Jin the MC - the uber thread [Archive]

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sunyang

08-12-2003, 03:51 PM

What do you all think of him?

"That Chinese rapper guy wants to make something clear. He's Jin, not "that Chinese rapper guy." His name has dropped all over the place, well before his album will.

It's the route of the National Basketball Association's top draft pick, 18-year-old LeBron James, of the R&B singer Ashanti and of the movie "Better Luck Tomorrow": the path in which the athlete, the singer or the film generates a fan base well before he plays in the N.B.A., she releases an album or the movie has its premiere. For Jin it has meant a buzz among Asian-American and underground hip-hop fans that has extended to publications like Rolling Stone, which singled him out this year as one of 10 artists to look for in "the next wave."

The attention so far has revolved around Jin's being a Chinese-American rapper, but the excitement has grown as he has won fans for his inventive lyrics, a style resembling a less angry Eminem. Jin has appeared alongside the rap star Ludacris in this summer's film "2 Fast 2 Furious." And he has already spent part of his summer on MTV's "You Hear It First" tour in New York, Washington, Philadelphia and Boston. He holds a place in Black Entertainment Television's "Freestyle Friday" Hall of Fame for going undefeated seven straight weeks in the network's "106 & Park: Top 10 Live" rap battles, in which the best barbs and rudest rhymes often win in spontaneous, head-to-head duels. All this and Jin's debut album — "The Rest Is History" — on Ruff Ryders Records/Virgin Records does not even drop into stores until Oct. 28.

Jin, 21, is not a 50 Cent. He does not rap about getting shot, going to jail or doing drugs. Jin does rhyme about interracial dating, about being compared to Eminem, about Chinatown and about being Chinese-American.

"I am proudly Chinese," said this rapper from Elmhurst, Queens, born Jin Au-yeung. "I'll embrace it but never exploit it. During a show, I might say, `So where my Asians at?' But I'll never go out there with a sword, you know what I'm saying?"

Along with a shadow of a mustache, a buzz cut and the requisite baggy pants of hip-hop, Jin wears a diamond-studded, platinum chain with the letter R around his neck. It stands for Ruff Ryders, the label Jin signed with during his 7-0 run on BET. The label has gained recognition for turning out hip-hop stars DMX, Eve and Jadakiss. Jin still seems bewildered by some celebrity trappings — custom-made racing outfits and cooing models at photo shoots — but has no problem playing up his boyish flirtatiousness or occasionally referring to himself in the third person. He savors the attention but says he does not crave it.

In his lyrics Jin talks unabashedly about his Asian ethnicity, sometimes in self-defense but more often because he wants to bolster the idea of an Asian-American rapper. In last year's battles on BET's "106 & Park," rival rappers most frequently hurled ethnic insults at Jin: "I'm a star/He just a rookie/Leave rap alone and keep making fortune cookies."

But Jin turned those taunts into his own disses: "You wanna say I'm Chinese/Sonny here's a reminder/ Check your Timbs/They probably say made in China," he raps, referring to Timberland shoes. And: "Yeah, I'm Chinese/Now you understand it/I'm the reason that his little sister's eyes are slanted/If you make one joke about rice or karate/ N.Y.P.D. be in Chinatown searching for your body."

But as one of the most visible Asian-American rappers, is he concerned about how graphic his lyrics can come across? Not really. "I'm a pervert," he said. "I'm a jerk. You can put that in print. There's many sides to Jin. I'm also intelligent. I'm also well spoken. And that's beyond hip-hop. That's me, as a person."

Sometimes Jin weaves Chinese-American history into his lyrics to emphasize ethnic pride. At a recent performance at B. B. King Blues Club and Grill in Times Square, he evoked whoops from a multiethnic crowd with "Learn Chinese," a song on his forthcoming album. Over strains of Cantonese, which he speaks fluently, Jin rapped: "Every time they harass me, I wanna explode/We should ride the train for free/We built the railroads."

To entice "2 Fast 2 Furious" fans and the Asian-American youth market, Ruff Ryders has latched onto aspects of pop culture that emphasize Jin's ethnicity, including import show cars and custom-made baggy clothes that incorporate scenes from Chinese paintings."

Jin Story (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/12/arts/music/12JIN.html?ex=1061265600&en=ce7294ebe650c28a&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE)

VV o n g B a

08-12-2003, 04:03 PM

just a suggestion: use the search function.

but anyways, wow... i'm surprised he's in the nytimes. i heard he make a record and then scrapped it cuz it sucked and is currently recording a new one.

sunyang

08-12-2003, 04:07 PM

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (VV o n g B a @ Aug 12 2003, 03:03 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> just a suggestion: use the search function.

but anyways, wow... i'm surprised he's in the nytimes. i heard he make a record and then scrapped it cuz it sucked and is currently recording a new one. [/b][/quote]
I dun think it sucked per se, lets just say he's continually expanding his artistic vision :D :D :D

I'm not surprised he made the NYTimes - this boys big time, and he'd going to represent us

Hiroshi2

08-12-2003, 04:26 PM

"I am proudly Chinese," said this rapper from Elmhurst, Queens, born Jin Au-yeung.

Is it just me, or does that name sound Korean?

Anyway, I love this guy. I can't wait for his album to drop. I'm tired of hearing rappers that are little more than entertainers, and can't actually rap. Him being asian is an added bonus.

lethal

08-12-2003, 04:30 PM

Check this thread (http://forums.yellowworld.org/index.php?showtopic=5924) and this other thread (http://forums.yellowworld.org/index.php?showtopic=5685) and this third thread (http://forums.yellowworld.org/index.php?showtopic=4706).

AliBabaIncorporated

08-12-2003, 04:34 PM

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Hiroshi2 @ Aug 12 2003, 04:26 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Is it just me, or does that name sound Korean? [/b][/quote]
Au-yeung (Ouyang) is one of the most common two-syllable Chinese surnames (the other being Szeto/Situ).

Hiroshi2

08-12-2003, 05:07 PM

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (AliBabaIncorporated @ Aug 12 2003, 06:34 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Au-yeung (Ouyang) is one of the most common two-syllable Chinese surnames (the other being Szeto/Situ). [/b][/quote]
Guess I'm wrong then.........

Green_Jade

08-12-2003, 07:35 PM

booo!. Jin's my name damn it. There was tekken now that rapper guy.

soon enough i'll be called mr. XXXX more then i alredy do... oh how i love correcting ppl.. urm.. it's MS. XXXX. :(

BigLew

08-12-2003, 07:56 PM

Don't know much about his writing skills, but his rhyming/freestyle skills are undeniable.

BigLew

08-13-2003, 07:28 AM

Petition (http://www.petitiononline.com/Jin/)

Someone actually started an online petition because Virgin records keeps pushing back the release date. :blink:

yoMAMA

08-13-2003, 07:30 AM

GO Jin!

teaz0r

08-13-2003, 07:35 AM

i wonder if he uses "dim sum" in his rap.

SunWuKong

08-13-2003, 08:25 AM

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (teaz0r @ Aug 13 2003, 10:35 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> i wonder if he uses "dim sum" in his rap. [/b][/quote]
i don't know, but The Notorious MSG (http://www.notoriousmsg.com/) does.

amietron

08-13-2003, 04:51 PM

<img src='http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2003/08/12/arts/12JIN.184.jpg' alt='--Resize_Images_Alt_Text--' width='184' height='226' class='attach' /> (http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2003/08/12/arts/12JIN.184.jpg)

TB4000

08-13-2003, 05:25 PM

Old boy sounds pretty decent lyrically, but hopefully he won't be just a fad a la the rest of the white rappers except for Eminem. Is he signed with Ruff Ryders or no? If so, that'd be a decent start as far as the hip hop world taking him on a serious tip.

BigLew

08-13-2003, 07:11 PM

Is he signed with Ruff Ryders or no?Yes

Rogmok

10-07-2003, 08:49 AM

VV o n g B a

10-07-2003, 09:03 AM

nope. my protest of riaa continues. but even then, i'd only get his cd if it didn't contain a lot of ignorant comments on race. and after going to one of his performances, i highly doubt that will be the case.

Everglaze

10-07-2003, 09:57 AM

I'm not really fond of racial bragging and generic gimmicks, if Jin's album is anything related to that, I'm not gonna be buying the CD.

However, if he's able to stay original and speak about who HE is and now what he isn't, I'll think differently and perhaps purchase the album.

SunWuKong

10-07-2003, 10:22 AM

he's cool, but i'd rather spend the money on an LMF CD.

ellsworth81

10-07-2003, 10:25 AM

might be worth a download
not

TyroneK(prettypretty)

10-07-2003, 05:15 PM

I'll sample it. If the songs are there, I'm definitely buying.

Something tells me though that the Ruff Ryders aren't spending a lot of money on getting good producers who can harness his talent. The formal cuts I've heard have been pretty bland.

kitty

10-07-2003, 06:08 PM

I wasn't too thrilled by his girls, girls, girls remix... probably wont' bother...

younggiftedandblack

10-07-2003, 08:47 PM

Often times freesyle rappers don't sound good on the confined space of a studio project.

pfc beansprout

10-08-2003, 11:23 AM

~yeah, his live perfomances...he really does incorporate a lot of negative stereotypes and shit....i would like to say i'm gonna support my own...but i dunno...i'm not gonna do it in the name...gotta have some good shit....

Iconoclastic

10-08-2003, 11:38 AM

ellsworth81

10-08-2003, 08:25 PM

meh. this guy just keeps coming up ...

The quality will speak for itself. Just how critical is $$ in when it comes to the production side? Whoever Ruff Ryders' producers are these days (Swizz Beatz?) should recognize they have something good (as opposed to ground-breaking) that could be molded and cultivated. If RR is just leaving Jin w/ scraps and no support, what's the point of being on the label? Might as well go independent. Sure, you might sell a few extra to the brand loyalists, but bad news has a tendency to spread very quickly. Much faster than good news.

And many artists succeeded not because they shared the same skin color, but simply because someone liked their shit. ppl of all colors bought Eminem and he broke that barrier that denied white guys any credibility for rapping.

I mean, the MBs made a name for themselves. How much did they rely upon support of the Asian-Am community? Keeping what you said in mind earlier about how Asian-Ams don't support Asian-Am artists, I'll guess they got very little support. That doesn't explain why they earned plenty of respect from all sorts of hip-hop critics.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems you are making this out as if his success has some serious social consequences. Like an asian Jackie Robinson. Even if I'm wrong, JR illustrates an interesting point. From what I've heard, JR was signed by an MLB team because he was damn good and had several awards to prove it in the following years. The baseball world didn't accept him or support him based on his skin color. They supported him because he helped the Dodgers win. And during his stint in the black leagues, they supported him because he was good, not just because he was black.

I just don't see the need to support him from both a musical standpoint nor a racial standpoint. Granted, he's in a position to change the Asian-Am image, but if he can claw his way to get some better beats (which is what he's been doing for a long time now - struggling and fighting), then he can have my support. Call me naive, but I still believe that cream can rise to the top.

If anything, at least he'll think twice before releasing anything that resembles the shit that is available now.
Think how counter-productive that could be to the image that you want (that Asians can swing it in the hip-hop world).

And for the absolute last time that Jin gets mentioned every few months for some reason, just remember that great freestyling does not translate into commercial success or even kudos from the hip-hop community... you'll end up like Canibus.

Sorry, I realized that this subject matter got more complicated as I thought it through ...

Iconoclastic

10-08-2003, 10:59 PM

Fireblade

10-11-2003, 02:11 AM

ModernLogic

10-11-2003, 06:53 AM

No, and it's because I don't like rap.

If he was played rock or something, then maybe... depending on how good he is.

kitty

10-11-2003, 07:56 AM

I just listened to Learn Chinese by Jin. Umm... it's catchy, except for that stupid la la la part with the girl chorus. Otherwise it's pretty good. But I think they're using his use of Chinese to grab the attention, when it doesn't really contribute to his song. Oh well, if he goes mainstream, and get's big, that'll be good.

It's like every song of his that the label releases (as a single at least) is like "GUESS WHAT, guys?!? I'm ASIAN!!! and I can rhyme too"... It's detracting from his potential for real lyricism... he's nothing but a trained monkey right now.

Faithless

10-11-2003, 11:09 AM

Oooooo. OK, I won't get the CD, then.

kitty

11-16-2003, 08:28 AM

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11102003/news/regionalnews/10420.htm

ASIAN RAP SHOOTING IN CHINATOWN

November 10, 2003 -- A clash between two Asian rappers - up-and-coming star Jin and another rapper linked to a vicious gang - sparked a shooting in Chinatown early yesterday that sent a third man to the hospital, cops said.
The incident began at about 2 a.m. in the trendy new Yellow bar at 32 Mulberry St., when the rappers started arguing.

Another man, Christopher Louie, 23, stepped in to defend his pal, the newly popular Asian rap star Jin, who appeared last summer in the drag-racing sequel "2 Fast 2 Furious" with hip-hop star Ludacris.

During the argument, the rapper linked to the gang - whose name was not released - pulled a .40-caliber gun and shot Louie once in the lower back. Jin, whose full name is Jin Au-yeung, was unharmed.

The gunman - who fled the scene - is a reputed member of the Ghost Shadows street gang, police said.

Sources said the argument between the rival rappers may have been sparked by the shooter's jealousy of Au-yeung, who spent part of his summer on MTV's "You Hear It First" tour.

Au-yeung, who was born in Elmhurst, Queens, raps about race and being Chinese-American. His debut album was released two weeks ago on Ruff Ryders/Virgin Records. The 21-year-old star has already won rapping competitions where, like white Eminem before him, he has turned taunts about his ethnicity into his own rap disses.

Louie was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where cops there said he is expected to survive.

Ogumo

11-16-2003, 08:30 AM

Why are these rappers constantly involved with guns?

kitty

11-16-2003, 08:40 AM

Why are these rappers constantly involved with guns?

I think it involves street cred... a lot of rap culture is from the streets so are trying to maintain (or get) street cred, and a lot of it is about frontin', or trying to be the best there is (sort of like a superhero). Feuds can often get personal and violent.

like, why is 50 cent popular? could part of it be the fact that he was shot 9 times and lived to tell the tale?

Ogumo

11-16-2003, 08:45 AM

Like $0.50 and the manthat looks like a baby. They should learn to keep there feuds out of the public eye. But ultimately this behavior will bring them more public attention and sales.

SunWuKong

11-16-2003, 02:34 PM

hahhah what the hell? he wasn't born in no Queens. he was born and raised in a middle class neighborhood in Miami (http://www.digitalco2.com/jin0502/bio.php).

nonamerasian

11-16-2003, 02:36 PM

I thought he wasn't born in Queens because I remember him saying something along those lines on 106 & Park.

He said that Queens embraced him, though. I think he was "repping" both.

kitty

11-20-2003, 09:49 AM

Jin's album dropped a few weeks ago... did anyone pick it up? are you planning to? what do you think of jin now... is his career gonna blow up or does he just plain blow?

edit: yeah, i know there are other jin threads, but I can't find them/too lazy to resurrect them.

nonamerasian

11-20-2003, 09:58 AM

All I know is that I like his freestyles.

I haven't heard any of his tapes before, but if his freestyles are indicative of anything, he should be really good on that cd..

I probably won't buy it, though.

His career has real potential. He had a lot of people tuning in weekly just to see him on 106 & Park. His appearance on those episodes really expanded his fan-base.

Now many people are rooting for him.

kitty

11-20-2003, 10:02 AM

Korean Hunk

11-20-2003, 10:02 AM

But the question I have is will the Asians support Jin enough? Eninem made it big because whites constitute a large part of his fans, but are Asians fans of rap. I can honestly say I lost interest in rap after Vanilla Ice and I don't know many other Asians who are into rap, maybe the younger ones will support him.

Korean Hunk

11-20-2003, 10:05 AM

Hmm... but does a good freestyle artist necessarily make a good rapper?

I heard Jin do a few songs back when he first blew up, and he sounded okay, but not special. He was mostly biting off existing songs of the day, like Jay-Z's girls, girls, girls.

I am really old and out of it, I had no idea what biting off meant. And never heard of jay Z and Girls, Girls, Girls. I thought that was an old Motley Crue song. Another nail in my coffin about getting old. Someone hand me a gun!

nonamerasian

11-20-2003, 10:12 AM

Hmm... but does a good freestyle artist necessarily make a good rapper?

I heard Jin do a few songs back when he first blew up, and he sounded okay, but not special. He was mostly biting off existing songs of the day, like Jay-Z's girls, girls, girls.

A good freestyle artist doesn’t necessarily mean a good overall rapper.

Someone else told me that he sounded mediocre based on mixed tapes she's heard, but I think that was based on his stuff before his entrance on BET.

I don’t know what to think of him as an overall rapper as of yet.

ellsworth81

11-20-2003, 10:59 AM

ugh

this guy never goes away

success is determined by critical acclaim. not by CD sales. i can sell 5 million CDs but still have everyone regretting they made the purchase b/c it turned out horribly.

maybe he'll be available to kazaa :D

Iconoclastic

11-22-2003, 12:56 PM

Where do you people get your news from? It's actually dropping next March...

TidaMaria

11-29-2003, 08:38 PM

What is the title of his album??

Iconoclastic

11-29-2003, 11:16 PM

The Rest Is History

Korean Hunk

12-01-2003, 01:57 PM

How popular is this guy? I asked non Asian people about him and no one knew who he was.

Iconoclastic

12-01-2003, 11:10 PM

If those non azn people u asked are into hip hop, then they should know who he is. If you ask the average mainstream white person, I doubt they'd know him. I think that after his debut video drops on BET and MTV on Dec 12, his publicity'll go up like 1000% from 20,000 to 20 mil

kitty

12-02-2003, 05:38 AM

Where do you people get your news from? It's actually dropping next March...

ooops. my bad. :(

Korean Hunk

12-02-2003, 09:37 AM

Cipherous

12-02-2003, 11:52 AM

I hope they have the hoochie mamas shaking their money makers in his videos. I'll watch it then.

me too!

PUReSoul

12-02-2003, 09:46 PM

Jin's Fan website is @ www.holla-front.com
it has the most info about Jin

about his video here is the info i got it from the website

Jin's "Learn Chinese" will be featured as a CTN Freshman the week! Beginning Monday, December 8th through Friday, December 12th, "Learn Chinese" will air 5 times a day during the "Freshman" program. CTN is broadcast in over 800 colleges and universities throughout the country!

