Jin Ah-Yeung (placeholder)

In 2002, Jin Au-Yeung became the first full-blooded Asian-American rapper to sign a deal with a major record label. Jin’s rise to fame began in Miami, Florida where he was born and raised. The son of Chinese immigrants, Jin watched his parents work extremely hard every day as they ran their own restaurant. In junior high, Jin became fascinated with hip-hop music and dreamed of becoming a professional rapper. Jin began entering freestyle battles in local hip-hop clubs where he was usually the only Asian person around. He quickly developed a reputation as Miami’s cleverest hip-hop lyricist.

In 2001, his parents decided to move the family to Chinatown, New York City. Jin realized that living in the birthplace of hip-hop would be a huge stepping stone to making his dream come true. He began performing freestyles and selling his own mixtapes on the streets, in hip-hop clubs and wherever he could. He quickly gained a huge following just as he had done in Miami. His big break came when the BET program “106 & Park” began inviting local rappers to have freestyle battles every Friday. Jin was ready for the national exposure. He auditioned and again was underestimated due to his race. But Jin proved everyone wrong by winning the battles week after week. After winning for seven weeks straight, Jin was inducted into the show’s Hall of Fame. That same night, he announced that he had signed a deal with Ruff Ryders; the same record label as DMX, Eve and Jadakiss. Since then, Jin has been profiled in numerous newspapers and magazines. In 2002, he landed the role of Jimmy in the film 2 Fast 2 Furious.