HHDX: Yeah, I’m sure a lot of people ask you “Do you regret being with Ruff Ryders?”

Jin: At the end of the day, Ruff Ryders...They’re a legacy. No matter if they’re at their ups or their downs right now, the one thing you can't deny is that they came into the game, they flipped it and they made their mark. That Ruff Ryder name as a whole is already stamped in the Hip-Hop books. Then you think about what they contributed musically like the DMX’s, the Eve’s, the LOX, Drag-On and whatnot. For me to be able to add my name to that is an honor. That’s all I really wanted to do when I signed with them like “Yo, it’s a privilege,” because I was always a Ruff Ryder fan. I get to add my name to the story, you know...that’s beautiful.

HHDX: In an interview, you said you wanted to do a song with Craig David. Who else would you want to create with, mainstream or underground.

Jin: Well, the Craig David thing, I said that in like ’01, ’02. People be keepin’ track of everything. Um, I think they were asking me about non-hip-hop artists who would I work with and I remember he had one joint on a Premier beat with Mos Def and he was singing. So, I was just like “This joint is hot, Craig David‘s ill.” I think he’s still doing music now, which is good. But, as far as a more Hip-Hop artist, who would I wanna do something with? I mean, Yo...Cats like Redman, you know what I’m sayin’...I’ve always been a fan of. I mean, it’d be so amazing I’d get to do a joint with Nas. You know, I’m just like everybody else, man. A regular Hip-Hop fan.

HHDX: What top 5 things should an up-and-coming emcee look out for when starting out in the business.

Jin: That’s a good question...Wow! There’s way more than five. Definitely, know your business. When I say know your business, that’s very general. So, know the ins and outs, you know what I'm sayin’. Know how royalty rates work. Know how your management gets paid. Know how much the label gets paid. All of that. You know, keep an eye out for that. That’s important.

Number 2, know your own identity. You know what I’m sayin’? I think it’s important for an artist to have at least some sort of idea of who they want to be, as an artist you know what I’m sayin’. Before the label tries to turn you into something, you have to at least have an idea of like, “Well, this is who I am and this is what I represent.” Continued on page 3 »