For more information visit: ctn

"Learn Chinese" Plays MTV JAMS

Jin's single "Learn CHinese" featuring Ayeesha, will play during "MTV JAMS Mixtape Weekend" on Friday, December 5th, Sunda, December 7th.

Note: MTV JAMS airs all day during the weekend. It is not available in New York unless RCN is your cable provider.

For more information visit: mtv

Jin on BET: The Next JIN will be the featured on BET's show "The Next", Airing on Saturday, December 6th at 1:00 PM ET and MOnday, December 8th at 11:00 AM ET. Mark Your Calendars and be sure to tune in!

For more information visit: bet

PUReSoul

12-02-2003, 09:48 PM

by the way what do you guys think about his 1st single "learn chinese" ?

PUReSoul

12-02-2003, 10:21 PM

here is the link:

http://www.holla-front.com/media/audio/Jin%20-%20Learn%20Chinese%20(Radio%20Edit).mp3

the video will be air on dec 12 in BET's 106 & park show. Jin will be in the show also..

make sure to vote for this man!!!

hooligan

12-02-2003, 11:22 PM

he sounds pretty good, when i first heard him i was all thinking "he sounds all eminem-ish", but he's got an distinct voice. it's pretty good.

AngryABCGirl

12-03-2003, 02:14 AM

not that great, but pretty awesome for what that is.

kitty

12-03-2003, 07:15 AM

merging

contra_diction

12-03-2003, 07:36 AM

he sounds pretty good, when i first heard him i was all thinking "he sounds all eminem-ish", but he's got an distinct voice. it's pretty good.

he does have his own voice, but when i listened to that Learn Chinese, when he started that first verse, he sounded like a mix between em and that cat from G-Unit.

i think it's pretty good, i like it. but honestly, i think he should do better, especially if it's your first single. RR will give him provide plenty of cover PR though so it will do well.

PUReSoul

12-08-2003, 09:38 PM

okay everyone, if you want to see some asian rapper on bet or mtv or you just want to see more asian on tv~ go to

http://www.bet.com/peoplepoll/1,,138,00.html

and vote for Jin's vid "learn Chinese"

the vid will be on BET's 106 and park this friday 12/12 and Jin will be there also.

the video will also be on Pre-RL or Pre-TRL on MTV 12/10.

PUReSoul

12-08-2003, 09:45 PM

by the way if you havn't see his video yet go to www.jinsite.com

hooligan

12-08-2003, 09:46 PM

John0101

12-08-2003, 10:54 PM

Jin came to my school one time (umass amherst), some asian frat, smith college & amherst College asian assocation got him here. Tickets were like 25 bux and only like a few dozen people showed up (all asians). After the show he had an "after party", in which he tried to play spin the bottle with a few smith girls. It was pretty sad, there was a rumor that nobody kissed him, and they basically left the horny short bastard there.

PUReSoul

12-09-2003, 06:33 PM

www.mtv.com/onair/trl/vote/

For MTV's TRL

teaz0r

12-09-2003, 06:41 PM

dun dun dun!

kitty

12-10-2003, 03:02 PM

*bump* ... what did you guys think of Learn Chinese?

DragonKnight

12-10-2003, 05:40 PM

Lol it ain't comin out next week man, maybe First Quarter 2004 at best. Anyways, do you know why he has to release bland generic music that relies on gimmicks? Because there aren't Azn rappers in the mainstream yet. Why aren't there Azn rappers in the mainstream yet? Because they don't receive enough monetary support and their album sales are too low. The fact is, until we finally realize that supporting a groundbreaking artist now will allow more talented artists of our background to have a chance in the music industry later, we will never have a successful artistic Azn. The industry simply won't take the risk on one until an Azn can prove they can sell, ignorant gimmicks and all.
I have to agree on this. I personally will buy his album just to sow the seeds that a great Asian music artist will show up and help prove that we are marketable. Is this cheating in a way? You're damn right. But we need to get the proverbial 'foot in the door' as this business listens to money first before talent. If we don't support our artists then you're not gonna see any Asian music artists making it mainstream anytime soon.

AngryABCGirl

12-10-2003, 05:43 PM

*bump* ... what did you guys think of Learn Chinese?
The more I listen to it, the more I like it, even with the bad canto.

Iconoclastic

12-10-2003, 10:23 PM

Vote for it on 106 and Park and TRL! Da more you vote for it, da more exposure, and da higher da album sales!

http://www.bet.com/peoplepoll/1,,138,00.html

http://www.mtv.com/onair/trl/vote/

Banana

12-11-2003, 12:22 PM

I'll get it just to support in the idea that it might help.

Personally, I hate rap so as soon as I get home, it'll be tossed in the corner of my room never to be seen again.

DragonKnight

12-11-2003, 04:22 PM

I'll get it just to support in the idea that it might help.

Personally, I hate rap so as soon as I get home, it'll be tossed in the corner of my room never to be seen again.
Store it somewhere...might make a collectors item one of these days. :wink:

Oblivious

12-11-2003, 04:24 PM

he's cool, but i'd rather spend the money on an LMF CD.
Ooooh is that LazyMudderFuqqers? Have you heard of the Notorious MSG? LOL I only listen for the entertainment. Cracks me up.

Anywho, I remember the first time I saw Jin was through an mpeg clip of him on 106 & Park. I was quite excited to see an asian freestylist sounding decent. I still haven't seen the video, Learn Chinese yet even though my best friend in SF constantly calls me everytime it's on to watch it. LOL So I am hoping his new CD will be more of an introduction to who he is and his roots/background rather than a bunch of ridiculous bashing and chinese slang. I'll definitely pick one up for the support and the curiosity that I have.

It's kinda fun actually hearing chinese on MTV and BET. It just seems so weird, like I would've never thought I'd see this day. I'm happy that an asian artist was given a chance but I just hope he won't let us down. Somehow, I feel like it will be a disappointment because of the whole retarded entertainment/music/sales industry and media crap.

raacluse

12-11-2003, 07:36 PM

Just streamed the vid... found it a little confusing, often a jumble of scenes, images and rhymes... Some of the images bug me, so I prefer just the audio to the video.

Yeah, the chorus where the girls or women sing how Jin is the sexiest in a sing-songy (pentatonic scale) way is fairly distasteful. Smacks of musical Orientalism.

A coupla times, they show him with a buncha folks with the DC Chinatown gate in the background. Or maybe it's one in another city, cause the DC gate hasn't looked this good in a long time. (It's now faded and the paint is cracking. It's disgusting that no one has maintained it.) Although maybe it was spruced up for the video shoot.

Will I buy the cd to support his budding career? Don't know. Have to audition some of it, first. Just based on the "Learn Chinese" piece, his material seems to be a mixed bag.

ellsworth81

12-11-2003, 08:42 PM

looks like someone has read Edward Said.

Just streamed the vid... found it a little confusing, often a jumble of scenes, images and rhymes... Some of the images bug me, so I prefer just the audio to the video.

Yeah, the chorus where the girls or women sing how Jin is the sexiest in a sing-songy (pentatonic scale) way is fairly distasteful. Smacks of musical Orientalism.

A coupla times, they show him with a buncha folks with the DC Chinatown gate in the background. Or maybe it's one in another city, cause the DC gate hasn't looked this good in a long time. (It's now faded and the paint is cracking. It's disgusting that no one has maintained it.) Although maybe it was spruced up for the video shoot.

Will I buy the cd to support his budding career? Don't know. Have to audition some of it, first. Just based on the "Learn Chinese" piece, his material seems to be a mixed bag.

Iconoclastic

12-11-2003, 08:45 PM

Will I buy the cd to support his budding career? Don't know. Have to audition some of it, first. Just based on the "Learn Chinese" piece, his material seems to be a mixed bag.

You're not buying the cd to support HIS budding career, you're buying it to open doors for ALL azn musicians in pop culture.

kitty

12-11-2003, 09:43 PM

I just d/l'd it. *hangs head in shame* Oh. Dear. God.

Was it really necessary?? I mean, did he *really* need to go there?? The girls in the high pitched voices singing mock chinese? "Fa Di Zho Ah" choruses?? Karate?? Chinese food?? "I'm not your Eminem, your Jiggaman, I'm a Chinaman"??

It's like four minutes of Jin jumping up and down and hollerin: "Hey guys!! GUYS!! Guess WHAT?? I'm CHINESE!!!!..... buy my album".

I'm gonna go get a shower.

And for the record. No. I am *not* buying this CD.

AngryABCGirl

12-11-2003, 11:10 PM

Hey where'd you get the streaming vid?

kitty

12-12-2003, 05:57 AM

www.jinsite.com

Banana

12-12-2003, 12:06 PM

I went to get a tarp after I watched it.

Must clean... brain...

Brain... dirty...

Pimp The System

12-12-2003, 07:53 PM

I think it come out this week sometime, any one thinking of getting it??

Jin's that chinese american rapper that signed w/ rough riders after he beat out like 7 guys in the free style contest on BET.
I'mma cop it after I heard the song on the radio last night. It was better than I thought it was except for that stupid ass la la la part. His voice is not as whiney as I thought it was so that's always and extra in my book. When is it coming out?

raacluse

12-13-2003, 06:48 AM

You're not buying the cd to support HIS budding career, you're buying it to open doors for ALL azn musicians in pop culture.

Don't see it that way, 'cause there've been azn musicans long before him and there'll be ones after him.

Don't get me wrong, he's got some skillz, no doubt. But it seems that the video is sometimes trying to pose him like some kinda Chnz nigga, a Chnz who's livin' the Chinatown thuggish life.

What makes it worse is that he has a round face that makes him look really young, and also reminds me of a happy face. :smile: A happy face gangsta? I guess that's why they had to put that eyepatch on him, when he plays the crime boss. Make him look a bit evil.

kitty

12-13-2003, 08:28 AM

What makes it worse is that he has a round face that makes him look really young, and also reminds me of a happy face. :smile: A happy face gangsta? I guess that's why they had to put that eyepatch on him, when he plays the crime boss. Make him look a bit evil.

I thought that was an homage to the guy with the eyepatch in bond.

Pimp The System

12-13-2003, 08:29 AM

Here's a link for his video. I can't see it on this bump ass computer I'm using at work right now, cause someone is using the good one. Let me know what you think about the video.

http://holla-front.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=11246

DragonKnight

12-13-2003, 11:00 AM

Don't see it that way, 'cause there've been azn musicans long before him and there'll be ones after him.
He's the only one to get THIS far.

To be quite frank, I really don't think he's all that either. But you know what, right now he's getting a lotta exposure. Negative or positive, it's a start. Let him do his thing. Cause there's someone who's gonna be a lot better. But at the moment, Jin is paving the way.

kitty

12-13-2003, 11:20 AM

DragonKnight

12-13-2003, 01:25 PM

at this rate, what a twisted crooked, potholed way it's gonna be.
It is. It's a biatch trying to be successful in a business where image is everything.

raacluse

12-15-2003, 09:11 AM

He's the only one to get THIS far.

To be quite frank, I really don't think he's all that either. But you know what, right now he's getting a lotta exposure. Negative or positive, it's a start. Let him do his thing. Cause there's someone who's gonna be a lot better. But at the moment, Jin is paving the way.

I agree that it's a step-by-step thing.

Don't want to nit-pick Jin (although it may sound that way), but don't want to blindly support everything he's putting out in the video (or rather, what the director is putting out). 'Cause it could be better.

And this is just one video. Let's hope he and other Asians will have more screen time. (altho, that's no guarantee that things would improve... take, for example, the Asians who've appeared in "Real World".)

As far as his achievement in level of visibility, getting "THIS far", you might have a point. Altho, it might be interesting to compare Jin's visibility and PR with that of Hiroshima, when their first album came out in '79. (Sure, the times were different, but I think they were on a major label or subsidiary.)

PUReSoul

12-15-2003, 02:39 PM

i am buying his cd for sure.

the learn chinese song isn't the best song right now, but it is better than alot of song i've heard on the radio. such as that dumb ass song " milk shake" or something like that.

the reason why i support jin have alot to do with him being asian,

i just wanna see some main stream azn rapper/singer on tv before i die, that's all i am asking for.

PUReSoul

12-15-2003, 02:47 PM

go to http://launch.yahoo.com/ and search for jin's video.

Hiroshi2

12-15-2003, 09:59 PM

bii

12-16-2003, 12:32 AM

DragonKnight

12-16-2003, 01:31 AM

Jin may have gotten his foot in the door, but UTADA is gonna kick it open. Island Def Jam created an entire advertisement team specifically for Hikaru's debut. It's only the second time that Island Def Jam has done this for an artist, the first being for Mariah Carey.
She tried it before, but it flopped majorly (think cubic-u). Hopefully she can pull it off this time. Thing that bothers me about Hikki is that she's married now. I thought that whole deal was put on hold due to that.

Anyhoo, if Hikki pulls it off, then bless her. Her latest music is very spritual and meaningfull compared to her two previous albums. Hopefully she can sell that style here and not compromise.

bii

12-16-2003, 01:49 AM

She tried it before, but it flopped majorly (think cubic-u). Hopefully she can pull it off this time. Thing that bothers me about Hikki is that she's married now. I thought that whole deal was put on hold due to that.

Anyhoo, if Hikki pulls it off, then bless her. Her latest music is very spritual and meaningfull compared to her two previous albums. Hopefully she can sell that style here and not compromise.
Sorry to go OT so much (maybe we should start a thread for Hikki's release :wink:) To be fair, she was/released Cubic U when she was only like 12. I think it was more of a learning experience thing. And the main reason for her "debut" being pushed back was to remove a tumor from her ovaries.

ellsworth81

12-16-2003, 08:16 AM

This song cracks me up so much.

"Y'all gon' learn Chinese!"

Y'all gon' wanna be Chinese!"

LOLOLOLOL

So I'm guessing he's one of New York City's own? He was tight as hell on 106 and Park, I just hope him getting a record deal with the lamest producers out right now doesn't ruin his career.

that's why he should go underground and make good music

somehow, i dont see how hookin up with ruff ryders will be a stepping stone to better producers out there. it'll give him publicity ... but will the other labels out there be able to see a cash cow? can they see that he's a decent MC but bogged down by sub-par muzak? i sure hope so...

xdlin22

12-16-2003, 03:51 PM

jin is pretty okay

PUReSoul

12-18-2003, 09:54 AM

jin's ganna be on mtv's "you heard it first" 12/18!!!

krome

12-18-2003, 10:25 AM

Ok, this is my personal hypothesis - I think he has no creative control over his songs at RR - and they are trying to turn him into an Asian gimmick. Notice the difference between these self-produced tracks and the "gimmicky" Learn Chinese:

NBA Freestyle - Jin (http://www.holla-front.com/media/audio/Jin%20-%20NBA.mp3)

Mr. Right Mr. Wrong - Jin & LS collab (http://www.holla-front.com/media/audio/mrright_mrwrong.mp3)

Jin & Gobe freestyle madnessss (http://www.soundclick.com/util/streamM3U.m3u?ID=491517&q=Lo)

H*ll, he even dropped this single on his own - as if he were sending a message out:

Let Me Be - Jin (http://www.holla-front.com/media/audio/Letmebe.mp3)

I don't think he is gonna publicly overtly call out RR if that is the case, but that APPEARS to be what is happening (at least to me). I mean, let's be real about the industry here - artist manipulation would hardly be any surprise. He has studio production quality on his RR tracks, but I like his amateur tracks (content/flow) far better - even if they are self-produced with lower sound quality. Anyways, keep ya ears up...I know his potential far exceeds Learn Chinese - he just has to be allowed the freedom to express it!

kitty

12-18-2003, 08:52 PM

krome -- i hear you but that's true of all rap artists. they control the lyrics, but usually an independent producer is brought in. With a new artist, he probably doesn't get much say at all in the final product.

Deadpool

12-18-2003, 09:33 PM

They started playing his song here on the Local hip hop station.

ChairmanMah

12-18-2003, 10:43 PM

that beat is from some old bangin das efx

PUReSoul

12-19-2003, 01:58 AM

go check out his fan site holla-front.com. alot cool stuff, plus jin himself post there all the time

kitty

04-23-2004, 09:04 PM

there were four threads on jin the mc floating around.

it is now the uber thread.

jeesukkie

04-24-2004, 01:10 PM

He's sub-par. I don't think he could consistently churn out quality tracks. He DOES have fairly decent freestyles, but I was not at all impressed with his tracks, self-produced or under RR.

People like Mountain Brothers have been representing Asian-Americans in the hip-hop scene long before Jin. Listen to Offwhyte, Snacky Chan, Organic Thoughts, Blue Scholars, The Pacifics, and Denizen Kane if you want quality AA hip-hop.

With or without the label, Jin's a gimmick on the tracks.

jeesukkie

04-24-2004, 03:33 PM

JIN THA MC REPRESENT MUTHAFUCKA! REPRESENT!!!

Behind the Scene with JIN @ MTV.com (http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/jin/artist.jhtml)

CLICK ON Behind the Scene with JIN

If y'all don't know what he's about, check it out!

Check out all of his Freestyle Battles from DAY ONE. His personal interviews and his fans across the country in this MTV Exclusive. It's awesome!

BTW. JIN's New Re-Vamped Site (http://www.jinsite.com/)

REPRESENT!!!

*JIN AOL AIM THEME (http://www.picgames.com/perl/preview?10776180027736)
*Wallpaper 1 (http://holla-front.com/images/wallpaper/wall4.jpg)
*Wallpaper 2 (http://holla-front.com/images/wallpaper/wall5.jpg)
*Wallpaper 3 (http://holla-front.com/images/wallpaper/wall6.jpg)
*Wallpaper 4 (http://holla-front.com/images/wallpaper/wall7.jpg)
*Wallpaper 5 (http://holla-front.com/images/wallpaper/wall8.jpg)
*Wallpaper 6 (http://holla-front.com/images/wallpaper/wall9.jpg)

His collabo with KAYNE WEST of Rockafella Records ... Jin ft Kanye - I Gota Love (http://relo8d.sytes.net/music/mp3/jin-4.mp3). RIGHT CLICK, SAVE ON TARGET ... AND OPEN TO PLAY MUSIC.

http://server6.uploadit.org/files/dacmac-Jin1Jpg.JPG
http://server6.uploadit.org/files/dacmac-JIN2Jpg.JPG

COURTESY OF Holla-Front.com (http://www.holla-front.com/)

