The Emcee

Posted on 08.26.2005

The Emcee
Chinese American rapper
Aka Jin
Real name: Jin Au-Yeung
Hometown: Miami, Florida

The Emcee Biography:
One of the more unique rappers to emerge during the early 2000s, The Emcee initially made waves because of his Chinese ethnicity, but it was his freestyling ability that eventually earned him street-celebrity status and a record deal with Ruff Ryders.

Jin was born on June 4, 1982 in Miami, Florida. The son of Chinese immigrants, Jin watched his parents work extremely hard every day as they ran their own restaurant. In junior high, Jin became fascinated with hip-hop music and dreamed of becoming a professional rapper. He was inspired by artists such as Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G. and other New York rappers from the early 1990’s, an era now referred to as The Golden Age.

Realizing he had a talent for freestyle rap, he would perform for his classmates, co-workers and whoever would listen. Jin began entering freestyle battles in local hip-hop clubs where he was usually the only Asian person around. He was often underestimated due to his Chinese ethnicity. But Jin’s talent won the crowds over and he was awarded the championship every time. He quickly developed a reputation as Miami’s cleverest hip-hop lyricist. But in the hip-hop world, Miami is known more for bass music than clever lyrics. He knew this would be another obstacle to overcome in order to gain acceptance.

In 2001, his parents decided to move the family to Chinatown, New York City. Jin realized that living in the birthplace of hip-hop would be a huge stepping stone to making his dream come true. He began performing freestyles and selling his own mixtapes on the streets, in hip-hop clubs and wherever he could. He quickly gained a huge following just as he had done in Miami. His big break came when the BET program "106 & Park" began inviting local rappers to have freestyle battles every Friday. Jin was ready for the national exposure. He auditioned and again was underestimated due to his race. But Jin proved everyone wrong by winning the battles week after week. After winning for seven weeks straight, Jin was inducted into the show’s Hall of Fame. That same night, he announced that he had signed a deal with Ruff Ryders; the same record label as DMX and Jadakiss.

His first single under Ruff Ryders was titled "Learn Chinese." In October 2004, Jin released his debut album, The Rest Is History, which reached the top 100 of the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. The album only sold 100,000 units and both singles, "Learn Chinese" and "Senorita" didn’t break through the mainstream.

On May 18th, 2005, Jin revealed that he was putting his rap career on hold to explore other options. To make this clear, he recorded a song called "I Quit." This announcement was thought 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." His latest release is "Top 5" where Jin yet again displays his lyrical talent in explaning the history of hip-hop’s greatest artists. Now under an indie label, CraftyPlugz, Jin will release another album at the end of 2005. He hopes to be someone that other aspiring Asian-American rappers can look up to.

The Emcee discography:

The Rest Is History
Released: October 19, 2004

The Emcee’s Properganda
Released: October 25, 2005

100 Grand Jin
Releases: August 29, 2006

I Promise
Released: November 1, 2006

ABC Jin
Released: February 20, 2007

The Voice
To Be Released: 2007

The Emcee official website :
myspace.com/therealjin

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