Jin Interview with Audio PT2

Part 2 – by the god Dirty Backpacks

MC. The very definition of a great rapper. See, you can be a good rapper, but it takes a special talent to actually be an MC. 50 Cent is a rapper. Mike Jones is a rapper. Ludacris is an MC. Jay-Z and Nas are MCs. And that’s the basis of Jin’s transformation into the being we see now. In Part 2 of this exclusive interview, Jin finishes his thoughts on SunN.Y., deals with his loss to Serious Jones at Fight Klub, and gives the real deal on the “retirement” and name change from Jin to The Emcee. He also talks about the new album and his feelings on real Hip Hop – a topic that always seems to come up when Dirty Backpacks does an interview.


>>>>>>> Click Here to Listen to PART 2 <<<<<<<


>>>>>>> Click Here to Listen to PART 1 <<<<<<<







Dirty Backpacks: Did you hear his response? He had a response to you, they called it “The Jin Diss”.



Jin The Emcee: Um…I know he did some sh*t on the Shade 45 Show. On some Clinton Sparks show, he kicked some, some….



Dirty Backpacks: Freestyle.



Jin The Emcee: (continuing) ...yeah, a written, like a wack written rhyme….



DBP: (laughs)



Jin The Emcee: …and then tried to blend it in with some off-the-top garbage rhymes, but yo man – I’m just saying the battle is the solution for everything. Ya know?



DBP: Your “Career Is Ova” joint is on Hiphophavoc.



Jin: Oh yeah? You put it up there? Yeah, but it’s all fun! You know, like – I just wanted to rhyme on “The Bridge Is Over” beat. I heard “The Bridge Is Over” beat, and I was like hold up – I just wanna rhyme on it. And I ended up doing that. But he’s on some “Yo I never met dude” and all of that, “I don’t know him, I don’t know why he’s comin’ at me sideways” – yo man, this is just Hip Hop. Especially if he claims he on some…he’s from that Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One era, and MC Shan, then timeout – then you shouldn’t be questioning why my actions are what they are. It’s what it is.



DBP: Yeah – I feel that; I feel that.



Jin: No doubt!



DBP: Another item in the news concerning you was…people was talking about, it was a big shock to a lot of people, so that’s why they was talking about it…



Jin: Yeah!



DBP: …your loss to Serious Jones at Fight Klub.



Jin: No doubt, yo…



DBP: (cutting him off) …but there was controversy with that! Before you even get into it, there was controversy because there was accusations that money used pre-written rhymes, and then the biggest thing is that a lot of people was like, yo – he attacked your ethnicity! So, talk to me about your feelings on that point and the battle in general.



(Note: Since this interview was conducted, The Emcee promptly went down to The Bahamas and smashed all in his path at a competition that INCLUDED Serious Jones. Serious didn’t even make it past the 2nd round – he lost to a British cat that The Emcee promptly waxed later in the competition, and he re-took his Freestyle battle crown. Our sources say Jin offered 10,000 of his own money to battle Serious afterwards, but there was no solid response or commitment from Serious’ camp. Guess one loss was enough that day!)



Jin: Alright. In regards to the 1st two things you said, about the whole accusations of written rhymes and all of that…that’s not even an issue. It’s come to the point now with battling and freestyle battling and live battling – from every aspect, whether you’re talking 106 & Park or the Smack DVD or just your random street corner battle – I mean, at the end of the day, its all about who is more on fire and on point at that moment. The whole issue of if it’s written or off the top of the head is somewhat irrelevant. Like, to maybe the real purists of freestyle battling, it might be an issue but – it’s really not. Because, realistically, you know – I’m talking to you, right? And realistically, I would rather hear a hot written rhyme than a wack-a$$ off-the top rhyme. Do you agree?



DBP: If it’s hot, yeah.



Jin: Exactly! When you go into a battle, for any true battle MCs, you know your objective ultimately is to win. So you know, I don’t never act like “Aw man” – if I lose, I can’t and I REFUSE to be on some “Yo man, he was kickin’ written rhymes and what-not.” It is what it is. Now on THAT note, he did win the battle. And, from me at least, you getting’ it from my mouth – it’s not like I feel any type of resentment towards it because I feel like “Oh, he won because of the fact that he did written rhymes, because of the fact that he attacked ethnicity.” I have none of that (feeling). Bottom line is that night – I ATE the first dude I battled, but when it came to him, yo – he just got me. And that’s exactly what battling is.



