Jin

The first Asian-American solo rapper signed to a major U.S. record label, MC, actor, and cultural ambassador Jin utilized his dizzying freestyle abilities to earn street cred in the rap battle scene and a record deal with Ruff Ryders. His debut single -- "Learn Chinese" featuring Wyclef Jean -- arrived in 2004, the first taste of his first official full-length, The Rest Is History. Parting ways with Ruff Ryders, he issued his sophomore set, The Emcee's Properganda, on independent label CraftyPlugz/Draft Records in 2005. Additional indie mixtapes followed, as well as an all-Cantonese effort, ABC (2007). He continued to build a presence in the Asian market -- both on-stage and onscreen -- while simultaneously producing more faith-based content in the 2010s with Brand New Me and XIV:LIX.

Born Jin Au-Yeung in Miami, Florida, the rapper grew up far from the streets of New York City yet nonetheless reveled in East Coast rap. As an aspiring teenage MC, his initial influences were early- to mid-'90s New York rappers like Jay-Z, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, and Mobb Deep. It was no surprise, then, when he jumped at the opportunity to relocate from Florida to Manhattan when his family decided to move to Chinatown in 2001. He immediately engaged himself in the city's hip-hop scene and battled wherever and whenever opportunities presented themselves. With time he made his way to BET's 106 & Park, where he participated in one of the popular show's Freestyle Fridays competitions and won. His performance on 106 & Park garnered him much acclaim, and he was soon offered a deal with Ruff Ryders, a New York-based label that had established such premier artists as DMX, Eve, and LOX. After signing, he played a minor role in the film 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and saw his first single, "Learn Chinese," become an underground success at the turn of the year. The track landed on his debut album, The Rest Is History, which included production by Just Blaze, Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, and more. The set peaked just outside the Top 50 on the Billboard 200, which would be his highest showing on the U.S. chart. Splitting with Ruff Ryders, he began releasing full-lengths as an independent artist, starting with sophomore LP The Emcee's Properganda in 2005. That year, he began to branch out, making further moves into acting and the Asian music market, which included an appearance on Leehom Wang's hit album Heroes of Earth and an accompanying promotional concert in Shanghai with Wang and Chinese-American rapper Tim Wu. Jin issued a pair of albums in 2006 -- 100 Grand Jin and I Promise -- and released an all-Cantonese effort in 2007, the Far East Movement-produced ABC ("American-Born Chinese"). ABC hit number one in Hong Kong and was later certified gold.

In 2008, Jin was baptized as a Christian and the message in his music soon pivoted to match his newfound faith, which could be heard on 2011's Sincerely Yours EP and Homecoming LP. The Brand New Me EP landed in 2012, followed by 2013's full-length Hypocrite, which balanced his hardened raps with inspirational ballads such as "Broken" with Caleb Lin. Newly reflective and humbled by career ups and downs, he looked back on his trajectory on "Chinese New Year," the lead single off 2014's XIV:LIX. The next year, after dropping by open-mike nights in New York, Jin flexed his comedic chops by performing stand-up around the city.

By the late 2010s, Jin was balancing his time between Asia and the U.S., competing on Chinese television competition shows and acting in such films as the RZA-directed Love Beats Rhymes (2017) and the big-budget Monster Hunter (2020). ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi