HHDX: Well, we spoke about Ludacris earlier, and you did a film with him “2 Fast 2 Furious” so I’m wondering if you will continue to pursue a film career.
Jin: Yeah, that was a great experience. Especially because it happened at an early point of my career. It had me like “Damn, this shit is crazy.” I really want to do more acting, but I really want to take it seriously. It’s not something I want to do just for the hell of it. I want cats to be like “Yo, he killed that!”
HHDX: What are your favorite movies with emcees in them.
Jin: Belly was ill, but then...In Belly I felt like DMX was just playing DMX though. Which is kind of how he is in every movie. And Nas was just playing Nas, man. And Method Man was just playing Method Man! But that movie was ill, though! It changed the game.
HHDX: Mine would have to be like Friday or Juice.
Jin: That’s different cause Ice Cube is an actor, yo! Cube is an actor. Pac is an actor. Will Smith is an actor. Yo, LL Cool J? Straight actor, yo! These are the guys that I’m talking about that take this shit seriously and you can tell. Especially like a Will Smith.
HHDX: In your new CD you claim a lot of what’s popular today “doesn’t stimulate the mind.” Why do you think fans gravitate towards this type of music and not so much to what is widely referred to as conscious?
Jin: There’s no real one blame. At the end of the day , the people that go buy the music determine what the people put out. Let’s say you have some rappers that there only agenda is to make money. If, according to them, the only thing selling is booty shakin’ the crunk shit than that‘s what they‘re going to make because they want money.
Now, when I say it goes hand in hand, you have these large companies right? I’m not even talking about Def Jam or the Roc-a-Fella. I’m talking about the shit above them. The ones that cut their checks. These huge companies that don’t even have a face. It’s just a company. All of the companies that own the radio stations cross the country, these are the guys that dictate what goes on the radio. These are the guys that determine like “Lil Bow Wow’s ‘Let me Hold You Down’ is gonna play ten times every hour.” Nothing against Bow Wow, I’m just giving an example but I’m just saying, they control that. So, if they want, they can throw on something that is more conscious. But, I guess in a sense, they just want to make dough too.
So, if they feel like “Naw, Naw, naw...We’re not going there. All of this shit right here, were making wild money off.” All of the more...I hate to say it like this but all of the more ignorant shit. “We’re making wild money off of this, why on Earth would we change it up? Why on Earth would we play this Little Brother video when we’re making so much money off of this Lil Jon and Eastide Boys videos?”
I’m not taking nothing away from Lil Jon and them because they making their music and it’s a reflection of their lifestyle and it’s hot. I love a lot of that, you know what I’m sayin? Like Lil’ Scrappy… I love a lot of them joints, you know what I'm sayin’? But what I mean is that...That can’t be the only type of music that’s out! You have a cat like Common...and Common...he’s just barely doing it right now. So, you know...it goes hand in hand. On one side, the people have to want change and on the other side, you have the companies that dictate what’s hot. They tell the people “Yo, we’re playing this video ten time sin the next hour so that means this is the hottest shit!” So, the people at home watching, every time they turn on TRL or BET, they seeing the same damn shit and they be like “Yo, this shit is hot.” If you play some shit for a kid enough times, no matter what it is, they’ll be like “Yo, this shit is fiyah!” It takes away from the culture, man. It definitely does.
HHDX: I recall watching an interview on 106 where you mentioned you’d like to go against the best and said it’d be cool to battle Supernatural or Eminem. Do you think that’ll ever go down?
Jin: I mean, you already know that I want to battle them. The question is...you need to ask them will it ever go down. Ha. Not me.
HHDX: What was it like meeting Kool Herc and what type of conversations did you have with him? Is it true he said “I’m the REAL 50 Cent.”