DOWNLOAD SEATTLE DVD 2 MOVIE TRAILER!!! (http://www.holla-front.com/media/seattle_dvd2.wmv)
http://home.comcast.net/~cabucojuice/Dead_Wrong.mp3
Hands Off Download Site #1 (http://home.comcast.net/~lazyjulian301/Jin_-_Hands_Off.mp3)
Learn Chinese Mix (http://66.197.215.133/~cabucoju/DJthick_vs_thin.mp3)
I Do This Son (http://home.comcast.net/~cabucojuice/dothisson.mp3)
I Do This Son (Alternate Download location) (http://www.aznstylez.net/hf/media/audio/IDoThisSon.mp3)
I Do This Son (Alternate Download Location) (http://home.comcast.net/~cabucojuice/dothisson.mp3)
Wake Up (http://aznstyle.ffimpulse.com/hf/media/audio/yellow/wake%20up.mp3)
Slide With Me (http://aznstyle.ffimpulse.com/hf/media/audio/yellow/Slide%20With%20Me.mp3)
Moment Of Clarity Freestyle (http://home.comcast.net/~cabucojuice/Jin_Moment.mp3)
Slow Jamz Bootleg rmx (http://home.comcast.net/~cabucojuice/slowjamz.mp3)
Learn Chinese AGAIN (http://home.comcast.net/~cabucojuice/LCAgain.mp3)
Affirmative Action 2k4 (http://home.comcast.net/~cabucojuice/affirmative.mp3)Your mere presence here makes me cry.:frown:

Faithless

05-21-2004, 02:39 PM

Innocent Or Criminal? (http://www.exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid1=2509)

Asian-American Idols Represent
By Martin Turenne
April 30, 2004

One is a dexterous street poet; the other, an adorable nerd. They are, respectively, New York City’s Jin and Berkeley’s William Hung, two men whose recent forays into the charts have provoked controversy in the Asian-American community.

Hung, of course, is the university student whose appearance on American Idol — where he performed a sub-karaoke calibre version of Ricky Martin’s "She Bangs" — launched him (however briefly) into the mainstream consciousness, earning him invitations to network talk shows and a $25,000 recording contract with Koch Records.

Jin, meanwhile, is the decorated battle rapper whose splendid debut single ("Learn Chinese") has critics hailing him as the "Asian Eminem," a street credible MC whose skills preempt any questions about his right to rap.

With last month’s release of Hung’s first album (Inspiration) and the scheduled June release of Jin’s (The Rest Is History), these artists have assumed a prominent role in the commercial domain, but they’ve done so in ways that betray the music industry’s persistent racism. Whether these artists are complicit in perpetuating that racism has become a matter of some debate.

Hung’s fame, in particular, has been decried by several watchdogs — like SFGate.com’s Emil Guillermo and Africana.com’s Jimi Izrael — who note his resemblance to the Kim Sisters, a Korean-born trio who sang accented versions of American pop songs on The Ed Sullivan Show. For these critics, the reaction to Hung epitomises the American culture industry’s routine characterisation of Asians as quaint, sexless beings — an ignoble tradition that extends from Mickey Rooney’s buck-toothed Chinaman imitation in Breakfast at Tiffany’s to Sofia Coppola’s glibly superficial rendering of Japanese culture in Lost in Translation.

Jin, too, has been criticised by commentators, especially for his attempt to offer Chinatown as a tawdry alternative to the African-American ghetto and by presenting himself as the dialectical (but no less stereotypical) counterpart to Hung’s harmless immigrant persona: the underworld crime boss.

That the incipient notoriety of these two artists could attract such scrutiny is no surprise, for few Asian entertainers have attained such renown in North America — and fewer still (like Bruce Lee or Margaret Cho) have done so in ways that expand our understanding of their respective cultures. To critics of Hung and Jin, their stature is based solely on their willingness to assume hackneyed subject roles, a compliance that similarly accounts for the fame of actors Lucy Liu (eternally typecast as the insane dragon-lady) and Jackie Chan (the harmless kung-fu huckster).

Such criticism rather naively assumes that the gatekeepers of the American entertainment industry are interested in promoting nuanced representations of reality. Instead, I would argue that the industry’s antagonism toward subtlety — unless, of course, it’s profitable — is a condition no more worth criticising on racist grounds than for its implicitly condescending treatment of audiences. For what is American Idol if not an elaborate sitcom, and what are its three judges if not cardboard cut-outs: the snobbish Brit, the "with-it" black guy and the sympathetic matron.

The denunciation of Hung’s fame by some Asian-American commentators strikes me as at least partly motivated by a sense of embarrassed self-loathing; as a member of a French-Canadian community whose biggest export (Celine Dion) is a parody unto herself, I well understand how mortifying it can be to have your culture represented by a walking caricature, but I would contend that the root problem here is not racism but blinkered capitalist zeal.

In fact, Hung’s awkward song and dance routine would be no less (nor more) entertaining were he, say, a Czech immigrant. I’d argue that his popularity is not due to racism, but rather because his guileless performance and defiant response to the judges’ castigation ("I already gave my best. I have no regrets at all.") were at once humorous and heartening — a nerd’s revenge more satisfying than any serialised movie franchise could ever muster.

As for Jin, his gangsta stance should be criticized not because it’s damaging to Asian identity but because he’s too talented to be mining such clichéd subject matter. Judging by his freestyles on BET’s 106th & Park, the New Yorker is one of the dopest young rappers on the planet, a man in possession of the sole attribute of consequence to the corporate model: market appeal. If his album is a hit, then the cries of his critics will indeed be history, for he will have helped chart a course for a host of MCs to come, whatever their ethnicity.

VV o n g B a

10-18-2004, 09:05 AM

love him or hate him, his album is dropping this week. u can check out his video "senorita" here:

http://www.winamp.com/bin/playlist.pls?streamtype=strmedia&mtype=SV&id=1203982&bandwidth=NSVHBURL

after watching the video once, i'm pleasantly surprised. he wasn't some thug pimpin his hos, he wasn't throwin around all the cash he doesn't have yet and he wasn't selling his asianess as his sole claim to fame. he just looked like he was having fun.

purebread04

10-18-2004, 10:53 PM

the album will drop tomorrow 10/19 mean while go check out his new video "Senorita"
on AOL music.

BigLew

10-19-2004, 03:46 PM

Ooohhh. Has this shit had any kind of marketing besides hollafront?

nonamerasian

10-19-2004, 04:24 PM

Senorita is going be on 106 & Park tonight.

They also interview him.

Kris

10-19-2004, 06:41 PM

i've heard this song for a while now and i aint feelin' it. his album isn't great either. i expected better.

Faithless

10-20-2004, 10:50 AM

Jin's a tonic (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/242676p-208077c.html)
The witty rapper refuses to be ghettoized as Asian

BY JIM FARBER

The rapper Jin faces an inescapable dilemma.

"My talent gets overwhelmed by my race all the time," he says. "It's an occupational hazard."

How could it not be when he's the first Asian hip-hop artist who's been signed to a major label?

This week, Jin Au-yeung releases his debut CD, "The Rest Is History," on Virgin Records. But Jin has long been a lightning rod for controversy among the hip-hop cognoscenti. Because he generated national magazine stories before he had a proven sales record, some accused him of getting attention for being a novelty act rather than a real talent.

"It's a lose-lose situation," says the 22-year-old rapper. "If I talk about being Asian, they say I'm exploiting my history to get attention. If I don't talk about it, they say, 'He thinks he's black.'"

Not that the chatter gets Jin down. He's chipper in conversation, in contrast to all those rappers who turn up the tough talk for the press.

So far, Jin's good-natured wit has served him well. It's the quality that first got him attention three years ago, when he entered a rap contest on BET's show "106th & Park."

For seven weeks, Jin beat every competitor with his snarky rhymes, some of which drew on his ethnic heritage.

"If you make one joke about rice or karate/NYPD be in Chinatown searching for your body," he quipped at one rap battle.

On his CD, Jin refers to himself as "the Great Wall of China" and announces, "the days of pork fried rice and chicken wings coming to your house by me is over."

In fact, Jin spent his youth delivering food for his parents' Chinese restaurant. "It was real labor," he says.

The restaurant was in Miami, where Jin was born. He graduated from North Miami Beach High School in the late '90s but opted out of college to pursue his hip-hop dream.

His parents weren't pleased with the decision, but they supported him as they moved the family to New York three years ago - right after 9/11 - so they could be close to his grandparents in Chinatown. His dad is now a foreman at a construction company, his mom is a housewife.

Jin's middle-class origins have drawn cracks from some listeners who think rappers have to have poor, violent backgrounds.

"The middle class can be the hardest," Jin says. "You're not filthy rich, but you're not broke enough to get assistance. You have to fend for yourself."

NO BRUCE LEE

Still, Jin had enough money to press his own CDs, which he sold in front of Fat Beats, the hip-hop record store in the Village. While freestyling in front of the Sixth Ave. shop, Jin met the man who became his manager, Kamel Pratt, who got him into the BET contest. That led to a management deal with the company behind DMX, Ruff Ryders, and the recording contract. Along the way, Jin earned a movie role opposite the rapper Ludacris in the action flick "2 Fast 2 Furious."

He says he has a lead acting role coming next year, one that goes against Asian stereotypes. "I'm not doing karate chops," he says. "And I'm not working with gadgets or doing math."

Not all members of the Asian community have greeted Jin with open arms. Critics resented the line in his single, "Learn Chinese" - delivered by the song's producer, Wyclef Jean - that claims Jin is the first Asian rapper. Though he's the first to get a solo deal on a major label, there have been others, including the Mountain Brothers and the Visionaires, plus soloists Lyric Born, Slant Eyez and Kid G Boogie. And many Asians are turntablists.

