Jeff Yang on Jin's "retirement" / reinvention:
"The push to include, and the resistance against inclusion, could also be seen in the rise, fall and rebirth of Asian America's hip-hop hope, Jin Auyeung, who went from beating all comers in rap battles to being signed by Ruff Ryders and releasing a much-anticipated but underwhelming and long-delayed debut album, The Rest Is History. Criticism, both from within and without the Asian community, prompted Jin to announce his retirement in May (on his MySpace site, no less). A few months later, he reemerged sans label and hype. Now calling himself simply The Emcee, he took home 50 grand in the Power Summit's annual rap battle in the Bahamas, and released a thumping indie sophomore album, The Properganda, that made his first one look like, well, history....
Our bottom line: Hip-hop, like everything else, needs to learn the new rules or get schooled -- the scene from here on out only gets more mixed, and "multicultural" is just an appetizer for "international." Just note that the year's hottest hip-hop flavor was female and Sri Lankan, in the person of Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, who blended revolutionary politics and radical beats in her debut album, Arular. There's plenty more to come in 2006."
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