The Music Issue, Transnational Identities
Hip Hop: At its core, it’s about the soul of the people. It’s about YOUR people, own people, being real, being loud, being brash and FUCK YOU. “You” being the power, the structure and the way things are and the people who perpetuate it.
It was strange to listen to some kids talk at the end of the MC Jin show, coz I forgot how hip hop really is the fabric of life now-a-days. Coz they aren’t old enough to remember when Public Enemy came out and said, “Fight the Power.” That magazines were doing articles on “The New Black Voice, Hateful?” “Loud, Black, and Angry? Why?” This was pre-LA Riots, pre-OJ Simpson, pre-the rise of “real” black people saying their thang. Like America and the world had forgotten how disenfranchised and pissed off some people feel. Michael Jackson was at the top of the charts, and black power was history.
And there I was thinking at the show, ya, I never got into hip hop, it was never something I personally related to much, until I heard LMF and what they were saying. And then I reconnected to the scene this weekend coz I related to what MC Jin was saying, coz he was saying something about me. Made in China, Learn Chinese. Yeah, Made in China and Now Go Learn Chinese, two themes that came up on the blog this month, and in circumstances that was such bullshit.
“I ain’t ya 50 Cent, I ain’t ya Enimem I ain’t ya Jigga Man, I’m a chinaman, When the pumps come out, ya’ll gon’ speak Chinese. Now everybody put their middle finger in the air, and yell “FUCK YOU.”
I liked to hear it, I liked to hear someone else is saying the same thing and I definitely knew who the people I personally was saying to were, and then being in a crowd of people who responded to it the way I did.
Yeah, Glutter ain’t on her own, I am just part of something bigger, and just coz you aren’t plugged in or just coz you don’t speak Chinese, it doesn’t mean we ain’t all saying it at the same time. I had at least 500 people in a room saying it with me on Saturday in english too. So Fuck you.
Yeah, I’m Chinese and what? Yeah, you know who this is. Let me tell you this
Ya’ll gonna learn Chinese. Ya’ll gonna learn Chinese. Ya’ll gonna learn Chinese. When the pumps come out, ya’ll gon’ speak Chinese. When the pumps go off, ya’ll gon’ speak Chinese
This ain’t Bruce Lee, I watch too much TV. The original chinky eye emcee is gonna make you speak. another language. And amigo I ain’t talking about Spanish
You think it is all good?
You must be crazy. We don’t speak English, we speak Chinese. Every time they harass me, I wanna explode. We should ride the train for free, we built the railroads.
The game will never be the same
I already played the game.
Let’s go home
I am Home, its called Hong Kong. So were you, MC Jin. Well said kiddo.
Forget the break. I got shit to say, and I haven’t even started.
Yan Sham-Shackleton Online 
Hailey Xie has just posted about a new(ish) hiphop group in Beijing. They rap in chinese (mandarin) whats spun out about them is that they have two foreigners in the group.
I havn’t heard any MC JIN. shall look out for him though.
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How Fab, thanks for that. I like the way the two of us discovered the Asian Hip Hop scene at the same time. When I have TIME I really want to explore that whole scene more, say something about the importance of the rise of Asian Hip Hop. Coz you know it’s about the the “You” gets it in the head Asia and Asians especially the women aren’t their PLAYGROUND. We’re just as angry and we know what’s up just as much. We haven’t found our voice yet.
You rock Matt. Just for the record.
Yan
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I don’t mean to be rude, but if everyone’s supposed to say something in Chinese, then why does he rally them to say “Fuck you?”
I just thought he might have had them say something in Chinese.
And trust me, I”m only poking fun. Sorry I couldn’t go to that thing, man. 🙂
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Oh. He did talk Chinese. He rapped this “learn Chinese” thing, which was halarious. It went down so well. It was like, “What the fuck is? Yo Mo Lung Gao Chor ah.” A whole load of them. I will get to a proper review when I finished the article. Which will be sometime in the next two hours…
But you are right. He should have asked us all to say “Diu Lei” in Chinese!! Ha Ha. Hey, you bak gwei, what are you doing telling my brotha to do something!!! Watch it, coz we’re gonna pump ya! Ha Ha.. just kidding. I love you really coz ya’re down.
Yan
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He’s cool wit his chinese. but most of the parts he doesnt speak it well like: Tew Mo and Chewng sow gaw he is lik a jook sing. But overall he’s cool.
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yeah yeah chigga nice…hes like one of us when he chill wit us in new york
now he’s makin every thug in the nyc learnin chinese, much luv to jin do ur thang we hope to see ur album drop in june
chinatown reppin to da fullezt
cpg,olc,bk,qb we got u son we reppin it
now pass da ganja…chinatown style
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I don’t know where else to say it, but MC Jin has been a great inspiration for me in the last few months. I just started out performing some freestyle with a buddy of mine (at ING of all places – too cool), and things have been picking up with great rapport. It’s great to see that there is a crowd here in HK ready for something like this. If we can’t change the system, at least we can give the people choice. Just wanted to say thanks to MC Jin for making me realize that Chinese people can indeed rock the mic.
Kev.
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