Jin: Yup, he said that. I think he meant “Yo, I really run this!” I don’t think he meant to dis him. I think he just meant “Yo, I run this!” I understand him, because on a more universal level this is Kool Herc. You trace back all of this stuff and it goes back to a couple of individuals; Kool Herc., the Grandmaster Flash, the guys that, really, if they didn’t decide to do the things that they did, nothing else would be relevant. There would be no Russell Simmons, there would be no Def Jam, there would be no HipHopDX.com, there would be no Jin the Emcee. There would be nothing.
[Being in his presence] was ill, yo. It meant so much to me to know that somebody that was so iconic in this thing we call Hip-Hop was basically saying “Jin, I believe you. I believe in you. I believe in what you’re doing. I want to be part of it.” nothing else means more than that. That’s like you wanting to be a basketball player and it’s even bigger than Michael Jordan but I‘m giving an example. that’s like Michael Jordan saying “I'm going to come to your game and watch you play.”
HHDX: About 2 years ago, some sites ran stories on your friend Louie being shot. Is he okay now? Were you able to peacefully resolve matters there?
Jin: He’s fine now. He's actually on the Properganda joint. That was just all an unfortunate incident that happened being in the wrong time at the wrong place. It definitely wasn't what the media wanted it to make it seem like. They wanted it to be like an interesting story like China Town Rap War Beef! That shit don’t got nothing to do with it. I never met these dudes before so it was far from beef. It was just...yo, dudes be jealous. I’m in the spot and they try to start some shit. Unfortunately, my man got shot, but the most important thing is that he’s okay now.
HHDX: How much does it bother you that people seem fixated on “Oh, he’s the Asian emcee?”
Jin: I can’t be mad at it because I’m a realist. I'm very realistic. If it’s something that seems like it’s just what it is then I look at it exactly as that. When I do interviews or I come on Television shows and they’re like (makes commentator voice) “You’re one of the first premier Asian artists...” that’s just what it is. There’s no way running around it. So, I accept it on that level. But as an artist, sometimes you just want to be respected for your art. So I balance it out myself. The artist side of me is like “Yo, you’re Chinese. Don’t deny it.” If I’m doing an interview and you want to ask me something about the fact that I’m Chinese, I’m not going to say to you “Yo, man...I’d rather not talk about that.” I can’t, because then I’d be denying my own identity. Then, at the same time, you want to maintain a certain level of artistry. I don’t want special treatment, I just want fair treatment like everybody else. Listen to my single the same way you would listen to the next man. Watch me perform the same way you would watch the next man. Buy my album the same way you would by the next man’s. That’s all.
HHDX: Is it true Golden Child is a teenager? How did you guys hook up and how do you think his future is looking?
Jin: I’m very proud of him. I think he has a lot ahead of him. Basically, he had a beat CD that my manager got a hand on. We just heard the beats on it and we were like “Yo, this is ill. Let’s contact this kid.” Don’t ask me how we got the beat CD because beat CDs, them shits is like a dime a dozen. You could be walking down the street, even if you don’t do music and next thing you know, you have five/six beat CDs in your hand. So, we contacted him, hooked up with him and come to find out he's this sixteen year old kid from Brooklyn. He ended up basically producing the whole album. He did all of that, yo. He did everything. The one good thing about him is that he’s still young. So, he can only grow and get better. That’s his first album so he should definitely feel really proud.
HHDX: Let me just say a name and you could start talking about it…. Wyclef:
Jin: Legend. Everyone’s heard of the Fugees. Musician. Hip-Hop head. Emcee. Haitian Representative. He’ll be cool in my book.
HHDX: Kanye West:
Jin: College Dropout is a classic, I think. “Bush don’t care about black people.” Yo, what else? Kanye is an ill producer. he’s a perfectionist. As much as people say “Oh, he’s arrogant.” When you reach a level where you’ve accomplished so much, you have a right to be proud. I feel like right now, I’m far from where I want to be with my career but I’ll be damned if I let somebody discredit what I’ve done so far. I have every right to be proud of what I’ve done, yo.
