| Jin Au-Yeung 歐陽靖 |
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Jin in the earlier days of his rapping career |
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| Chinese name | 歐陽靖 – |
| Chinese name | 歐陽靖 (Traditional) |
| Chinese name | 欧阳靖 (Simplified) |
| Pinyin | Ōuyáng Jìng (Mandarin) |
| Jyutping | au1 joeng4 zing6 (Cantonese) |
| Birth name | Jin-Au Yeung |
| Ethnicity | Hakka |
| Ancestry | Hong Kong [1] |
| Origin | Hong Kong[2][3] |
| Born | June 4, 1982 Miami, Florida, United States |
| Other name(s) | Jin, MC Jin, Jin the Emcee, The Emcee, 100 Grand Jin |
| Occupation | Rapper, songwriter, actor, television presenter |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Instrument(s) | Vocal |
| Label(s) | Ruff Ryders/Virgin, Crafty Plugz, Draft Records, Imperial, Universal Music Group, Catch Adventures |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Spouse(s) | Carol Au-Yeung[4] |
| Influences | Big Pun, Eric B and Rakim, Big L |
| Official Website | MC Jin A I Y A ! (old website) |
Jin Au-Yeung (traditional Chinese: 歐陽靖; simplified Chinese: 欧阳靖; pinyin: Ōuyáng Jìng; Cantonese Yale: Āuyèuhng Jihng; born June 4, 1982), who performs under the stage name MC Jin(earlier, 100 Grand Jin and Jin the Emcee or even just The Emcee), is a Hong Kong hip hop[5][6][7] rapper, songwriter, and actor.[2][3] Growing up in the Miami, Florida area and Los Angeles Area and later living in New York City, he decided to reside permanently in his motherland, Hong Kong.[2][3] Because of his multicultural background, he is fluent in both Cantonese and English. Back in the United States, he was both the first East Asian and Chinese solo rapper to be signed to a major record label.[8][9]
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Jin Au-Yeung was born on June 4, 1982, in Miami, Florida, to Hong Kong Chinese immigrants.[10] He was raised in the general Miami area, where his parents owned a strip-mall Chinese restaurant, and where Jin attended schools. [11]
After graduating from high school in 2000, Jin decided to forgo college[12] and moved his family to Flushing, Queens, New York City in 2001. He began performing freestyles and selling his own mix tapes on the streets, in hip-hop clubs and wherever else possible. While battling on the streets he was spotted by Kamel Pratt who then became his manager and they formed Crafty Plugz Entertainment. His big break came when the BET program 106 & Park began inviting local rappers to hold battles in a segment known as Freestyle Friday. He won all seven battles in a row, enabling him to be inducted in the Freestyle Friday Hall of Fame.
That same night of his Hall of Fame induction, he announced that he had signed a deal with the Ruff Ryders. His first single under Ruff Ryders was titled "Learn Chinese". It took a sample from the 1992 song "They Want EFX", from hip-hop group Das EFX. The second and final single for the album was originally supposed to be "I Got a Love" featuring Kanye West, but was later changed to "Senorita" because Roc-A-Fella Records did not want to over-expose Kanye West. The album was originally scheduled to be released in the summer of 2003, but was delayed for over a year by the label. In October 2004, Jin released his debut album, The Rest Is History, which reached number 54 of the Billboard Top 200 albums chart.[13] Both of his singles, "Learn Chinese" and "Senorita", failed to be major mainstream successes. Nonetheless, Jin's music video "Learn Chinese" was the first video ever to be played on MTV Chi.
In 2003, Jin made an appearance in the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious as a mechanic named 'Jimmy'. His song "Peel Off" was featured on the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack. He also collaborated with British Indian Bhangra artist, Juggy D, in the song "Kohl Aaja (Come Closer)", when he was in London doing some promotion for The Rest Is History.
