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Articles - Jin Tha MC
Rappers have never been known for their congeniality. Especially when two MCs face off against one another, they don`t avoid insults--they invest in them. The more clever you can embarrass or degrade your opponent, the farther your star rises. But when Jin (born Jin Auyeung), a 19-year-old Chinese American rapper from Queens, by way of North Miami Beach, squared off with opponents during a seven-week run on BET`s 106 and Park Freestyle Friday Battles, Jin had to face up to such racially-suffused stingers as:
"Leave rap alone / and keep making fortune cookies,"
"What you gonna do? / battle me / or sell me dollar batteries"
"Who you supposed to be? / Bruce Lee? / with his pants all sagging /
I`m burning you dog / there`ll be no return of the dragon."
To his credit, Jin responded to this race-baiting with witty, caustic blows of his own but never calling out his opponents on skin color or ethnicity. In doing so, Jin became only one of a handful of artists to go 7-0 on Freestyle Fridays, an honor that`s helped lead Jin to become part of the Ruff Ryders` family which includes Eve, DMX, Jadakiss and others. Suddenly, Jin has become Asian America`s most prominent rapper--which in some sense, doesn`t say all that much, but in other ways, points to how much potential he wields.
Up until now, the roll call for quality Asian American MCs has been impressive, but to be sure--limited--including the likes of the Mountain Brothers, Denizen Kane (a.k.a. Dennis Kim), the Pacifics and Black Eyed Peas` Apl De Ap. Obviously, whether Jin is Asian American or not has little to do with his mic skills but even a blind man can see that he`s an odd man out in hip-hop`s black/white paradigm. AsianAvenue.com`s Oliver Wang recently caught up with Jin to talk about where he`s from and where he`s hopefully headed.
Growing up in Miami, were you into the bass scene down there?
Sort of--it wasn`t only that, but I guess it was in my blood to listen to that stuff.
When did you start listening to hip-hop--is it what you grew up listening to?
I picked it up when I was 14 or so, junior high school or so. LL was making a lot of noise, Naughty by Nature, Kris Kross. As I got older, the music tastes expanded also. I got more intricate…started getting more into lyricism and production, stuff like that.
What compelled you to get into rhyming? And who shaped your ideas about lyricism?
I was learning the lyrics of other people`s songs--repeating and reciting them and eventually, I was like, "You know what? Let me write my own lyrics and recite them." Biggie was a big influence. Jay-Z, Nas, it sounds like a big cliché but those are the ones I grew up on. Eminem is definitely a big inspiration as far as lyricism and creativity.
How about Southern artists--that whole scene has been on fire the last few years.
There was Southern stuff, but even in the South, where they have the Southern style of rhyming, there`s a lot of lyricism involved that a lot of people don`t realize. All the aspects of MCing, when you want to get into it, like metaphors and similes, wordplay and all that, there`s plenty of that going on in the South, it`s just not the stuff that they play on the radio. It`s there though--I`ve witnessed it first-hand.
In terms of lyricism, what goes into making a good freestyler or battle MC?
The people who freestyle the bestare by nature spontaneous, witty, quick-mouthed individuals. You know, like the people that you`re around that always have something smart to say?
During your 106 and Park battles, a lot of your opponents would try to rattle you with racist remarks and stereotypes. How did you handle those barbs so well?
I was conditioned to that already. I was doing a lot of battles before that and [race] seemed to be the weapon of choice. On the street, on the corner, at the park, wherever it may be. That was the only way they would come at me and the crowd would laugh, but when I would rebuttal and use it against them, they would laugh even harder.
Do you think hip-hop is ready for an Asian American MC to blow up?
I knew of a lot of Asian MCs before this, but there was definitely nobody at that level. I think all it comes down to the quality of the music. I`m not going to say that the race thing isn`t a big issue but when the music comes out, if it`s good music, it will be good, if it`s bad, it will be bad.
Do you feel like you`ve been treated differently because you`re not white or black?
[People] are definitely amazed and baffled. They come out and say it literally, "Man, I never though a Chinese kid could be doing this and accomplishing what you`re accomplishing." But, at the end, it`s all just love and support anyways.
Now that you`re signed to the Ruff Ryders, where do you think you`re going to fit in--not just with that label/family, but hip-hop in general?
Honestly, there`s a lot that I can talk about that hasn`t been talked about in the rap industry.
Such as?
Like Asian culture. And the thing about it is…Asians will listen to it and be like, "Oh yeah, that`s really what it is" and non-Asians can listen to it and be like, "Oh, that`s how it is?"
Can you give an example?
There was one song I did--it was about interracial dating. It was actually based on a personal experience. When I first started dating, I was dating a black girl and, you know, Asian parents are very traditional [and usually don`t approve]. Picture that, in a song format, and I do it in a creative way…it could be a very powerful song. Asians that have been in that position before, can relate. Non-Asians that listen to it can be, "Man, that`s how it is?" Anybody`s who`s been in an interracial relationship and has experienced that, will listen to it and be like, "I`m glad somebody finally said something about it." -- Oliver Wang
Taken from AsianAvenue.com
E-Mail me at:
aznryceboix101x@msn.com
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