HHDX: Where would you want to be in your career?
Jin: Well of course, I’m a realistic guy like the next person, man. I want to be rich. I want to be financially well off. I want to be in a position where I could sign my own artists and put them out. Things of that nature. But apparently, if I’m not at that point right now, then I still have a lot to do to get there. But I mean, the shit that I did accomplish, it doesn’t take anything away from that, you know what I’m saying. I mean, it’s been four years since the 106 & Park shit and I’m still here, still bubblin’. That means a lot to me. Kool Herc talkin’ about “Yes, I’m co-signin’.”
HHDX: Let’s talk about your recent battles. What can you say about the loss and the win.
Jin: The loss and the win? Well, let me say this...when I lost the battle, I lost ten thousand dollars right? That is (money) I didn‘t put up. So I didn’t lose ten thousand dollars, I just didn’t win ten thousand dollars. You understand what I’m saying. That wasn’t my own ten thousand dollars. Somebody put up ten thousand dollars and the winner takes it. I lost that battle, fair and square.
HHDX: Well, some people are debating that.
Jin: People are debating that, but you’re hearing it from Jin: I lost that battle. There’s no excuses. There’s only one objective in battling and that’s to win the crowd. You either win the crowd or you don’t. Now, different people have different strategies to how they do that, you know? They have their own personal lines that they cross or they don’t cross, but that’s not even the issue here. Bottom line is he won the battle and I lost.
When I won the battle I won fifty grand, you know what I’m sayin’, with my own skills. I went in there beefed and I just killed it! As far as in terms of all the shit that happened after that- the guy that I lost the battle to for ten thousand was in that battle too. I wanted to battle him that day. Realistically, he didn’t make it into the final round for me to battle him. So, I beat the guy that I battled in the last round and then afterwards, after they were like “Here’s your fifty grand Jin, congratulations!” I took ten thousand out of my own pocket and I was like “Let’s battle right now, yo. C’mon, let‘s do this!” That was my way of setting the record straight that nobody is nervous and nobody is scared on this side. You know what I mean? I do this!
Bottom line is, I caught an L on one night, an off night. But, don’t get it twisted, you know what I’m sayin’. It only tells me what I accomplished when a guy beats me in a battle and he’s getting wild press coverage about it. I battle so much but these are the only ones people know about. They know about the 106 & Park, the Smack DVD but it’ll be like, I’ll be at a car show and I’m just hostin’ the shit. But then, after I host the shit and they have a winner...People are like “Yo, battle Jin.” Next thing you know, I battle him and I’m eatin’ this guy. I serve him. I demolish him. But you’re not going to see an article about it on HipHopDX.com or whatever cause the shit is so common. “Whoopdi-Do Jin beats another guy.” But, the minute I catch a L, the shit is a headline news like “JIN DEFEATED!” so that just tells me that I’m on the right track.
HHDX: Some people are actually trying to keep up with your wins and losses.
Jin: They try but they’re not going to cause there’s so much shit going on that they don’t know about. I’ll be out on the street and some dude will run up to me like “Wanna battle?” I’ll be like “Yo, let’s do it. But, for 500 dollars at least. Let’s bet 500, or something because I’m putting my name on the line and what are you putting on the line? Absolutely nothing. Like, if I beat you, you just go back to being a nobody. But if you beat me, you’re going to go and fuckin’ spread the news across the galaxy.” So, I’ll be like “Put something on the line.”
HHDX: So, who on the underground do you give props to that people don’t really recognize.
Jin: Wow, that's tough. There's this one dude, yo. I hate to say it but he’s in a coma right now. I don’t know what the latest word on him is but he goes by the name of J-Pure. He’s from Miami, which is where I’m from. He’s incredible. He was in this crew called SLP (Street Light Poets) and he got into an accident, I believe 3 years ago. I think he’s rehabilitating right now. To me, he was truly one of the dopest emcees. He was an inspiration to me when I was 15 years old just rhymin’.