Jin has also been criticized by Asian pop commentator Oliver Wang, who says the rapper's use of Chinese gang imagery in his video is a pandering parallel to gangsta rap.

Speaking of the world of Chinese gangs, Jin says, "They exist. It's a reality that most people don't know about."

Jin had his own brush with that world last November, when a scuffle in Chinatown led to his friend Christopher Louie getting a bullet wound. Jin says some "jealous" guys, who were armed, picked a fight with them.

In his music Jin hardly plays it tough, preferring to recall the more innocent time of early hip hop. He even makes fun of his connection with Ruff Ryders in a comedy skit on the CD that ranks on the company's snarling image.

How such a light approach will play in an age that worships hardness remains to be seen. But for now, Jin would be relieved just to get over the Asian distraction.

"Trying to get my own identity out there is a fight," he says. "But, eventually, when people look at me, they won't see 'Asian.' They'll see me."

Originally published on October 17, 2004

purebread04

10-23-2004, 12:18 PM

don't forget to vote for him at TRL and BET!!!! and all the local radio station!!!!!

achtungbaby

10-25-2004, 04:59 PM

Did anyone see him in LA this past weekend?

Faithless

10-26-2004, 10:40 AM

^ Not me. Of course, I don't live in LA, and I don't ever see concerts (except for Hiroshima).

I did get a chance to review his album on iTunes, and I downloaded (legally) three of his songs --
* Learn Chinese.
* Karaoke Night.
* The Come Thru.

I wasn't really into some of the slow songs. (I'm not into that particular part of rap, anyway. I like the stuff that pumps me blood.)

nonamerasian

10-26-2004, 11:02 AM

I like his freestyles over the stuff I've heard on radio.

Learn Chinese and Senorita.

You can tell he's talented when he's freestyling, but those two songs sound mediocre.

BigLew

10-26-2004, 09:10 PM

*bump* ... what did you guys think of Learn Chinese?Liked the beat (it's an old Das EFX beat) don't realy care for the lyrics. Just bought the album today at Virgin. That shit was only 11 bux and wasn't in the new releases that you can listen to, I wonder why?

Faithless

12-11-2004, 08:43 PM

Too critical?

The Hype about Asian Rappers Reveals Low Standards for Asian Americans in Race Politics (http://www.aamovement.net/art_culture/poetry/standards1.html)
By Tamara K. Nopper
December 3, 2004
tnopper@yahoo.com
Copyright © Tamara K. Nopper 2004

Chinese American rapper Jin tha MC’s debut commercial release by Ruff Ryders Records has ignited a great deal of commentary about the role of Asian Americans in hip hop. Some have tried to downplay Jin’s Chinese background or representation of himself as Chinese in order to suggest that he’s “just another rapper.” Others have emphasized his ethnicity in order to promote the mythical narrative of rap music’s “outsider” in order to prove that folks like Jin are “changing the face of the game.”

I’m not interested in embracing either approach because both avoid a necessary conversation in race politics: the low standards for Asian American politics and forms of representation. These days, all Asian Americans have to do is yell, be mad, grab their crotches, talk about their vaginas, or rap in order to be taken as “political” and “challenging the status quo.” Some see such gestures as proof that Asian Americans are challenging the “model minority” stereotype, which is the image that Asian Americans are quiet, just interested in success and social mobility, and don’t rock the boat politically. Others suggest that Asian Americans are claiming identities that challenge the racial expectations of them as “quiet foreigners.” Some argue that Asian Americans are resisting assimilation because they are embracing themselves culturally and racially.

The subtext of this is the assumption that Asian Americans who do spoken word and hip hop are politically more subversive than those who act like “model minorities.” This is laced with racial ideologies about both Asian Americans and Blacks. Given that the model minority myth operates with the assumption that Asian Americans are models for other minority groups because they are not Black or don’t behave “like Blacks,” we are to assume that Asian Americans are challenging the American project because they are getting involved in what is depicted or taken as “Black” projects. Therefore, it is proposed that because Asian Americans are getting visibly involved in what have been primarily Black cultural forms of expression and politics (although not necessarily Black-controlled or owned), Asian American are supposedly getting more politically conscious. Because Asian Americans are now down with “the folk,” they will hopefully make political communion with Blacks. In other words, the movement of Asian Americans into spoken word and hip hop is supposed to suggest that Asian Americans are no longer going to side with whites and capitalism and will make alliances with Blacks for a more just world.

Yet such assumptions operate with an ahistorical understanding of capitalism that denies how multiracial groups of capitalists have advanced their interests by consuming anything Black. Additionally, such assumptions are based on very low expectations of Asian American racial politics. As I said, all Asian Americans have to do is be angry, loud, write some poetry, talk about sex, and rap to be seen as “political.” This is ridiculous given that on any college campus, you can see and hear people of different races and a variety of political orientations doing much of the same thing. Simply, a lot of people are angry, a lot of people are loud, and these days everyone’s an MC or a spoken word artist, but that doesn’t mean they will actually suspend or re-evaluate their political commitments and investments to go against the American project.

What has happened in American race politics is that on the multiracial left, folks are grateful for, or entertained by anything Asian Americans do that challenges the image of Asian Americans as quiet and submissive or eager to assimilate because Asian Americans, en masse, have not opposed the American project. Meaning, we have very low expectations for the actual substance of Asian American politics as long as Asian Americans stop being “so quiet,” “get angry,” and start becoming “proud of their ‘culture.’”

So we’re to take Jin’s declaration that we’re all “gonna learn Chinese” as an act of cultural warfare against the white machine of assimilation. While this call to arms ignores the fact that a lot of white businessmen and military officials have already learned Chinese, the more important and related point that’s being ignored is that in this stage of capitalism, ethnicity is a hot commodity. To put it bluntly, being “ethnic” is not necessarily a subversive, anti-capitalist, anti-white supremacist act. Basically, being ethnic is in, and Asian/American investment in some kind of commercial sense of ethnicity is also the project of capitalists. More, being a loud Asian American is fairly marketable right now among the multiracial left. Thus, in this era of globalization, to retain one’s ethnicity is not at odds with being invested in social mobility, assimilation, capitalism and anti-Black racism.

Thus, audience members are enticed by loud or angry Asian Americans without ever considering the substance (or lack thereof) of their rhetoric or rhymes. And yet, when looking at and listening to their work closely, Asian Americans will rarely ever go against the American project or the politics that help keep it going. For instance, Jin has espoused really sexist comments about women. Some have excused Jin by suggesting he needs to do this in order to compete in a misogynist “rap game” (read: to compete with Black men who non-Blacks assume are inherently misogynistic). But are people supposed to embrace Jin as proof of Asian American cultural pride and “subversiveness” because he battles other male rappers with words that are fucked up towards women? Are we supposed to embrace Asian Americans who use spoken word and hip hop to depict Black people as politically selfish, jealous, divisive, and uncultured, which are all statements and gestures that support white hostility towards Blacks and related claims of “reverse racism”? Are we supposed to believe that Asian American poets and rappers are opposed to capitalism when they create poems and songs promoting the immigrant narrative, which is also the narrative of the American project and globalization? And are we really supposed to believe that because Asian Americans mimic Black people in the way Blacks (supposedly) dress, talk and move their bodies, that Asian American politics is more subversive and therefore more anti-American in nature? Or, can we consider that perhaps Asian Americans are still “acting white” by mimicking white people mimicking Black people?

Whatever the case, it is clear that Asian Americans getting involved in Black cultural domains like spoken word and hip hop doesn’t translate into Asian Americans actually having a radical politic. To have such a politic, if it is possible at all, Asian Americans will have to re-evaluate the very narratives, desire for identity, political commitments, and bodily gestures embedded in the production and performances of their spoken word poetry, performance pieces and rap. While we may have more Asian Americans getting involved in spoken word and rap and in turn, more listeners “learning Chinese,” a close interpretation of content reveals very little substance that is of service to a struggle against the American project.

Tamara K. Nopper is a writer, researcher, educator, and activist living in Philadelphia.

BigLew

12-12-2004, 12:41 AM

Wow what alot of words and overanalyzation just to say nothing.

Faithless

12-26-2004, 09:26 AM

Just how well is Jin doing, though, in record sales?

Rapper goes from delivering food to rhymes (http://onlineathens.com/stories/122604/ent_20041226026.shtml)
...
Consumers so far have given a lukewarm embrace to the young rapper who earned his reputation as a freestyle battler. His album hit the Billboard Top 200 at No. 54 in October with some 20,000 units sold, then dropped precipitously.

"I don't believe Jin is a flash in the pan," said Lionel Ridenour, who's helping develop Jin as Virgin Records' executive vice president of urban music. "I think that he's only begun to scratch the surface. It's all about consistency."
...
The first single, "Learn Chinese," is as bombastic and fun as the artist himself. "The days of the pork fried rice and the chicken wings coming to your house by me is over / Y'all gon' learn Chinese," he warns.

Even so, Jin was initially worried. "Automatically, it kind of puts it under the 'gimmick' umbrella," he said. "By the same token, I've encountered people that love the record - and that's all ethnicities."

If you're still skeptical, Jin understands: He might be too.

"If I was just a random hip-hop fan, and I saw Jin and I didn't know him, the first thing I would think, too, is, 'Yo, is this guy the truth? Is he serious?' I would question his knowledge of hip-hop," he said.

