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The "first Chinese rapper" Jin has released his first single, "Learn Chinese," and the video is on his site. Now, as part of Gothamist has actually had to learn Chinese (twice), we looked at the lyrics:
I ain't ya 50 Cent, I ain't ya Enimem
I ain't ya Jigga Man, I'm a chinaman
Ginseng in the palm of my hand
...
What's the commotion, you never seen me?
The original chinky eye emcee
"Chinkey eye emcee." This reminds Gothamist of the "let's order some chink food" incident of 1995, where the eternal "You can't say [racial slur that can be used colloquially] if you're not [race of slur] debate" reared it's head. But Jin ain't 50, Eminem, or Jigga Man, but he was shot at few weeks ago in Chinatown, so that solidifies his rapper cred (what the inclusion of Wyclef in the video does for his cred is debatable, though). Gothamist anticipates some crises of conscience for Asian parents in predominantly white suburbs, when their children argue that they need to listen to Jin because he's representing their culture. Reader Ed wasn't sure if this was a step forward or backward for Asians, but wonders if Jin couldn't have a "better looking skanky asian import car model" for the video. Heh. Gothamist loves our readers. Anyway, learning Chinese is not always easier: There are four tones in Mandarin and eight in Cantonese to master.
MTV on Jin.
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So much drama for the ABC....
yep- suzy never forgave me for using the word "chink" humorously, even though i explained that it was a joke. that taught me a big lesson- the only racial slurs that i, as a jew, am allowed to use humorously are heeb, kike, red sea pedestrian, etc.
I thought that there were 7 or 9 tones, depending on how you counted. Though I suppose 8 is a nice compromise number.
Life is so unfair. Making self-deprivating WASP jokes at my own expence just makes me seem more WASPey. Although I did read a funny WASP joke in the Times a couple of weeks ago, which in itself sounds like the beginning of a WASP joke. Stupid Honkey.
I use the word "Cracker" at least once a day.
Cantonese just blows my mind. I stayd at Ningxia University in Yinchuan for a summer once and had trouble hearing (let alone making) the 4 tones of Mandarin. All I remember is 'thank you', 'you're welcome', 'I'm an American', and 'Where is the restroom'.
The food comment reminds me of a band a friend of mine used to listen to in high school.
Jin's lyrics: "we should ride the train for free, we built the railroads."
Nice.
"when their children argue that they need to listen to Jin because he's representing their culture."
Yeah because hiphop is traditional asian culture.
The FungWah Bus(a.k.a. China Town Flyer, Chinese Chicken Run, Chinese Wind) can't be beat... especially if you have mastered Mandarin. I was sitting next to this woman of Chinese origin and she was yapping away on her cell phone... little did she know I could understand every word she was saying. Turns out she is a respectable massage therapist. When asked what the long winded, odd subject matter phone call I had listend in on was about, I was told by the masseuse; "Some rich Tiawanese lesbian wanted to pay me 300 dollars to go uptown and whip her and curse at her." Sweeeet! Made those thousands of hours of Chinese class pay off.
damn taiwan chink lesbians, they are the worst! look out for them!! especially if you call them "taiwan chink lesbians."
aiya! i can't make fun of any ethnicities or minorities because im a straight white guy. does white trash count as an "ethnic group?".
i do make fun of anyone though, i just don't focus on one specific group/race... because that makes it ok...
I've seen Jin win the freestyle battle on BET.
YES, I WATCH BET!!!
Yes definitely catch the archived movies of Jin's BET fresstyle battles. He's actually GOOD. That said, I don't get insulted when I hear people say dago, wop, greaseball, I-talian, or guinea unless it's used in a negative way, as in "typical dumb guinea". Reminds me of a great Simpsons episode (the one where Homer and Bart run a grease recycling business) and Millhouse, when seeing the impending grease explosion in the school auditorium, exclaims "here comes the greaseball!" just as the Italian Chef is walking out of the kitchen with pizzas. Fun!
Alas, the only slurs I can use are gringo, honky, farang, haole and faranji.
I feel kinda weird about having Jin as a cultural spokesman. When a black guy gets on stage, he's not representing all black people. Same goes for a white guy. So how come Jin feels that he has to represent Chinese people?
And why is it that the way Jin expresses his Chinese-ness is by rapping about fried rice and egg rolls? Does anyone else find that disturbing? And what about all these cliches in the video about kung fu? This is some serious bullshit. Ruff Ryders is marketing this guy as an ethnic novelty act.
I gotta say, though, the rapping in Cantonese is pretty tight.
Oh, well. I just feel happy that finally finally there's an Asian in the music game. Whether Jin represents Asian or not depends on what each indivial thinks. Even if he didn't try to represent, there still would be the stereotypes. One thing I've noticed is when Jin talks about "Learn Chinese", he really meant "Learn Cantonese". To native-Cantonese speakers, there seems to be a duh. But to most other people, there's a little misleading. Though if they don't know Chinese, they wouldn't figure out. Anyways, I like the fact that Jin is out there being recognized.
I'm sorry, but Jin's use of Cantonese is less than impressive in his video. He's just working it in for the heck of it, and not in a particularly effective manner. As talented as he may be as a freestyler, he needs to add some substance to his songs. And btw, Jin isn't the first Chinese rapper. He's just the first solo artist in the US market. Believe it or not, there are rappers in China/HK/Taiwan too.
