of times that writing lyrics, to me, feels like a task at times – and rapping has so many fucking words! By singing I can stretch the words out so I don’t have to write as many words (laughs)."

"That’s sort of my excuse for not doing it anymore," he admits, "And I’m out of practice."

It's not something he strives for, but it appears rap still has a subconscious influence on his writing.

"Funnily enough, though, on 'Big Youth' I get the closest to rapping as I have in many years, in as far as my vocals and the cadence of them and the way they’re loosely formatted in a rap," Moreno continues, noting, "I didn’t even realize that until afterwards – [guitarist Shaun Lopez's] wife said, ‘Damn, how did you get Chino to rap?’ And I said, ‘When am I rapping?’ I guess it kind of is."

Pointing to how a loose rap emerged, Moreno reveals the influence behind the track.

"The whole song was loosely based around a Beastie Boys vibe. We were in the studio and I wanted a track that was just a straight 808 beat. In the end, we’ve sort of balanced it out – it's not out of Crosses’ realm, but it’s definitely a nod to the stuff we grew up with.”

Read the entire interview here.

Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete comes out on Oct. 13.