Which puts Jin in an uncomfortable position. On the one hand, he feels pressure from skeptical non-Asians, eager to question his mainstream hip-hop legitimacy. On the other, he knows he must deliver for his Asian fans.

"Not to feel that I can't live up to the hype, but sometimes I feel like the bar is set so high that even if I am accomplishing something that's great, it doesn't meet the super-sensational great that people want," he said.

"Even within the Asian community, you'd better believe there are people out there who have the mentality, 'Yo, if this guy is a success, he's a success for all of us. We're gonna root and cheer for him.' But you got to believe, though, that they also say, 'If this guy fails, he's holding us all back."'
...

Cipherous

12-27-2004, 11:15 PM

I can't stand Jin, dude sounds like hes reading out a chinese take out menu or something.

kitty

01-06-2005, 08:46 AM

Differing opinions on Jin from AsianWeek.com
http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=ae6946445c5075a58d4e7 4dd4a638f1f

Jin Tha MC’s Spinal Rap: ‘Rest is History’
Asian American rapper goes from delivering food to delivering

At just 22, Miami-bred, New York-based rapper Jin Tha MC is something of a pioneer — the first Asian American hip hop artist to get a major solo record deal.

“Yeah, I’m Chinese. And what?” he asks with mock exasperation. At the same time, he worries that it’s his race, not his rhymes, that is generating all the attention.

His debut album The Rest Is History is chockfull of references to Jin’s roots, including mentions of the Great Wall of China, basketball big man Yao Ming, China’s forced-adoption policy, Tiananmen Square and the struggle of Asian immigrants.

Consumers have so far given a lukewarm embrace to the young rapper who earned his reputation as a freestyle battler. His album hit the Billboard Top 200 at No. 54 in October with some 20,000 units sold, then dropped precipitously.

“Hip hop is dead,” says Jin, “you’re responsible for killing it.” The Chinese American performer is here to save hip hop and to represent the Chinese diaspora. In his debut album, the Black Entertainment Television freestyle champ projects his very soul over a landscape of hip hop beats and old school R&B loops. By being almost painfully himself and not posing gangster-esque, Jin Tha MC gives tone and contour to the musculature of Asian American masculinity.

Jin’s Asian pride is new to above-ground hip hop, but it’s not a forced flow. In “Learn Chinese,” Jin commences an arabesque and bilingual journey into Chinatown by announcing, “The days of the pork fried rice and the chicken wings coming to your house [brought] by me is over/Y’all gawn learn Chinese … y’all gawn be Chinese.” In this wildly imaginative rap song, black producer Wycleff Jean makes up for the highly anti-Chinese skit he recorded on the Fugees’s The Score, and Jin turns a racist hip hop term on its head by proudly dubbing himself “the original chinky-eyed MC.”

Sure, Jin pumps his pimp role — calling himself “a thick-dick player” — but he doesn’t soak us in the “Jin lotion,” as he calls it. Instead, he mostly escorts the listener to uniquely Jin territory.

One wonders if Jin really wants some of this stuff to be heard by the masses. While the rest of hip hop fantasizes about interracial gang-bangs, Jin on the sweet “Love Story” tells us about a life-changing monogamous love affair he had — in junior high school. Jin had a crush on a girl who wanted the junior high school “playa” and not him, but he and this girl (who is black) eventually got together, against the wishes of Jin’s father.

It is this softer side of Jin that really drives a stake into the heart of the worldwide soul-killer that is post-millennium hip hop. Who else is going to rap, as Jin does in “Same Cry,” about the Tiananmen Square massacre? Jin really does have huge cojones — he doesn’t even shirk from possible sappiness. The risk pays off in the “Hell, yeah!”-evoking “Cry” as Jin raps on Chinese refugees in the United States: “They reached the destination/modern-day slavery without the plantation/them sneakers on your feet cost a hundred a pop/my peoples making $0.50 a day at sweatshops to make them kicks so you can look good/think we open restaurants cause we cook good?”

Reminiscent of Slick Rick’s “Teenage Story,” Jin’s “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” is a ghetto parable set in Chinatown. A gangster named Bolo betrays “business” partner Fung and meets his ugly end. Jin reminds us, “You know the code of the streets: Everybody gotta eat,” and Bolo was a “greedy type.” While Jin himself grew up in Miami — not known for its Chinatown — he clues the clueless in on the Asian gang violence that kills much too many. But rather than play the Chinatown gangster role, Jin confesses that he’s never dealt or blasted.

Way back in the 1990s, hip hop heads identified with both Tupac Shakur and the thug role he played on his records. Tupac “sold out” by playing a character, and we modern humans, caught up in a free market of exploitation, we identified with that selling out.

In Rest is History, we identify with Jin not because he is a Chinese American but because being Chinese American makes him proud and ’cause he says it loud. We identify with him because he is that thick-spined player turning “be yourself” into a hip hop ethic. Ultimately such spinal rap may help to humanize and thus re-masculate the image of the Asian American man.

‘Yeah, I’m Chinese’

“I’m very adamant about promoting Asian culture,” Jin says. “(Mine’s) a hip hop record that’s never been done. I’m pretty much promoting Asian culture and tying it in with hip hop.”

In person, Jin’s personality quickly undermines his tough-guy look. He politely turns off his cell phone before chatting and admits that he cries at Disney movies. The Chinese tattoo sliding up his neck is not a prison tat or a sign of gang affiliation — just his name.

“I don’t think you have to be a certain way to be a rapper. I am who I am. I’m not a tough guy. But I have a lot of heart in what I do,” he says. “Sensitivity is a real part of me. I’m a real human being.

“You know how there’s the term, ‘Keeping it real’?” he asks. “The people that understand the concept realize that being real is not going to jail. Being real is not being the guy who pulls out a gun. That’s not being real. The true definition is really just being who you are.”

He was born Jin Au-Yeung, and he fell in love with hip hop on the Miami streets, honing his lyrical skills in head-to-head rhyming contests while making food deliveries from his family’s Chinese restaurant.

Knowing his race might be used against him, Jin made pre-emptive strikes: “Yeah I’m Chinese,” he told one competitor. “Now you’ll understand it/I’m the reason why you’re little sis’ eyes are slanted.”

After moving to New York, Jin was signed to the Ruff Ryders label and won a role opposite Tyrese and Ludacris in John Singleton’s 2 Fast, 2 Furious.

As for the future, Jin wants to make more music, more movies and extend his reach, maybe even flirt with mogul-dom like Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. But, of course, with a twist.

“If I were to branch out, it would be on things that are non-traditional. I would want to be unique. One thing about my whole career now is that it’s definitely about breaking new ground.”

— The Associated Press

A Low Point for
Asian Americans in
Racial Politics?

The movement of Asian Americans into spoken word and hip hop is supposed to suggest that they are no longer going to side with whites and capitalism, that they will make alliances with blacks for a more just world. Yet such assumptions operate with a historical understanding of how multiracial groups of capitalists have advanced their interests by consuming anything black.

Additionally, such assumptions are based on very low expectations of Asian American racial politics. All Asian Americans have to do is be angry, loud, write some poetry, talk about sex and rap to be seen as political. This is ridiculous. Simply, a lot of people are angry, a lot of people are loud, and these days everyone’s an MC or a spoken-word artist, but that doesn’t mean they will actually suspend or re-evaluate their political commitments to go against the American project. The multiracial leftist folks are grateful for, or entertained by, anything Asian Americans do that challenges the image of APAs as quiet and submissive or eager to assimilate.

So we’re to take Jin’s declaration that we’re all going to learn Chinese as an act of cultural warfare against the white machine of assimilation. While this call to arms ignores the fact that a lot of white businessmen and military officials have already learned Chinese, the more important and relevant point that’s being ignored is that in this stage of capitalism, ethnicity is a hot commodity.

Basically, being ethnic is in. More, being a loud Asian American is fairly marketable right now among the multiracial left. Thus, in this era of globalization, to retain one’s ethnicity is not at odds with being invested in social mobility, assimilation, capitalism and anti-black racism. Thus, audience members are enticed by loud or angry Asian Americans without ever considering the substance (or lack thereof) of their rhetoric or rhymes. For instance, Jin has made really sexist comments against women.

It is clear that Asian American involvement in black cultural domains such as spoken word and hip hop doesn’t translate into Asian Americans actually having radical politics. To have such politics, if it is possible at all, Asian Americans will have to re-evaluate the very narratives, desires for identity, political commitments and bodily gestures embedded in their productions and performances. While there may be more Asian Americans getting involved in spoken word and rap and, in turn, more listeners learning Chinese, a close interpretation of content reveals very little substance that is of service to a struggle against the American project.

Tamara K. Nopper is a writer, researcher, educator and activist living in Philadelphia. Nopper’s op-ed originally appeared in an online edition of New York Seoul.

Faithless

07-17-2005, 09:25 AM

Weird encounter at a Target.

Saw this young white dude in this (basketball tanktop, jeans around his ass) getup with this young asian teen.

He says to her, "Hey Lily (or whatever), there's Jin. There's yo cousin. Why don't you get that (cd)."

Not good enough for him. Good enough for her?

Hiroshi2

07-17-2005, 03:58 PM

It's official, Jin has retired from the recording industry.

Read it in XXL magazine the other day. He said he was tired of industry bullshit, and that doesn't feel like he was really cut out for it (which is fine). He also said that he didn't like how people thought "Learn Chinese" (his only single, which was hardly a hit) was a joke, because he was being serious.

