rise of the asian hip hop scene

::calgary.alberta.canada.temp.-16ºC.humidity.84%.overcast.light.snow::



jin the emcee rolled into cowtown last saturday (feb 3) performing and hosting @ ilyxor for tonic saturdays with pal yung mac and calgary's own dj al. v. feeling the urge to support the asian hip hop scene, i went to check out the unofficial leader to the fledgling asian-american rap & hip hop community. as hip hop music has been so influential in the past decade, it only makes sense that western born asians embrace and identify with the music and drive it to the mainstream. as proof, jin is consistently getting exposure on mtv chi; the embodiment of asian american pop culture.

popular for his freestyling skillz, jin started his career by making a name for himself by freestyling on the streets. eventually he hit it big through bet 106 & park's amateur freestyle fridays battle competition. underestimated by many due to his ethnicity, jin proved he can cut it by winning 7 weeks in a row and thus inducted into the bet hall of fame. soon after, he was signed by ruff ryders, jin released a 2003 single called "learn chinese" produced by wyclef jean which struggled to gain popularity. soon after, he fell into obscurity, jin was released from ruff ryders and forced to create himself over again. back and reborn, jin has been on tour promoting his myspace exclusive album release "i promise" and more recently, his upcoming album "abc" where the first single (also called "abc") features full on chinglish rapping.

although calgary's asian scene is small, jin came to represent. saturdays @ ilyxor and plush are the only nightclubs that cater to asians, with ilyxor the smaller of the two. throwing down a multitude of songs from his recent album with yung mac providing the backup. most notable was "36-24-36" - 'here's something i bet you've never seen (what's that), asian girl in some applebottom jeans'. throughout the set, he interacted with the crowd cutting up the mouthy ones and dancing with the dirty girls that climbed up on stage. sadly, the majority of the cheering was when jin fished cheap pops from the crowd by yelling out 'calgary', 'c-spot' or 'give it up for flames'. the live peformance went for about 40 mins, eventually finishing with "learn chinese". afterwards, jin stuck around for the rest of the evening wandering the crowd, taking pictures with fans, and letting dj al.v do his thang.

i hate being a hater, unfortunately this event far was from good - ranking below my average expectation. however, i'll admit that this type of show would fare better in a city with a much deeper asian scene. jin is a very talented artist, for his true skill is in his keen ability to think under pressure and rip apart opponents in a freestyle battle. not once did we get a glimpse of this genius during the show.

nonetheless, jin has stuck his head out there and obviously is trying to get more experience and feedback through doing shows. he deserves massive recognition as a pioneer to the urban music movement for this generation of north american jooksings. more photos from this event can be found at netcandi.com. catch u on the round 'bout.

-YLee