MC Jin

MC Jin

Jin in the earlier days of his rapping career
Background information
Chinese name 歐陽靖 (traditional)
Jyutping au1 joeng4 zing6 (Cantonese)
Birth name Jin Au-Yeung
Ethnicity Hakka
Origin New York City, New York
Born (1982-06-04) June 4, 1982
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Other name(s) Jin, Jin the Emcee
Occupation
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
  • actor
Genre(s) Hip hop
Label(s)
Years active 2001–present
Spouse(s) Carol Au-Yeung (m. 2011)[1]
Children 1
Ancestry Hong Kong[2]
Website mcjin.com
MC Jin
Traditional Chinese 歐陽靖
Simplified Chinese 欧阳靖

Jin Au-Yeung (born June 4, 1982), known professionally as MC Jin, is an American rapper, songwriter, and actor of Hakka descent.[3][4][5] He is the first Asian American rapper to be signed to a major record label in the United States.[6][7] Born in Miami, Florida, and later living in New York City, he lived in Hong Kong for several years before returning to New York in the summer of 2012.[3]

Early life

Jin Au-Yeung was born on June 4, 1982, in Miami, Florida, to Hong Kong immigrants of Hakka descent.[8][9] He was raised in the general Miami area, where his parents owned a Chinese restaurant and Jin attended school. While a student at John F. Kennedy Middle School in North Miami Beach. Jin went on to attend North Miami Beach Senior High School, from which he graduated in the year 2000. After graduating Jin decided to forgo college and began his rap career; [10] in 2001 he moved, with his parents, to Queens, New York City.[11] Jin participated in many rap battles with his peers.[11]

Career

2001: Freestyle Friday

Au-Yeung began performing freestyles and selling his own mixtapes 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; together, they formed Crafty Plugz Entertainment. Au-Yeung's 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 seven battles in a row, enabling him to be inducted in the Freestyle Friday Hall of Fame.[12] Unlike other competitors, Jin occasionally spoke Cantonese in his freestyle verses.

2002–2005: Ruff Ryders era

That same night of his Hall of Fame induction, he announced that he had signed a deal with the Ruff Ryders label. His first single under Ruff Ryders was titled "Learn Chinese". It contained a sample from song "Blind Man Can See It", by James Brown (also sampled by Das EFX and Lord Finesse). 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] The two singles, "Learn Chinese" and "Senorita", were not major mainstream successes. Nonetheless, Jin's music video for "Learn Chinese" was the first video ever to be played on MTV Chi.

2005–2008: After Ruff Ryders

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", 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)" in which he explored the history of hip-hop's greatest artists, using lyrics. The legendary DJ Kool Herc, who is credited as the founder of hip-hop, appears in Jin's music video. With independent label CraftyPlugz/Draft Records, Jin released his second album, The Emcee's Properganda, on October 25, 2005.

Jin was also featured on Taiwanese pop artist Leehom Wang's 2005 album Heroes of Earth. Together, Jin and Leehom performed their “Heroes of the Earth” collaboration live in Shanghai on February 16, 2006 at an event arranged by China-resident American 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, 100 Grand Jin, is a mixtape/album that was released on August 29, 2006. The single released from the album is "FYI", for which the rapper shot and released a music video. The second album is Jin's third LP, I Promise.

On Jin's MySpace, Jin mentioned that he was 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 then-Presidential nominee Barack Obama's Top 8 list on MySpace.[16][17]

On April 16, 2007, Jin made a tribute song to the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre called "Rain, Rain Go Away".[18] Later that year, Jin decided to make his November 2006 online album, I Promise available in retail stores; it was given an October 23, 2007 release.[19]

2008–2013: Hong Kong

Jin did a collaboration with Malaysian rapper Point Blanc in a track titled "One Day" (2008).[20][21]

Mid-2008 saw Jin relocate to Hong Kong, initially for three months, to promote his first all-Cantonese language album ABC. The album was written and recorded in the US in 2006, but it wasn't until mid-2008 that Universal Records HK contacted Jin, interested in releasing the album there in the midst of an upsurge in interest in hip hop. In an interview Jin commented "I think with various artists, Cantonese hip-hop was starting to become more and more widespread"."[4] ABC debuted at #1 and achieved gold status in Hong Kong.

He also put the song "Welcome to the Light Club" on his Myspace page.[22] Jin is a Christian, stating in his song "Welcome to the Light Club" he was baptized in 2008.[23] He has featured in Far East Movement's "Millionaire". He has done a track over a DJ Premier-produced joint titled "World Premier". He also collaborated with producer Trendsetter (aka Mark Holiday).[24]

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 released an album with his friend Hanjin Tan in 2010. On July 10, 2010, Jin collaborated with Singaporean Mandarin-language singer Hanjin Tan (陳奐仁) to release another Cantonese album 買一送一 (Buy one get one free).[25] 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, with lyrics penned by Jin, featured a number of lines ending with "Act Now!" (起錨), echoing a Hong Kong government slogan. It garnered in excess of nine million views on the CE office's YouTube channel. [26][27] A CNN report described the video as an "official eyesore" and "a political message thinly veiled as a Christmas card", and further criticised Jin's rapping as resembling "awkward nursery rhymes", in contrast to his earlier performances.[28] 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."[29]

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 released an EP titled Sincerely Yours, a Christian-oriented and self-improvement-oriented EP featuring positive messages about life and self-reflective insights into his own life. Jin released his new single called "Shoot for the Moon" on June 4, 2011. On May 16, 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. On August 8, 2011, Jin released an all-Cantonese album, 回香靖 (Homecoming) in Hong Kong.[5] And has since released several singles and music videos on YouTube.

Jin used to reside in Hong Kong. He starred frequently in commercials there, and made numerous appearances on TVB like Big Boys Club. He is also seen as an important part of recent Asian hip hop trends.[30] Jin has since returned to the United States to reside permanently in New York again. In February 2012, Jin released a re-vamped version of his EP, Sincerely Yours 2.0, featuring some of the same lyrics, but many others changed, slightly altering the overall feel of the record. In August 2012, Jin released his English album, "Crazy Love Ridiculous Faith," for free download, an album in which he positively addresses both Christians and non-Christians. This album is intended to show a maturity in himself, as well. In December 2012, Jin released an upbeat EP called "Brand New Me EP," which includes many new singles.

2013-present: The Great Company

In late 2013, Jin signed a new deal with an independent label, "The Great Company." The first track to be released on the label was called "Hypocrite (The Gold Chapter)." On December 21, 2013, Jin released the first EP under the label called "Hypocrite". On October 21, 2014, the label released Jin's first album under their label: XIV:LIX.[31] The album features Teesa, Hollis, Stacie Bollman, Tim Be Told, Bére and Storm.

In 2017, he is competing in The Rap of China, a rap reality show based in mainland China, under the alias "HipHopMan". He was wearing a golden mask and did not take it off until the end of instructor choosing process.

Personal life

On February 12, 2011, MC Jin and his fiancée, Carol, got married in Puerto Rico after a five year courtship.[1] The couple had a son in summer 2012 whom they named Chance. MC Jin has been a born again Christian since 2008, [22] and has expressed his faith in his music since becoming a Christian.[23] He speaks Hakka, Cantonese and English fluently, although he is not literate in Chinese.

Other activities

In 2006, the PlayStation 2/Xbox video game "NBA Ballers: Phenom" featured MC Jin as one of the rapper characters along with Ludacris and Hot Sauce.

Responding to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Jin participated with Jackie Chan and numerous other celebrities in a special three-hour charity concert, titled Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders, on 1 April 2011 to help raise funds for Japan's disaster recovery effort.[32] The 3-hour concert raised over HK$26 million (USD$3.3 million).[33]

Aiya!

Aiya! (哎吔) is Jin's catchphrase and has often been used by him. It is a Cantonese interjection roughly equivalent to "Oh my gosh!"[4] Fans pictured with the logo were able to appear in the music video for his song "Aiya!" (featuring Toestah).[34] Jin also refers to his fans as his "AIYAfambam" or as the "AIYAmaniacs".

Discography

Studio albums

Collaboration albums

  • 買一送一 (With 陳奐仁 aka Hanjin)

Songs in

EPs

  • Sincerely Yours EP
    • Released: May 2011
    • Label: Catch Music Group
  • Sincerely Yours 2.0
    • Released: February 2012
    • Label: Catch Music Group
  • Brand New Me EP
    • Released: 12 December 2012
    • Label: Catch Music Group
  • Hypocrite
    • Released: 10 December 2013
    • Label: The Great Company