Faithless

09-06-2005, 11:33 AM

Pioneering Chinese rap star carves out new identity (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/music/12570315.htm)

Posted on Tue, Sep. 06, 2005 * By Marian Liu * Mercury News

He was marketed as ``the great yellow hope'' with a single called ``Learn Chinese'' that sprinkled Cantonese into his hip-hop rhymes. But the rapper known as Jin -- who battled and defeated rappers of all backgrounds on BET's ``106 & Park'' -- couldn't shake the race card.

Jin Au-Yeung was the first solo Asian-American rapper to get a major label record deal, but he's pulling a Prince, dropping his name in favor of being known simply as the Emcee.

After his stint on ``106 & Park,'' the 23-year-old signed with Ruff Ryders, home to rap big shots DMX and Eve. He even got a spot acting in the movie ``2 Fast 2 Furious'' next to rapper Ludacris. But soon after, the support disappeared.

Instead of waiting for his label to sell his records, he's taken matters into his own hands, releasing samples of his songs on his myspace.com Web site.

His sophomore album, ``The Emcee's Properganda,'' is set to come out Oct. 25 and will be released on CraftyPlugz, the indie label owned by the Emcee and his manager, Kamel Pratt,

The Mercury News spoke to the Emcee in Minneapolis before his performance at First Avenue, the club where Prince filmed his movie ``Purple Rain.''

Q How did you feel about being marketed by your race?

A They definitely wanted to milk the whole Asian thing . . . I have so much more to offer . . . I could have said, you know what, I don't want to talk about that, let's talk about my music. But, I never felt inclined to.

Q Do you find it harder to be a rapper who's Asian and is that why you dropped your name?

A Four years ago if you asked me that, I probably would have been, yeah, it is. . . . I look back now and I'm kind of like, it's just hard to be an artist in general. . . . The whole dropping the name, it's not even about the name, more about a new identity.

Q What would that new identity be?

A It's just Jin becoming a man. He's growing up, he knows what he wants to say in his music. . . . If you really like the music, and claim to be a hip hop head, that should be the only thing.

Q Was it your choice to have ``Learn Chinese'' be your main single?

A ``Learn Chinese'' as the single was a collective decision. It wasn't the label saying, Jin, this is going to be your first single and it wasn't me telling them. . . . I went into the studio and got the hook-up with Wyclef [Jean] . . . He was a big inspiration to me, and ``Learn Chinese'' was the product of him and me in the studio, and I'll always be proud of it.

Q What do you think of the Asian community's response to you?

A I think the general sentiment was proud.

Q Why did you speak up when the anti-Asian Hot 97 tsunami song came out?

A Gut instinct and reaction.

Q What's your new album going to be like?

A I'm speaking about me, I'm an emcee at the end of the day. So that's where ``the Emcee'' comes in. And the ``properganda'' part, is kind of my take on the whole state of hip-hop music right now and where it's going and what's happening to it -- and a lot of it is propaganda.

Q Are you still with Ruff Ryders/Virgin Records?

A Contractually, I still am. . . . That's the funny thing about the record industry. You can be signed to a label, and they can not give a damn about you. I'm a grown man. I'm not only doing this for fun, I do this for a living. . . . This is what I do to survive. . . . I can't sit around waiting for a label to come to its senses and say, ``Oh, we believe in you now Jin, or whatever you want to call yourself, the Emcee.''

Q How come your songs didn't seem to make it on the radio?

A That falls right again into the whole propaganda . . . It's not the older days where it was sort of like a DJ (saying) ``Man, I like this record. I'm going to play this record 10 times a day.'' Now they have a list, ``These are 10 records that we're allowed to play.''

Q Do you think your online site allows you to even that score?

A Yeah, like online and various other outlets, the whole mix-tape thing, more grass-roots -- not really relying on radio to dictate if you're a success or not.

Q Any thoughts of being the pioneer?

A That has to be a title that others give to you. . . . And if like a 16-year-old Asian kid or maybe not even Asian, or any other race, be like, ``Dang, he was the first one to kind of do that.'' I would be like, ``Thanks, I appreciate that.''

Other Asian solo rappers

SNACKY CHAN: Born Roy Kim, this Bostonian Korean emcee was nominated for Best New Rap/Hip Hop Act in 2001's Boston Music Awards. www.chanhiphop.com

JIHAD: The Pakistani artist defeated Jin in a Los Angeles freestyle battle. www.rebellioninfo.com

CHOSEN 1: Born Victor Nguyen, he's a tongue-twisting Vietnamese emcee from Los Angeles. www.chosenthemcee.com

CHAZZ ROKK: Laotian boom bap emcee from Portland, Oregon. www.chazzrokk.com

TB4000

09-06-2005, 02:06 PM

So he hasn't retired then, just using a different moniker. I hope he's learned something from his first experience. 24 years old and retiring, sheesh.

Chinasaur

09-29-2005, 09:59 AM

Got word of this from a friend, check it, freestyle battle between Jin and a dude named Verse...

Round 1 (http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/2240/Jin_vs_Verse_Freestyle_Battle_Part_I.html)
Round 2 (http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/2267/Jin_vs_Verse_Freestyle_Battle_Part_II.html)
Round 3 (http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/2322/Jin_Vs_Verse_Freestyle_Battle_Part_III.html)

I gotta say Jin takes it though...
Let's see if I linked right...

I don't think it's old, but then again, I don't really follow Jin...some of you might be interested...

Faithless

09-29-2005, 11:33 AM

So he hasn't retired then, just using a different moniker. I hope he's learned something from his first experience. 24 years old and retiring, sheesh.
Hey, that would have been my dream if I had that kind of skill. :cool:

Napoleon Chynamite

09-29-2005, 11:38 AM

Roy Kim > Jin...by a longshot. I have no idea why Kim didn't even make it as far as Jin did when he wasn't as corny and, from the perspective of a Chinese boy who knows little about hip hop, flows so much better than Jin does.

Faithless

07-22-2007, 01:03 PM

Jin says his Cantonese album was his most personal project thus far: "Recording it helped me really connect with myself as far as my identity."

Jin Reconnects With Chinese Roots (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/20/ap3936391.html)

By REBECCA LOUIE 07.20.07, 1:04 PM ET

NEW YORK -

Jin may have earned his hip-hop stripes on the street, but the rapper spent a recent afternoon copping a brand new street cred.

With a Barack Obama canvassing team, the buoyant emcee pounded Manhattan's pavement, registering voters and pushing the Democratic senator for president. Dressed in a red Lacoste polo and denim shorts, Jin stayed on message - even though some passers-by preferred to rap with him about rap.

"Aren't you the guy who won on '106th & Park?'" asked one young man in a baggy tee and Yankees cap, referencing the seven weeks in 200 that Jin dominated a weekly rap battle on the popular BET show. "Where you been?"

"I'm tryin' to change the world, B," Jin replied, segueing back to global and domestic issues. "It's bigger than rap."

Welcome to Jin's new global outlook, the result of a dizzying trip through the best and worst of the music biz. Heralded and harangued as the first Asian-American emcee signed to a major label, Jin soared to mainstream stardom after his BET triumphs, only to suffer lukewarm sales and industry indifference when his Ruff Ryders debut "The Rest is History" dropped in 2004.

Penning a song called "I Quit" in 2005, Jin opted for indie obscurity. He released three albums, one under the alias The Emcee. He starred in 2003 blockbuster "2 Fast 2 Furious" and dabbled in stand-up comedy. He got buzz with socially conscious tracks released on the Internet about the Virginia Tech shooting, Barack Obama, and lyrical tirades against Rosie O'Donnell for a joke she made in a stereotypical "Asian" accent.

But most uniquely, he delved into the Chinese heritage that made him both a media phenomenon and crossover conundrum. In February he delivered a Cantonese-language hip-hop record, "ABC Jin," which takes its title from the expression "American Born Chinese." Last month he released "No Sleep Til Shanghai," a DVD of his 2004 tour in Asia. And he is currently wrapping up a month of gigs in Shanghai.

...

Napoleon Chynamite

07-22-2007, 03:33 PM

I'm not surprised that people thought "Learn Chinese" was a joke. A lot of his album material sounds more like corny hip-hop novelty than anything else. He's a lot better at improvising and battling but of course doesn't measure up to Snacky Chan/Roy Kim.

popculturepooka

07-23-2007, 02:19 PM

People need to just realize that Jin just ain't as good (as a full package emcee) as he's hyped up too be. I like him and all (for being political and for being proud of his heritage and his battle rap skills), but seriously....

JesusIsmyFriend

08-03-2007, 02:32 PM

As a freestyle rapper, I think Jin is on a high level. However Jin, yet alone any other Asian, is not for the mainstream. Eminem had the talent, but he also is backed by the white population who buys his cds and requests his songs on the radio. A similar story to Latino rappers, I mean one of the worst songs ever "Lean Like a Cholo" is played heavily on the radio stations. Who cares about Cholos? I would guess it's the Latino community who gives support.

With not enough support and too much comparisons to Jin being a wannabe Eminem, I think that eventually killed his career.

AngryABCGirl

08-11-2007, 07:09 AM

hahahaha lean like a cholo, I have friends back home who actually bounce to that song!

Anyway here's a music video from Jin off his Cantonese Album ABC Jin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7prZLCpkHk