Before you watch this video, I’d love to invite you into the mindset behind the song itself.

I can’t say I’ve shot many music videos in my lifetime but this experience will surely be one of the most memorable ones.

Mark your calendars. August 28th, 2012. #CrazyLoveRidiculousFaith

This lovely drawing is courtesy of @fefanator_ Thanks sis!

Final stretch! Crazy Love Ridiculous Faith is officially in the mixing and mastering phase.

I am extremely excited to share this music with you all. It is a unique and dear project to me for several reasons..

Technically, the last English album I released was 6 years ago.

What a journey it’s been in this span of time. I’ve experienced God’s favor and blessings like never before while working in Hong Kong the past 4 years. I’ve married an amazing woman in my wife Carol. We recently welcomed our precious Chance into the family. What’s most encouraging and humbling of all is that the Lord continues to shower me with unwavering  patience, grace and love.

My only desire when you listen to this album is that my love for God and desire to grow in my faith is evident in every lyric and melody heard.

I pray that by God’s grace, you will experience the same Crazy Love Ridiculous Faith as I have.

You can download the album for free exclusively at http://rapzilla.com on August 28th. In the meantime, check out the artwork and track list.

Most of my attention and focus has been on making sure this guy is fed, changed and all around a happy camper.

Seems like just yesterday I watched this tiny person emerge from his mommy’s tummy. 

Between daddy duties, attending an amazingly fruitful discipleship conference (#Legacy2012) and working on a new album (#CrazyLove&RidiculousFaith #August29th#FreeDownload) it’s been an eventful few months to say the least.

The Lord’s love and grace continues to pour on me and my family. I sat in church this past Sunday with my mom to the left of me and my dad to the right of me.. for the first time ever. #God’sAtWork

Oh and did you know I have started to build a personal mailing list? If you’re interested in joining, just send an email to nofanzone@gmail.com with “JIN MAILING LIST” in the subject line. I’ll be sending weekly emails out to keep everyone in the loop on all the latest and greatest that’s happening.

God bless,

Jin

Yes, I’m back in the 852, but only for a quick 4 day stint. In fact, by the time you’re reading this I will most likely be in New York and reunited with The Wife and Baby Chance. He turns one month on July 1st btw! Exciting times.

Back then when I would have to be away from The Wife, 4 days would feel like 4 months. Now with Chance added to the equation, 4 days might as well be 4 years! Thus, I’m extremely looking forward to the 15 hr flight back home mainly because that means I will only be 15 hours away from seeing mommy and baby in the flesh.

In the meantime, I do believe we have some catching up to do…

Let’s start with this masterpiece I like to call #JesusIsLove

I don’t recall exactly what inspired me to draw this in my notebook, but I can say that I’m a big fan of hugging and what would be more fulfilling and full of love than a nice big hug from Jesus.

The day before I left for HK, I had a great lunch with a young pastor by the name of @ChrisDurso who serves at @ChristTabernacle in Queens, NY. He oversees the youth ministry and has an undeniable passion to see this generation encounter God in great ways. A few weeks ago he played a big role in the success of http://MISFiTtheconference.com. I was only able to make it for the closing of one of the evenings but it was absolutely clear that God is stirring up something in the hearts of the young people in the Big Apple.

If you’re ever in this neck of the woods looking for an awesome time of worship and receiving the Word, definitely  check out http://www.christtabernacle.org/

If you read my entry about what an amazing experience this past Easter Sunday was you’ll know that I couldn’t leave HK without paying a visit to  TheVineHK.

Pastor @JohnSnelgrove gave an eye opening and extremely insightful sermon on the Parable of the Sower and the Seed.  Mark 4:1-20

How’s your heart?

Soften my heart. Deepen my faith. Focus my attention. Produce your fruit. Amen. 

See you on the US side.

This was roughly 6-7 years ago.

I was battling this guy, Serius Jones.

Depending on who you ask, you’d get one of two answers as to who was the victor. Some say this was the battle that “ended my career”. A handful (keyword: handful) of individuals passionately cling on to the theory that I only faced defeat due to how “biased the crowd was” .

Of course, freestyle battling like any other art form is very subjective.

Yes, you can take into consideration things such as performance, delivery, creativity and even get as technical as counting who had more punchlines landed (or even more technical: rebuttals).

However, it sometimes simply boils down to gut feeling. Concise analysis aside, you know deep down in your heart which MC did their thing and which one got caught slippin’.

With that said, I lost to Serius Jones fair and square. Simple as that.

While I was rambling off random lines ineffectively, Serius breezed to victory utilizing his signature nonchalant approach. What he lacked in complexity, he surely made up for with wittiness. After all, “there’s a billion people in China and I couldn’t even go platinum there”.