On April 23, 2005, Jin and rapper "Serius Jones" engaged in a rap battle. The battle was featured on Fight Klub DVD[14]
On May 18, 2005, Jin revealed that he would be putting his rap career on hold in order to explore other options. To make this clear, he recorded a song titled "I Quit", which was produced by the Golden Child. The announcement was widely misunderstood to have marked the end of Jin's rap career. However, he later re-emerged under a different alias, The Emcee, and freestyled over such songs as Jay-Z's "Dear Summer." He released a single called "Top 5 (Dead or Alive)" where Jin displays his lyrical talent in explaining the history of hip-hop's greatest artists. The legendary DJ Kool Herc, who is credited as the founder of hip-hop, appears in Jin's music video. After signing with an independent label, CraftyPlugz/Draft Records, Jin released his second album, The Emcee's Properganda on October 25, 2005. Jin was also featured on the Taipei-based pop artist Leehom Wang's 2005 album Heroes of Earth.
Jin and Leehom performed their “Heroes of the Earth” collaboration live in Shanghai on February 16, 2006 at an event arranged by Chinese A&R exec Andrew Ballen. Ballen was also the first promoter to bring Jin to mainland China in 2003 for his “The Rest is History” tour.[15]
Jin released two albums in 2006. The first one, 100 Grand Jin is a mixtape/album that was released on August 29, 2006. The single released off the album is "FYI", for which the rapper shot and released a music video. The second album released in 2006 is Jin's third LP, I Promise.
On Jin's MySpace, Jin mentioned that he is working on another English album named "Birthdays, Funerals and Things In Between". Jin premiered a song called "Open Letter to Obama" on April 24, 2007, which made him become 1st on Barack Obama's Top 8 list on MySpace.[16]
On April 16, 2007, Jin made a tribute song to the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre called "Rain, Rain Go Away".[17] Recently Jin has decided to make his November 1, 2006 Internet album put together by Roy P. Perez© and his team of producers at Romeo Ent., I Promise, available in retail stores. It will be out on October 23, 2007.[18]
Jin released a new song through his MySpace page. The song is titled "Fill In The Blanks", and Jin encourages his fans to record their own verse into the song.
Jin has done a collaboration with an Malaysian MC Point Blanc track titled "One Day".[19] The Music Video can be viewed on YouTube.
He has recently released a demo song called Worst Enemy which has garnered over 130,000 views on his Myspace.[20] He also put the song Welcome To The Light Club on his Myspace page.[21] Jin is a Christian, stating in his song "Welcome to the Light Club" he was baptized in 2008.[22] He has featured in Far East Movement's "Millionaire". He has done a track over a DJ Premier joint titled "World Premier". He is also collaborate with producer Trendsetter aka Mark Holiday.[23]
Jin currently resides in Hong Kong. He stars frequently in commercials there, and making numerous appearances on TVB like Big Boys Club.
He has recently thrown out a Hip-Hop Census in honor of the 2010 Census and Chinese New Year 2010. As said by Jin, this mixtape is open to anybody and will be mixed from the general population along with Jin. He released a mixtape entitled "Say Something", on May 15, 2010. Jin has released an album with his friend Hanjin in 2010.
On July 10, 2010, Jin collaborated with Mandarin singer Hanjin Tan (Chinese: 陳奐仁) to release another Cantonese album 買一送一
Jin also released a music video for his English single "Angels".
In December 2010, Jin joined forces with Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang to release a Christmas music video entitled "Rap Now 2010", which he performed for free. The video featured a number of lines ending with "Act Now!" (起錨), echoing a Hong Kong government slogan.[24] A CNN report described the video as an "official eyesore" and "a politica message thinly veiled as a Christmas card", and further criticised Jin's rapping as resembling "awkward nursery rhymes", in contrast to his earlier performances.[25] However, local newspaper The Standard, in response to critics, stated in an editorial that "Tsang, like the millions who post videos of themselves or their loved ones, only wants to have fun."[26]
On March 7, 2011, Jin released a music video for a song from his upcoming English album entitled "Charlie Sheen," collaborating with artists Dumbfoundead and Traphik/Timothy DeLaGhetto. Jin recently released an ep titled "Sincerely Yours".