Jin: Yeah, that was a great experience. Especially because it happened at an early point of my career. It had me like “Damn, this shit is crazy.” I really want to do more acting, but I really want to take it seriously. It’s not something I want to do just for the hell of it. I want cats to be like “Yo, he killed that!”
HHDX: What are your favorite movies with emcees in them.
Jin: Belly was ill, but then...In Belly I felt like DMX was just playing DMX though. Which is kind of how he is in every movie. And Nas was just playing Nas, man. And Method Man was just playing Method Man! But that movie was ill, though! It changed the game.
HHDX: Mine would have to be like Friday or Juice.
Jin: That’s different cause Ice Cube is an actor, yo! Cube is an actor. Pac is an actor. Will Smith is an actor. Yo, LL Cool J? Straight actor, yo! These are the guys that I’m talking about that take this shit seriously and you can tell. Especially like a Will Smith.
HHDX: In your new CD you claim a lot of what’s popular today “doesn’t stimulate the mind.” Why do you think fans gravitate towards this type of music and not so much to what is widely referred to as conscious?
Jin: There’s no real one blame. At the end of the day , the people that go buy the music determine what the people put out. Let’s say you have some rappers that there only agenda is to make money. If, according to them, the only thing selling is booty shakin’ the crunk shit than that‘s what they‘re going to make because they want money.
Now, when I say it goes hand in hand, you have these large companies right? I’m not even talking about Def Jam or the Roc-a-Fella. I’m talking about the shit above them. The ones that cut their checks. These huge companies that don’t even have a face. It’s just a company. All of the companies that own the radio stations cross the country, these are the guys that dictate what goes on the radio. These are the guys that determine like “Lil Bow Wow’s ‘Let me Hold You Down’ is gonna play ten times every hour.” Nothing against Bow Wow, I’m just giving an example but I’m just saying, they control that. So, if they want, they can throw on something that is more conscious. But, I guess in a sense, they just want to make dough too.
So, if they feel like “Naw, Naw, naw...We’re not going there. All of this shit right here, were making wild money off.” All of the more...I hate to say it like this but all of the more ignorant shit. “We’re making wild money off of this, why on Earth would we change it up? Why on Earth would we play this Little Brother video when we’re making so much money off of this Lil Jon and Eastide Boys videos?”
I’m not taking nothing away from Lil Jon and them because they making their music and it’s a reflection of their lifestyle and it’s hot. I love a lot of that, you know what I’m sayin? Like Lil’ Scrappy… I love a lot of them joints, you know what I'm sayin’? But what I mean is that...That can’t be the only type of music that’s out! You have a cat like Common...and Common...he’s just barely doing it right now. So, you know...it goes hand in hand. On one side, the people have to want change and on the other side, you have the companies that dictate what’s hot. They tell the people “Yo, we’re playing this video ten time sin the next hour so that means this is the hottest shit!” So, the people at home watching, every time they turn on TRL or BET, they seeing the same damn shit and they be like “Yo, this shit is hot.” If you play some shit for a kid enough times, no matter what it is, they’ll be like “Yo, this shit is fiyah!” It takes away from the culture, man. It definitely does.
HHDX: I recall watching an interview on 106 where you mentioned you’d like to go against the best and said it’d be cool to battle Supernatural or Eminem. Do you think that’ll ever go down?
Jin: I mean, you already know that I want to battle them. The question is...you need to ask them will it ever go down. Ha. Not me.
HHDX: What was it like meeting Kool Herc and what type of conversations did you have with him? Is it true he said “I’m the REAL 50 Cent.”
