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Jin Au-Yeung, aka MC Jin, was born and raised in North Miami Beach, Florida. Both his parents immigrated from Hong Kong to the United States with hopes of starting a family and providing their children with an opportunity to chase the American Dream. Little did they know, their firstborn would grow up to pursue a path that was not only less traveled but in this case, uncharted territory.
There were no aspirations of becoming a doctor, lawyer or fireman for this little boy. He wanted to be a rap star.
At a young age, Jin fell in love with rap music and Hip-hop culture. Emulating his favorite MC at the time, LL Cool J, Jin knew that his destiny involved having a mic in his hand. What this lead to was years of demo tapes, talent shows and managers with pipe dreams.
In 2002, his big break came in the form of a nationally televised rap battle competition known as Freestyle Friday on BET's 106 and Park. Remaining undefeated for 7 consecutive weeks, Jin was inducted into the Hall of Fame and in grand fashion, announced that he had signed with Hip-hop powerhouse, Ruff Ryders, home to mega-stars such as DMX and Eve.
The roller coaster ride begins here.
From Rolling Stone Magazine to MTV's Artists to Watch, 20 year old Jin was touted as the next big thing to hit the music industry by storm. A young Asian-American battles his way to signing a high-profile record deal. The story was unique and one that the Hip-hop community had not yet seen.
With a steadily growing fan base, Jin was able to do major touring across the country as well as overseas before any commercial release. With his profile at an all time high, Jin was casted as Jimmy the mechanic alongside Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson in 2 Fast 2 Furious. The experience on set definitely left quite an impression on Jin but music was still his primary focus at the time.
In 2006, Jin had parted ways with Ruff Ryders with both parties mutually feeling that it would be best to end on good terms. His debut album The Rest Is History released in 2004 went on to sell 250,000 copies worldwide.
After releasing a few independent projects and staying on the road doing shows, 2008 brought about an interesting turn of events. Jin was presented with the opportunity to go to Hong Kong and release an all Cantonese Hip-hop album. What was expected to be a short stay to do promotions for the project ended up being a 4 year stint. In that time, he released a few more albums but more importantly, Hong Kong allowed Jin to blossom and realize his passion for acting. Gallants, which won Film Of The Year at the Hong Kong Film Awards was his first time on a film set since almost 6 years ago for 2 Fast 2 Furious. In it, he played a young and cocky martial artists who had more skills running his mouth than running his father's business. As well, Jin was casted as Unicorn Chan, childhood friend of Bruce Lee in the biopic Bruce Lee, My Brother which details the younger years of the legendary actor and martial artist.
The opportunities were not only on the big screen as Jin was also casted prominently in 3 Hong Kong produced 30 episode TV series, as well as given hosting duties on different variety shows. This lead him to winning Most Improved Actor at the annual award show.
In 2012, Jin started devoting more time to the stateside from both a personal and career perspective. A husband and a father now, his passion for music and performing has never been more intense, but with a new sense of focus. He was enthusiastic to be casted for the role Chan in The Rza's The Man With The Iron Fists as he saw it as another chance to further hone his craft. Next up for Jin is Andrew Lau's crime drama Revenge Of The Green Dragons, where he plays a detective who's trying to make his neighborhood a better place but finds that he's not quite accepted by the good or the bad guys.