Then there’s this guy.

Iron Solomon.

I battled him not too long after the above match. Unlike Serius, his demeanor wasn’t laid back at all. Pure ferociousness. Creative angles. All the elements that secured him a well deserved victory.

Reality check face.

At this point, you may be asking yourself  “Why is Jin blogging about himself getting annihilated in battles?” 

No, I’m not seeking sympathy nor is this a severe case of self loathing.

The reality is, in my 10 plus years of participating in the culture of freestyle battle rap, while all the accolades and recognition fed into an ever growing ego, it was the most agonizing and humiliating experiences of defeat that forced me to really search deep within myself for true signs of resiliency.

Me and freestyle battling have a fascinating relationship. The same platform that propelled me into the stratosphere and helped me launch a career, simultaneously managed to send me back into the depths of obscurity.

Presently, freestyle battle culture has evolved in many ways, with the most prominent factor being the online presence. From the various leagues to the dynamics of the battle itself, it is a whole new ball game. I must say, as far removed away from the scene as I may be, there is still an affinity that I have for the art form even if solely from a spectator point of view.

Which is why I saw the magnitude of what Dizaster vs. Canibus really represented for the culture as a whole. Thus, I did not hesitate to whip out the plastic and fork out the 30$ for the pay per view stream.

72 hours later, the global Hiphop community is still collectively scratching it’s head, some in disbelief as to exactly how it all went down, myself included.

There’s nothing that I can say that hasn’t been said already so I won’t delve too much into the battle itself.

Although I am not too familiar with his work of recent years, Canibus’ influence on myself as an MC is undeniable. If you were a young, aspiring, hungry battle cat in the late 90′s, Canibus represented the level of lyrical excellence one achieved to reach.

The man has quotable lines for days, but without a doubt one of my all time favorites is: “Every word I utter for Hiphop lovers, will reflect forever like two mirrors facing each other” 

Also, his verse from Beast From The East > most artists entire catalogue.

As for Dizaster, his performance was high caliber and no less than what’s expected of him at this point. Before his match with Canibus, Dizaster was undeniably at the forefront of freestyle battle rapping already. Now he is the living embodiment of it.

About 2 years ago, I was scheduled to battle Dizaster. He called me out. I accepted. In the end, it didn’t happen due to behind the scenes issues.

I read a tweet following the Canibus vs Dizaster debacle along the lines of “Somewhere Jin is thanking God that he didn’t battle Dizaster.”

To a certain extent, I agree.

Not so much for fear of humiliation or suffering a reputation damaging loss. More so, thankful that by God’s divine orchestration I didn’t find myself partaking in a battle that my heart and soul was not poured into.

If unaware, our egos can easily lead us into taking actions that may not reflect our true instincts.

That right there is one of the main reasons I ultimately withdrew from what was supposed to be a match with Dizaster. Furthermore, that is also the main reason I don’t foresee myself stepping back into the ring at any point. My heart is just not driven in such a way anymore, so to do so would be unfair to myself, my opponent and ultimately the fans of the sport.

I wake up everyday and mainly pray for more surrender and obedience.

Needless for me to say, the nature of battle rapping and what’s acceptable content wise is not exactly aligned with the Spirit that lives within a person when that person truly receives the Lord into their life.

That is not to say that all battle rappers are evil individuals. That’s not for me to say at least. John 8:7

Even with my new single Brand New Me, it’s quite evident my mindset is in a different space. I’ve read some of the comments online.. “This isn’t the hungry battle MC Jin from back in the days.”  Exactly.

*For those of you who have not seen any of the videos mentioned above, I just want to forewarn there is explicit language and vulgar themes. 

The loss to Serius Jones may or may not have ended my career but it definitely acted as a catalyst for an awakening that would soon follow.

For the longest time, I was defined by the approval and praise that I acquired from building a reputation within the battling community. The moment all of that got stripped away, I was left with nothing but questioning of my own self worth and validity.

I realize as I make the pivotal decision to step away from this element, it is only natural for the world to say ,”The only thing Jin ever had was freestyle battling. Without that he’s nothing.”  

By God’s grace the brand new me can accept that with absolute peace.

A word to The Wife.. You are amazing.

If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that I’ve been eager to return to NY for the past few months.

After living in Hong Kong for 4 years, it felt like my experience there was nearing it’s end and it was time to transition into the next chapter of whatever God has in store for me. One sure sign that it was a time for a change of environment was the soon to be arrival of me and my wife’s first born. Literally, any day now!

God blows my mind once again and here’s how..