Jin: Yup, he said that. I think he meant “Yo, I really run this!” I don’t think he meant to dis him. I think he just meant “Yo, I run this!” I understand him, because on a more universal level this is Kool Herc. You trace back all of this stuff and it goes back to a couple of individuals; Kool Herc., the Grandmaster Flash, the guys that, really, if they didn’t decide to do the things that they did, nothing else would be relevant. There would be no Russell Simmons, there would be no Def Jam, there would be no HipHopDX.com, there would be no Jin the Emcee. There would be nothing.
[Being in his presence] was ill, yo. It meant so much to me to know that somebody that was so iconic in this thing we call Hip-Hop was basically saying “Jin, I believe you. I believe in you. I believe in what you’re doing. I want to be part of it.” nothing else means more than that. That’s like you wanting to be a basketball player and it’s even bigger than Michael Jordan but I‘m giving an example. that’s like Michael Jordan saying “I'm going to come to your game and watch you play.”
HHDX: About 2 years ago, some sites ran stories on your friend Louie being shot. Is he okay now? Were you able to peacefully resolve matters there?
Jin: He’s fine now. He's actually on the Properganda joint. That was just all an unfortunate incident that happened being in the wrong time at the wrong place. It definitely wasn't what the media wanted it to make it seem like. They wanted it to be like an interesting story like China Town Rap War Beef! That shit don’t got nothing to do with it. I never met these dudes before so it was far from beef. It was just...yo, dudes be jealous. I’m in the spot and they try to start some shit. Unfortunately, my man got shot, but the most important thing is that he’s okay now.
HHDX: How much does it bother you that people seem fixated on “Oh, he’s the Asian emcee?”
Jin: I can’t be mad at it because I’m a realist. I'm very realistic. If it’s something that seems like it’s just what it is then I look at it exactly as that. When I do interviews or I come on Television shows and they’re like (makes commentator voice) “You’re one of the first premier Asian artists...” that’s just what it is. There’s no way running around it. So, I accept it on that level. But as an artist, sometimes you just want to be respected for your art. So I balance it out myself. The artist side of me is like “Yo, you’re Chinese. Don’t deny it.” If I’m doing an interview and you want to ask me something about the fact that I’m Chinese, I’m not going to say to you “Yo, man...I’d rather not talk about that.” I can’t, because then I’d be denying my own identity. Then, at the same time, you want to maintain a certain level of artistry. I don’t want special treatment, I just want fair treatment like everybody else. Listen to my single the same way you would listen to the next man. Watch me perform the same way you would watch the next man. Buy my album the same way you would by the next man’s. That’s all.
HHDX: Is it true Golden Child is a teenager? How did you guys hook up and how do you think his future is looking?
Jin: I’m very proud of him. I think he has a lot ahead of him. Basically, he had a beat CD that my manager got a hand on. We just heard the beats on it and we were like “Yo, this is ill. Let’s contact this kid.” Don’t ask me how we got the beat CD because beat CDs, them shits is like a dime a dozen. You could be walking down the street, even if you don’t do music and next thing you know, you have five/six beat CDs in your hand. So, we contacted him, hooked up with him and come to find out he's this sixteen year old kid from Brooklyn. He ended up basically producing the whole album. He did all of that, yo. He did everything. The one good thing about him is that he’s still young. So, he can only grow and get better. That’s his first album so he should definitely feel really proud.
HHDX: Let me just say a name and you could start talking about it…. Wyclef:
Jin: Legend. Everyone’s heard of the Fugees. Musician. Hip-Hop head. Emcee. Haitian Representative. He’ll be cool in my book.
HHDX: Kanye West:
Jin: College Dropout is a classic, I think. “Bush don’t care about black people.” Yo, what else? Kanye is an ill producer. he’s a perfectionist. As much as people say “Oh, he’s arrogant.” When you reach a level where you’ve accomplished so much, you have a right to be proud. I feel like right now, I’m far from where I want to be with my career but I’ll be damned if I let somebody discredit what I’ve done so far. I have every right to be proud of what I’ve done, yo.
HHDX: Where would you want to be in your career?