But! It's a start. Come on, having an Asian rapper for all eyes to see is fantastic. Especially since he isn't exactly the buck-toothed Charlie Chan that the rest of America might expect.
Heh, I am a Yang Lao Zhe, or an Asian who is basically white... or a banana. I know how to speak Mandarin, and I understand a bit of Cantonese, but I can't make out the non-english phrases he uses. Anyone care to help me out?
Heh, I am a Yang Lao Zhe, or an Asian who is basically white... or a banana. I know how to speak Mandarin, and I understand a bit of Cantonese, but I can't make out the non-english phrases he uses. Anyone care to help me out?
Jin's ability to freestyle is impressive. Even the english lyrics of his song is some what impressive. The Chinese is hardly impressive. There are Hong Kong rap artists (like Lazymuthafuckas and Gardiner) that sound so much better then Jin ever could. It's all a gimmick, and Jin can't even freaking speak Cantonese properly. He can't be understood because he says it with such a heavy english accent. Took me two tries before I understood his Cantonese.
Hey All Ya'll . I think Jin is really hot , so all of you need to shut up . His lyrics are tite . And for " Steve " if Jin feels the right to stand up on bet and freestyle about Chinese people, and he does that bye rapping about Egg Roles and rice , thats his business . And if black and white people don't feel the need to represent only whites or blacks, then they don't. But everyone is intitled to there own opinon , and this is mines. Overall Jin is great , so are his lyrics .
- for the record, im white and proud yes .
ok, i'm a hybrid and can speak fluent cantonese. (read a bit too.) it's tight that jin is representing asians and all, but i can't understand his cantonese in "Learn Chinese" because he doesn't even say any of the tones right. It's almost understandable. To people who don't speak cantonese, it probably sounds really cool, but if you're gonna use cantonese in your songs and talk about chinese pride, at least pronounce things right. For cantonese speakers, he sounds completely american and you can tell he's trying too hard.
ok i agree wit ya'll... he may rap really good. But his pronunciation is off, he does have a english accent. Otherwise, I think it's tight that he's representin' ASIANS. All the way... but yea' i don't know why the say he's the "first Asian rapper". Coz he ain't, i listen to cantonese, jpop, kpop and hiphop. they all rap juss like Jin does in english and chinese. maybe do ya need to do some more research...
Eh FYI cantonese is real chinese, more than mandarin. Both Cantonese and Mandarin have the same writing, just differnt dialects.
azns r the best anyone who dont like them then fuck off and jin is representing us
A friend of mine gave me this a mixed CD and Jin was on it. I think his flow is pretty tight. I do think he can add some more substance to his lyrics. Asians have been known to be more in tune with science and the universe. I would expect to hear more conscious lyrics. But overall, I like the song. I don't speak cantonese or mandarin so it all sounds good to me. I was not familiar with chinese rappers but know that I know there are more out there, I am going to check into it.
Just to let everyone know..I am a sista..Yes...pure chocolate.
I like Jin and look forward to hearing more from him in the future.
Jin is a real rapper
I'm Cantonese and I moved to the U.S. from Hong Kong when I was 10. Jin's cantonese was fine in that song. Unless there was more to the cantonese he put in besides the 'fuh-ai dee jhou ah' and some other words that he dumped in here and there in the lyrics.
Jin is a a.b.c. his pronouciations might have been a bit off but its understandable. his flows are great! he's representing his azn pridee and the all the a.b.c's .. just appricate it..
Im an abc and speak it fluently, there's nothing wrong with his cantonese, maybe yall speak po tung wah or gwok yue?
I think this is totally GREAT that we have a new culture. Good luck to all the other people who are trying things that people would not consider for them. Asian music is so GREAT!!!
I think this is totally GREAT that we have a new culture. Good luck to all the other people who are trying things that people would not consider for them. Asian music is so GREAT!!!
is he from hk? just wondering since when pplz talk about chinese its ususally mandarin not cantonese
umm yeh when ppl classify him as thh "first chinese rapper," they mean he's the first to be known in the American music industry ..unlike jay, energy or lmf .. yeh jin is pretty tite n i'm really proud to see him on mtv n stuf ..but i agree that he should learn 2 pronounce cantonese before reppin' his "chinese-ness." Yeh this is a step foward for chinese people n whoever thinks otherwise can get fu*ked cos jinz hella tite
Jin rocks ! I saw a site by a British cat called "BEIJING BASS" with some mad phat Chinese flavoured beats on it.
Buff, me checked the wesite and for real the Beijing Bass crew might be droppin' some tuffness judging by the versatility. Who the F+++ are they, dey sh___ is tuff'n'ruff.
diao that Jinny from US, he is a f@ke chino! the REAL chino's are from HOLLAND! AMSTERDAM CHINATOWN ASIANSIDE!
Noticin that Beijing Bass is scoring 9/10 in the Mp unsigned site and it aint about color, people!
Noticin that Beijing Bass is scoring 9/10 in the Mp unsigned site and it aint about color, people!
Its a global community these days and its refreshing to see some real dance music coming outta Beijing. Its been too long.
meng qi and beijing bass are ballistic
Bass in yo face
Its really time that more djs in Beijing and Shanghai started making their own music anyway, jeez anyone can mix and they are.
Suppose the real test is who can come up with their own beats now that everyone and their gran is a dj.
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