And, it only speaks to my…in regards to what you said as you was asking this question – when you first started you was like “I only wanna talk about it cause it’s such a big shock to everybody” – even if you just look at that statement you made, I’m proud of that because that kind of gives you an idea of what my repertoire is. If I DO lose a battle, that sh*t is headlines!!! Cause it’s so shocking! So when I look at it from that angle, I’m like yo – it is what it is. I’m not on some “Yo, I don’t wanna battle no more, this guy’s the truth…” – HE COULD LOSE, TOO! I mean, he’s not really…I give him credit cause he won that night – but at the end of the day, he wasn’t saying nothing spectacular. Like you said about all of them Chinese jokes – it’s not sh*t that I haven’t heard before. Usually, people that really study battling and study my catalogue at least know that my specialty is bouncing back from the Chinese jokes.



DBP: Yeah yeah…



Jin: It’s not even like he was on some spectacular sh*t, it was just – for that one night at Fight Klub, he was ON. Like, he was really, really on; I’m always the one to give it up when they deserve it, and I was really off. And that’s all it was, yo.



DBP: I give you a lot of credit for that man, cause I’mma be honest – it’s a lot of MCs that would make all types of excuses or say “Aw, well it wasn’t this, that, or whatever” and never give credit if they just simply lost.



Jin: Oh, nah! I mean, it is what it is – everybody got they time! You know the same way that, let’s say, after I lost that battle, they did the headlines – it was just everywhere: “Serious Jones defeats Sultan Jin at Fight Klub!” It’s no different than…let’s say last year at the Puerto Rico joint when I won the 50 Gs there, and there was the headlines “Jin devastates the competition at The Power Summit!” I think it’s just balance. I know one thing - not any one MC is invincible on the battling tip. The objective is just to be as consistent as possible. You know me – I may not have a bunch of hit records under my belt, but I know on the battling side, you can go through the catalogue. I been doing it for so long and I just love it so much that it’s there. And there’s only those battles that people know about, like the 106 & Park, The Smack DVD, the Puerto Rico sh*t – but I just be like, on some random sh*t, I’ll go do a show somewhere in some small a$$ town and somebody’ll want to battle me at my own show! Now, most artists would be like “Nah, I’m bigger than that, I’m making moves now.” Which I understand and is respectable too, but ME, every now and then I might just be like “Come on onstage, let’s do this.” That’s kind of just the repertoire of who I am as an MC. And I don’t see it dying because I just love it so much – just that nature of battling.



DBP: Well, I always say, even Muhammad Ali lost once, that don’t mean that he not The Greatest.



Jin: Yo, thank you, man. Thank you, thank you. (Chuckling) That’s an inspiring quote right there.



DBP: I’mma ask you about the name change. A lot of people…



Jin: No doubt!



DBP: For the record, why the name change from Jin to The Emcee, cause aren’t you worried about confusing fans by changing your name? For example, Smiff N Wessun, one of my favorite groups – they changed their name to Cocoa Brovaz a few years back and it hurt their sales and confused the public. Are you concerned about the same thing happening?



Jin: Um…nah. Not so much because it’s not like an OFFICIAL name change. Like I got that album coming out this October, right?



DBP: Yeah.



Jin: October 25th (Note: That’s right, it’s out and it’s hot! Definitely go cop that or order online at theemcee.com). The name of the album is actually Jin Presents: The Emcee’s Properganda. That’s the name of the album. So, I’m always gonna tie Jin to it, not because it’s good for marketing, but because, realistically, that’s who I am too. Jin – that’s my birth name. Just to answer your question directly, so you have a better understanding – I don’t think it’s so much of a name change issue. It’s more so just kind of a new direction that I’m going with my music. And I wanted to give this direction an identity. So, the reason I came up with the whole concept of being The Emcee – it’s just pretty much saying - f**k everything else for a minute, let’s go back to the basics of what this really is all about. What I’ve really been doing, and what I’m gonna do now, and from this point on, which is emceeing. That’s the title. You know many MCs, you know – he a MC, he a MC, whatever – but me, THE Emcee. Like, I’m The Emcee. Alright, think about this – you know how when they talk about the 4 Elements of Hip Hop, right? You know how there’s The DJ…



DBP: Grafitti…



Jin: (continuing)…Rap artists, there’s the Break Boy, and there’s the MC. So when they talk about the MC, on that last one, they’re referring to me, yo. The cat that just be battling, rhyming, rocking the show, and just bringing that sh*t to the people. That’s all it is. I don’t know if that helps explain things…



DBP: Naw, that’s perfect.