Jin: Well of course, I’m a realistic guy like the next person, man. I want to be rich. I want to be financially well off. I want to be in a position where I could sign my own artists and put them out. Things of that nature. But apparently, if I’m not at that point right now, then I still have a lot to do to get there. But I mean, the shit that I did accomplish, it doesn’t take anything away from that, you know what I’m saying. I mean, it’s been four years since the 106 & Park shit and I’m still here, still bubblin’. That means a lot to me. Kool Herc talkin’ about “Yes, I’m co-signin’.”
HHDX: Let’s talk about your recent battles. What can you say about the loss and the win.
Jin: The loss and the win? Well, let me say this...when I lost the battle, I lost ten thousand dollars right? That is (money) I didn‘t put up. So I didn’t lose ten thousand dollars, I just didn’t win ten thousand dollars. You understand what I’m saying. That wasn’t my own ten thousand dollars. Somebody put up ten thousand dollars and the winner takes it. I lost that battle, fair and square.
HHDX: Well, some people are debating that.
Jin: People are debating that, but you’re hearing it from Jin: I lost that battle. There’s no excuses. There’s only one objective in battling and that’s to win the crowd. You either win the crowd or you don’t. Now, different people have different strategies to how they do that, you know? They have their own personal lines that they cross or they don’t cross, but that’s not even the issue here. Bottom line is he won the battle and I lost.
When I won the battle I won fifty grand, you know what I’m sayin’, with my own skills. I went in there beefed and I just killed it! As far as in terms of all the shit that happened after that- the guy that I lost the battle to for ten thousand was in that battle too. I wanted to battle him that day. Realistically, he didn’t make it into the final round for me to battle him. So, I beat the guy that I battled in the last round and then afterwards, after they were like “Here’s your fifty grand Jin, congratulations!” I took ten thousand out of my own pocket and I was like “Let’s battle right now, yo. C’mon, let‘s do this!” That was my way of setting the record straight that nobody is nervous and nobody is scared on this side. You know what I mean? I do this!
Bottom line is, I caught an L on one night, an off night. But, don’t get it twisted, you know what I’m sayin’. It only tells me what I accomplished when a guy beats me in a battle and he’s getting wild press coverage about it. I battle so much but these are the only ones people know about. They know about the 106 & Park, the Smack DVD but it’ll be like, I’ll be at a car show and I’m just hostin’ the shit. But then, after I host the shit and they have a winner...People are like “Yo, battle Jin.” Next thing you know, I battle him and I’m eatin’ this guy. I serve him. I demolish him. But you’re not going to see an article about it on HipHopDX.com or whatever cause the shit is so common. “Whoopdi-Do Jin beats another guy.” But, the minute I catch a L, the shit is a headline news like “JIN DEFEATED!” so that just tells me that I’m on the right track.
HHDX: Some people are actually trying to keep up with your wins and losses.
Jin: They try but they’re not going to cause there’s so much shit going on that they don’t know about. I’ll be out on the street and some dude will run up to me like “Wanna battle?” I’ll be like “Yo, let’s do it. But, for 500 dollars at least. Let’s bet 500, or something because I’m putting my name on the line and what are you putting on the line? Absolutely nothing. Like, if I beat you, you just go back to being a nobody. But if you beat me, you’re going to go and fuckin’ spread the news across the galaxy.” So, I’ll be like “Put something on the line.”
HHDX: So, who on the underground do you give props to that people don’t really recognize.
Jin: Wow, that's tough. There's this one dude, yo. I hate to say it but he’s in a coma right now. I don’t know what the latest word on him is but he goes by the name of J-Pure. He’s from Miami, which is where I’m from. He’s incredible. He was in this crew called SLP (Street Light Poets) and he got into an accident, I believe 3 years ago. I think he’s rehabilitating right now. To me, he was truly one of the dopest emcees. He was an inspiration to me when I was 15 years old just rhymin’.