Music videos

Year Video Director Video Link(YouTube) Notes
2004 "Learn Chinese" (featuring Wyclef Jean)[35] Jin – Learn Chinese emimusic
"Senorita"[36] Jin – Senorita emimusic
2005 "Top 5 (Dead or Alive)" Todd Angkasuwan Jin - Top 5 (Dead or Alive) (Music Video) joemsyt 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)/"100 Grand Jin" Todd Angkasuwan Jin ft.Young Mac – FYI CraftyFan Two songs.
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"[37] Hosanna Wong JIN "Angels" Official Music Video (2010) AyoJinTV
"The A List" Carl Choi/Jin Au-Yeung Deleted from YouTube.
"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)[38] Kevin Boston "Charlie Sheen" Traphik, Jin, Dumbfoundead TimothyDeLaGhetto2
"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 Jackson 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
2012 "率性" (with KT & Kiki Tam) MCJin/KT/KikiTam率性MV ayojinhk Cantonese
"Brand New Me EP" Todd Angkasuwan "Brand New Me"
"Open Arms" Brian Tang (StopMotionClub Productions) Open Arms
2013 "Feel Good" (with Toestah & Joseph Vincent) Simon Yin Feel Good feat. Toestah & Joseph Vincent
2013 "I Break Stereotypes" (with HeeSun Lee ) I Break Stereotypes" (with HeeSun Lee)
2014 "Complicated" Brad Wong MC JIN - Complicated ft. Hollis (Official Music Video)

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2003 Jin: The Making of a Rap Star Himself Documentary about him
2 Fast 2 Furious Jimmy
2005 The MC: Why We Do It Himself Documentary
The Art of 16 Bars: Get Ya' Bars Up Himself Documentary. Volume 2 of "The MC: Why We Do It"
Live from New York Himself Documentary. Footage filmed in 2002.
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[39] Himself Documentary
2011 Turning Point 2 Yeung Lap-chin Minor Role
2012 The Man with the Iron Fists Chan
2014 Revenge of the Green Dragons Detective Tang
2016 Buddy Cops
Coco Jin Post-production
New York New York
TBA 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 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)
2012 Highs and Lows Ng Dak-tim (Saadaam Tim)
2014 The Ultimate Addiction Chu Kwok-leung

Awards

Acting Awards
Year Award Nominated Work Result Notes
2011 TVB Anniversary Award for Most Improved Male Artiste[40] 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

Rap battles

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Year Competition/Event Opponent Result Notes
2000 Grab the Mic 2000 Montu Win
Infinite Win
RK Win
2001 Blade Battle Parable, OBCT Win Three way battle
Hookt Awar Win
Stereotype Win
ManyStyles Win
Lu Cipher Win
Four Corners PackFM Win
Icon the Mic King Win
Perfecto Win
Super Bowl 2001 Esoteric Loss
Scribble Jam '01 Alias Loss
2002 106 & Park's Freestyle Friday Hasan Win as the challenger
Sterling Win as the champion
Skitzo 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 – inducted into the Hall of Fame
2004 Javits Center Kamikaze Grey Win
Fight Klub Mixshow Power Summit Wreckonize Win
Fight Klub Mixshow Power Summit Shells Win Won final prize of $50,000
JUMP OFF/Jin's 'The Rest Is History' Concert Saint N/A
2005 JUMP OFF Professor Green Win
Hot Import Nights Los Angeles Speakz N/A
Hot Import Nights San Mateo Mistah F.A.B. Win
Smack DVD Verse Win
Fight Klub Streetz The Block Win
Fight Klub Serius Jones Loss
Fight Klub Mixshow Power Summit Professor Green Win Won final prize of $50,000
2006 San Francisco Bay Festival Arukasaki Win
2007 Fight Klub Iron Solomon Loss 2015 Epic Rap Battles of History Confucius Unknown