Jin: I don’t think, I think it’s definitely not as serious as people think it is. You know, like people are like “He changed his name from Jin to The Emcee!” I think they kind of like overdid it. It was just more like I’m going a new path, and this is the way I’m going. It’s kind of an identity that I’ve always had, but I’m just pushing him to the light more now. You know what I mean?



DBP: Yeah.



Jin: Cause even when you watch 106 & Park, that was The Emcee up there, yo! That’s what he was doing – The Emcee is the cat that the f**kin’ streets fell in love with! All of my fans now, they saw that 106 sh*t and they was like “Oh my God! I can’t believe what I’m seeing, I LOVE IT!!” I love those people, yo. And, it’s not even a race thing – it’s ALL races, cause I been through so many different markets and encountered so many different types of people, from every age, to gender, to ethnicity; and I can’t say there’s any one that’s more supportive or loving than any other. So, that’s ill.



DBP: You mentioned your independent album, Jin Presents: The Emcee’s Properganda…



Jin: That’s the name of it, yeah.



DBP: Who’d you work with on the album?



Jin: Well, here’s the thing – there’s 13 tracks on it; there’s one joint on there produced by this dude named Demo – he’s from Boston, an up and coming cat – he did a joint on there called “Properganda”, that’s the title joint off the album. The other 12 cuts are all produced by the same dude, which is this kid from Brooklyn named Golden Child. He’s like 16, and yo – he’s just nasty! And, kind of the vibe I wanted to create with this album was like, basically, even for me, going back to the more grassroots aspect of albums. Which is just – you take one producer, hook him up with an MC, and just let them wild out. Coincidentally, think of like Buckshot & 9th Wonder-type collabo (Note: Oh boy, not again. Yet another MC has mentioned an album that Dirty Backpacks loves – get ready for the fanboy in him to come out!)…



DBP: (cutting Jin off) I’m glad you mentioned that, cause I LOVE that album!



Jin: Aw man – I love that album! That whole vibe that they bringin’, even with the whole Smiff N’ Wessun: Reloaded and the whole Sean Price, the Monkey Barz sh*t? I love that sh*t!



DBP: (cutting in) Yeah! All 3 albums is dope!! (Note: Go to the Reviews section of HHH to check out all the reviews of all 3 of the recent Duck Down releases, and check the Interviews section to read up on interviews with both Sean Price AND Smiff N’ Wessun – all done by the god Dirty Backpacks.)



Jin: (continuing) I feel like that’s the stuff that needs to be pushed to the light more.



DBP: Yeah, I agree with you…



Jin: Even that new AZ album, the A.W.O.L. joint…



DBP: YO – YOU AND ME ON THE SAME PAGE, MAN – YOU LIKE THE SAME STUFF I LIKE!



Jin: (starts cracking up laughing) Yo! I’m glad you see where my head is at! Like, realistically man, I’m not biased either, you know what I’m saying? I’m not that type of cat that’s like “F**k the radio, I don’t want to hear nothing that’s on it!” That’s not even the case. I can rock with like the Ludacris and the Fabolous joints – I love all of that! But it just be like – it seems so redundant on the radio! Like, it be the same 3 or 4 again and again! So, the escape is sort of like the AZs, the Smiff N’ Wessuns, the Sean Prices, the f**kin’, the Little Brothers, the new Gza sh*t! The sh*t that will never see the light of day on the radio, but you know in your heart that’s the sh*t right there!



DBP: That’s the exact reason they call me Dirty Backpacks, cause that’s the type of reason that I got in my car all day, every day!



Jin: (laughing) No doubt!



DBP: Aight man, we gonna wrap this up, but…you’re known for your ill freestyles; can you leave us a freestyle?



Jin: Oh yeah, no doubt, no doubt!


Jin (The Emcee) - Exclusive HHH Freestyle




Jin Presents: The Emcee’s Properganda is in stores now. Also, check out theemcee.com for exclusive Jin content and news.