Before I could leave HK, I had to successfully complete the filming of all my scenes in the tv drama that I was taking part in. I was literally scheduled to film all the way to the day right before I take off on May 9th.

I’ve been blogging and tweeting about this “return” to the US but never did I share publicly the actual date.

A few days before my scheduled departure on the 9th, my manager receives an email from one of the show producers of 106 and Park (s/o Pat Charles!) out of the blue. The details of his inquiry are pretty much, “We’ve been planning to do a Freestyle Friday Hall Of Fame Cypher and it would only make sense if Jin were a part of it. We know he is in Hong Kong. Could we try to get him back for taping on the 10th?”   Meanwhile, I was already prepared to return on the 9th, a day before their scheduled taping day. Someone else may think it was just a coincidence. I truly believe God had it all orchestrated in His own accord.

Today for tomorrow. @PublishBrand

Buda produced the beat for the cypher on the left. On the right, the man who started the FF Hall Of Fame era PostaBoy.

Headed to the rooftop in an orderly fashion.

#FakeCamaraderie

Tune into BET’s 106 & Park on Friday June 1st at 6:30pm!

Brothers and sisters, the time has arrived.

I typed a little rant on my twitter after uploading the song today sharing my thoughts regarding this particular track and it’s release. For those who missed it (and for my own future reference) I shall do a recap here as well.

Long story short..

Since a young age I’ve had the dream of becoming a world famous rap artist. My motivation? The same as most young aspiring rap artists: the money, the recognition, the admiration, the respect, the women, the cars, the mansion, etc.

Throughout the years, I also did genuinely want to provide a better life for my loved ones. Even though this was the foundation for my drive and passion, it was most often clouded by the aforementioned and quite self centered elements.

The past 10 years of my career have been eventful to say the least. I’ve experienced a rapid rise to stardom and just as swiftly fell into complete obscurity. I’ve found myself boasting in victory as well as drowning in the agony of utter, humiliating defeat. This is the part where the kind hearted individuals will attempt to console me with sentiments like, “Jin, haters will always hate”.

Thank you. I appreciate your considerate nature. However, I do believe only the truth can set one free. These days, I feel like a bird with the cage door wide open.

I’ve heard some say with age comes wisdom. That may not always be the case, but sometimes it just may be true.

I look back at these past 10 years at what I’ve accomplished.. or didn’t accomplish. Once upon a time, it use to eat me up inside.

Until God set me free.

God doesn’t care how many battles I’ve won or lost. God doesn’t care how many records I’ve sold or didn’t sell. His love and appreciation for me is not contingent upon my performance in this world. He loves me because I am His precious child.

“Jin, when did you have this sudden realization?” 

Firstly, It wasn’t sudden at all. It’s always been a process and it continues to be a process. It was in my darkest hours that I recognized the Lord’s grace, patience and mercy.

As unworthy and undeserving as I was, He still showered me with blessings as only a loving Father would do.

As I can only hope and aspire to do when my son enters this world..

This is what defines the BRAND NEW ME.

My motivation is quite simple now. To glorify God with not only my music, but my life.

Based on the sharing that I come across on youtube comments, tweets and emails, I know that I am not the only one on this journey of self growth and revelation.

I dedicate this song to anyone in search of that brand new you. One that is not perfect but realizes there is a need for transformation and will spend every moment of life striving to reach that goal.

I’ll be the first to admit. In comparison to some of my previous work, this song may not be the most lyrically complex or intricate. It’s not meant to be.

A brand new me wouldn’t be complete without a brand new video. You don’t wanna miss this one. Stay tuned..

He’s the purple haired fella that I play in the upcoming TVB series “Highs and Lows”. After a roughly 3 month shooting schedule, I have finally wrapped up all my filming.

It was definitely a more challenging experience in comparison to “Lives Of Omission” due to more involvement in the storyline and the layers of the character that I play. Nonetheless, it was an amazing learning opportunity as always and a pleasure working with everyone involved!

Kate was a class act as well as the fellas below.

Word on the street is this series is scheduled to air later in the year.. we shall wait and see.

On another note, here’s an update for those of you that have been wondering about my involvement in Triumph In The Skies 2.

Months back, I had the opportunity and honor to be apart of the sales presentation clip that was filmed for the series. At the time, there was no set details on the cast, crew or even when the series would begin filming.

Things have progressed since then and as I’ve been told the series will begin filming later in the summer.

As some of you know, my wife and I are expecting our first child right around the corner. Timing wise, it doesn’t look like I will be able to be a part of the project.

I would have loved to have been involved!

Once again, I thank TVB for the continued support and opportunities!

For those of you who were looking forward to Jin the pilot, it looks like this photo will have to do for now.