References

  1. 1 2 MC Jin holds his wedding in Puerto Rico | Hong Kong TVB Entertainment Daily News at the Wayback Machine (archived 20120320234714). Mingpao (via Hongkongmorning.com) (March 18, 2011). Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  2. ↑ 星期日大班第8集嘉賓︰歐陽靖 (MC Jin). now TV. YouTube (1 February, 2009). Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Jin – Bio". Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  4. 1 2 3 The Changing Face of Cantopop: MC Jin. Time Out Hong Kong (July 19, 2011). Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  5. 1 2 MC Jin – 立立乱 MV. Asian Hip Hop Times (September 25, 2011). Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Jin tha’ MC: Putting Asia on the Hip-Hop Map". Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved 2008-01-27.. APAmusic (September 11, 2001). Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  7. ↑ Malik, Anita. "Jin: Freestyling to the Top". Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved 2008-01-27.. East West (December, 2004). Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  8. ↑ Lee, Wing-Sze (March 3, 2013). "MC Jin, re-branded". South China Morning Post. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  9. ↑ Birchmeierv, Jason. "Jin – Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
  10. ↑ Chang, Jeff. "Look at me: Chinese American rapper Jin attacks invisibility". Archived from the original on October 22, 2004. Retrieved 2009-05-10.. San Francisco Bay Guardian (October 26, 2004). Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  11. 1 2 Coates, Ta-Nehisi (November 21, 2004). "Just Another Quick-Witted, Egg-Roll-Joke-Making, Insult-Hurling Chinese-American Rapper". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  12. ↑ Kim, Kevin, Y. "Repping Chinatown Archived September 30, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.". ColorLines. Winter 2004–05. Vol. 7 No. 4. Accessed: 2015-09-30.
  13. ↑ Billboard.com – Artist Chart History – Jin
  14. ↑ Jin The Emcee : Rap, Hip-Hop Interview. Riotsound.com. Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  15. ↑ "MC Jin in Shanghai". Archived from the original on November 24, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  16. ↑ jin_june 5th NYC Obama organizing speech. YouTube (June 7, 2007). Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  17. ↑ Staff writer. "Jin Explains Barack Obama Tribute". XXL (April 26, 2007). Retrieved on September 21, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Rain, Rain Go Away". Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-25. theemcee.com. Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  19. ↑ Jin Re-Issues, 2006 Internet Album To Stores. BallerStatus.com (October 23, 2007). Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Going into rap-tures". The Sun (Malaysia). December 17, 2010. Retrieved on September 21, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Projects". Archived from the original on May 5, 2010. Retrieved 2015-09-30. Materealize. Retrieved on September 21, 2015.
  22. 1 2 "Battle rapper Jin finds the Light". Rapzilla. August 29, 2009
  23. 1 2 Isha "Ice" Cole (September 3, 2009). "Jin The MC Becomes Christian Rapper". AllHipHop. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  24. ↑ Mark Holiday. Myspace. Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  25. ↑ Gonzalez, Miguel, Jr. (September 1, 2010). "Chinese-American Rapper MC Jin Discovers God, Cantonese". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on September 30, 2015.
  26. ↑ "曾荫权拍MV贺新年活力四射 手舞足蹈唱Rap", Xinhua News, December 20, 2010, retrieved September 17, 2011
  27. ↑ Kane Wu (February 25, 2011). "Donald Tsang: you've got a message". China Daily (HK Edition), p. 4. Retrieved on September 30, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Donald Tsang's hip hop Christmas greeting and other official eyesores of, 2010", CNNGo, December 20, 2010, retrieved September 11, 2011
  29. ↑ "Tsang video critics may be off-key", The Standard, December 20, 2010, archived from the original on October 19, 2012, retrieved September 17, 2011
  30. ↑ "Rise of Asian Rap and Hip Hop". Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved 2012-02-14.. PopularTrash. Retrieved on February 14, 2012.
  31. ↑ Martin, Asia (November 5, 2014). "Album Review: MC Jin Track-By-Track Review of XIV: LIX". Pop-Break. Retrieved on September 29, 2015.
  32. ↑ Jackie Chan and HK celebrities to raise funds for quake victims in Japan. Xinhua News (March 25, 2011). Retrieved on November 25, 2011.
  33. ↑ Chu, Karen (April 4, 2011). "Jackie Chan Raises $3.3 Million in Three Hours for Japan Relief (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  34. ↑ Jin-Aiya (featuring Toestah) MV. YouTube
  35. ↑ Jin-Learn Chinese. YouTube
  36. ↑ Jin-Senorita. YouTube
  37. ↑ Jin-Angels. YouTube
  38. ↑ Jin, Traphik, Dumbfoundead-Charlie Sheen. YouTube
  39. ↑ "1040". Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  40. ↑ TVB awards list. Jaynestars.com. Retrieved on 25 November 2011.

Further reading

Awards and achievements
TVB Anniversary Awards
Preceded by
Raymond Wong Ho-yin
for A Watchdog's Tale ; When Lanes Merge ; Can't Buy Me Love ; No Regrets		 Most Improved Actor
2011
for Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir!; Lives of Omission 		Succeeded by
Oscar Leung
for L'Escargot ; Queens of Diamonds and Hearts ; House of Harmony and Vengeance ; Tiger Cubs ; The Confidant
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