Jin released his new single called "Shoot For The Moon" on June 4, 2011. His birthday was on the same day.
Jin is managed by talent manager Carl Choi.
On February 12, 2011, MC Jin and his Chinese American wife, Carol, got married in Puerto Rico.[27]
On August 8th, 2011, Jin released an all Cantonese album, "Homecoming" in Hong Kong. And has since released several singles and music videos on youtube.
On May 16th, 2011, Jin released the track "AIYA" featuring label-mate, Toestah. He released a video on his youtube channel consisting of hundreds of pictures of fans holding the aiya logo.
Jin also announced that he is working on his next English album for 2012.
Responding to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Jin participated with Jackie Chan and numerous other celebrities in a special three-hour charity concert on 1 April 2011 to help raise funds for Japan's disaster recovery effort.[28][29]
AIYA! is Jin's catchphrase and has been used by him many times recently. It is also a typical phrase or interjection used by Chinese people that simply means "Oh my gosh!" An image/logo has been created recently that was designed by Tom Ngo. The Logo could be printed out and then you could take a picture of yourself with it and get into the video for his song "Aiya!"(featuring Toestah).[30] The catchphrase and its logo have been used in many places related to Jin. An "AIYA!" shirt will be available soon. Jin also refers to his fans as his "AIYAfambam" or as the "AIYAmaniacs".
Studio albums
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Collaboration Albums
Songs in
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Mixtapes
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EPs
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Possibly cancelled or renamed albums include "The Mixtape Album"(is written in 100 Grand Jin booklet/cover).
| Year | Video | Director | Video Link(Youtube) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Learn Chinese"[31] | Jin – Learn Chinese emimusic | ||
| "Senorita"[32] | Jin – Senorita emimusic | |||
| 2005 | "Top 5(Dead or Alive)" | Todd Angkasuwan | Uses a collection of people voting for their top 5 rappers. | |
| "Come Closer (Kohl Aaja)" (with Juggy D) | Juggy D feat Jin – Come Closer (Kohl Aaja) 2Point9Records | |||
| 2006 | "FYI" (featuring Young Mac) | Todd Angkasuwan | ||
| 2007 | "Yo Yo Ma" (with Sphere) | JIN Yo Yo Ma CarlChoi | Contains a mix of languages including English, Japanese and Cantonese. | |
| "ABC" | Todd Angkasuwan | Jin 歐陽靖 'ＡＢＣ' MV universalmusichk | Cantonese. Contains a short appearance of the producers of the song, Far East Movement. | |
| 2008 | "搵兩餐"(featuring Ken Oak) | Daniel Wu / Jason Tobin | Jin 歐陽靖 '搵兩餐' MV universalmusichk | Cantonese |
| "飲啖茶" | Evan Jackson Leong | Jin 歐陽靖 '飲啖茶' MV universalmusichk | Cantonese | |
| "香港Superstar" | Jason Tobin | Jin 歐陽靖 '香港Superstar' MV universalmusichk | Cantonese | |
| "上堂時間" | Jin 歐陽靖 '上堂時間' MV universalmusichk | Cantonese | ||
| "喂喂搵邊位" | Kim Chan | Jin 歐陽靖 '喂喂搵邊位' MV universalmusichk | Cantonese | |
| 2010 | "Angels"[33] | Hosanna Wong | JIN "Angels" Official Music Video (2010) AyoJinTV | |
| "711" (featuring KT) | "711" – MC Jin feat. KT ayojinhk | Cantonese. Filmed in 7-Eleven. | ||
| "It's About Time" | Romago Presents: MC Jin "It's About Time" ayojinhk | Cantonese | ||
| 2011 | "Charlie Sheen" (with Traphik & Dumbfoundead)[34] | Kevin Boston | "CHARLIE SHEEN" (Official Music Video) Jin x Dumbfoundead x Traphik AyoJinTV | |
