Jin: Rise, Fall, and Rebirth

In the midst of all the buzz surrounding Jeremy Lin, the New York Knicks Point Guard whose rise to fame has been nothing short of spectacular, we look back to the career of Hip-Hop's first Chinese solo rapper signed to a major label.

Born in Miami, Florida, Jin was a first generation Chinese-American, born to two Hong Kong Chinese immigrant parents. Jin would spent most of his youth in Miami, up until he decided to forgo college after High  School and move to Flushings Queens, where his love for Hip-Hop first started to develop.

After taking a liking to not only Hip-Hop music, but art of emceeing as well, Jin began freestlying, and pushing his own mixtapes on the streets. Around this same time BET began inviting local rappers for a segment called "Freestyle Fridays" where rappers would battle each other on live TV. Jin flourished, taking out his competion week after week, for 7 weeks straight,enabling him to be inducted into The Freestyle Friday Hall of Fame.

The same night Jin was inducted into The Freestyle Friday Hall of Fame, Jin announced he had signed with Ruff Ryders, the same label that was home to such rappers as DMX, Eve, Jadakiss and the rest of The LOX, Swizz Beatz, and more. This was the first time, a Chinese rapper had signed with a major record label, a defining moment in Hip-Hop's rich history. His first single was "Learn Chinese" and it was off his debut alum The Rest is History.

Even with all the buzz around the release of Hip-Hop's first chinese rapper, The Rest is History did not sell up to expectations, and the singles received very minimal radio play. After a lackluster debut, and leaving Ruff Ryder's, Jin recorded "I Quit" announcing his break from making music as a whole.

Jin reverted to what first made him famous, being featured on the famed Smack DVD series, freestyle battling, showcasing his undiminished skills. After a brief stint of being away from Music, Jin reemerged under a new pseudonym, "The Emcee".

Under his new name, The Emcee released Proper?Ganda, taking a different approach to his debut album. The album was well received critically, but again resulted in lackluster sales. Jin continued to release music, in the form of mixtapes and singles.

In 2007 after spending a vast amount of time in Hong Kong, Jin recorded an album almost entirely in Cantonese, ABC. The album showcased Jin's lyrical ability, in being able to rap in a different language. The album was a big hit in his home country of China. 

During his time off, Jin became a reborn Christian, and took to making more positive music. He released "Angel" in 2010, after making exclusively Cantonese songs. Trying to make his comeback in the states, Jin has been putting out music, as he works on his next English release, which he has slated for a 2012 release.