| "人氣急升" | Kevin Boston | MC Jin人氣急升MV ayojinhk | Cantonese | |
| "Aiya!" (featuring Toestah) | AIYA – Jin feat. Toestah AyoJinTV | Song repeated twice to fit all pictures in. | ||
| "Shoot for the Moon" | Carl Choi | JIN "Shoot for the Moon" Official Music Video (2011) AyoJinTV | Song edited for video. Uses various images and video from his life and career. | |
| "發咗達" | Benny Lou | MC Jin發咗達MV ayojinhk | Cantonese | |
| "立立亂" | Evan Leong | MC Jin立立亂MV ayojinhk | Cantonese | |
| "紅館見" | MCJin紅館見MV ayojinhk | Cantonese | ||
| "When The Lights Come On" (featuring Joseph Vincent) | Duno Tran | "When The Lights Come On" (Official Music Video) - Jin feat. Joseph Vincent AyoJinTV |
| Film | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 2003 | Jin: The Making of a Rap Star | Himself | Documentary about him | |
| 2 Fast 2 Furious | Jimmy | Minor Supporting Role | ||
| 2004 | The MC: Why We Do It | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2007 | Beef IV | Himself | as a recording artist | |
| No Sleep Til Shanghai | Himself | Documentary about him | ||
| 2009 | Split Second Murders 死神傻了 | |||
| 2010 | Gallants | Chung Sang-mang | Major Role | |
| Bruce Lee, My Brother (aka: Young Bruce Lee) | Unicorn Chan | Supporting Role | ||
| 1040[35] | Himself | |||
| 2012 | The Man with the Iron Fists | Chan | filming/post-production | |
| 20?? | Street Struck: The Big L Story | Himself | Documentary. unknown release date. | |
| Television | ||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 2002 | 106 & Park | Himself (as a Competitor and Guest) | As Freestyle Friday competitor and guest | |
| 2004 | Himself (as a Judge) | As Freestyle Friday Judge | ||
| 2009 | Cooking媽嫲 | Himself (as Host) | ||
| 2010 | Show Me the Happy | Himself | Episode 25 | |
| Jade Solid Gold 勁歌金曲 | Himself (as Host) | |||
| Big Boys Club | Himself (as Host) | |||
| 2011 | Himself (as Host) | |||
| Stairway to Dragon | Himself (as Host) | |||
| Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir! | Himself | |||
| Lives of Omission | Officer Yeung Lap-ching | |||
| Kung Fu Supernova | Himself (as Host) | |||
| Top Eats 100 | Himself (as Host) | |||
| Acting Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Award | Nominated Work | Result | Notes |
| 2011 | TVB Anniversary Award for Most Improved Male Artiste [36] | Show Me the Happy, Big Boys Club, Stairway to Dragon, Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir!, Lives of Omission, Kung Fu Supernova, Top Eats 100 | Won | |
| TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Male Character | Lives of Omission | Nominated | ||
| Year | Competition | Opponent | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Grab the Mic 2000 | Montu | Win | |
| Infinite | Win | |||
| RK | Win | |||
| 2001 | 106 & Park's Freestyle Friday | Hasan | Win | as the challenger |
| Sterlin | Win | as the champion | ||
| Skitzoe | Win | as the champion | ||
| Skyzoo | Win | as the champion | ||
| Lucky Luciano | Win | as the champion | ||
| Logan | Win | as the champion | ||
| Sean Nicholas | Win | as the champion | ||
| 2004 | JUMP OFF | Professor Green | Win | |
| 2005 | Fight Klub | Iron Soloman | Lose | |
| Fight Klub | Serius Jones | Lose | ||
| Smack DVD | Verse | Win | ||
| Mixshow Power Summit | Professor Green | Win |
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