Jin The Emcee Goes To Retail With Third Album I Promise In Stores October 23 - Phase One / EMI Dist.

Jin The Emcee Goes To Retail With Third Album I Promise In Stores October 23 - Phase One / EMI Dist.

New York, NY — As one of the tried and true battle lyricists of our day, Jin a.k.a. The Emcee is a rare breed of artists who continually puts his art before the industry. From his first introduction to the world on BET’s 106 & Park to his recording contract with Ruff Ryders, Jin had his share of mainstream exposure. Now fully independent, the young MC is able to dedicate his energy to delivering poignant political messages and thoughtful songs that the mainstream might not always accept. Phase One Communications recently teamed with Jin to release his third album, I Promise, to retail stores everywhere on October 23, 2007.

Initially released on the net through his own MySpace page and CDBaby.com, I Promise is a personal collection of songs that Jin was able release after his contract with Ruff Ryders was dissolved. In the past two years, Jin has focused much of his lyrical content to speaking on the world’s issues. He has traveled overseas extensively, and is currently in Shanghai once again working on new projects.

Frank Babar, CEO of Phase One Communications, expresses heartfelt excitement about the project. “Jin is a phenomenal artist,” says Frank. “He offers fans a side of Hip Hop music that is lacking in the market today. His track record has been consistent, and we are proud to be able to give his fans the option to find this album at retail stores.”

I Promise Tracklist:

1. Name Calling
2. Yeah
3. Determination
4. Doin’ What I Do f/ Dina Rae
5. Myspace Collabo (skit)
6. I Download
7. 36-24-36
8. Perfect Strangers f/ Bryan Ellis
9. Clap Your Hands
10. Can’t Wait f/ YungMAC
11. Crafty Awards (skit)
12. Award Show
13. Chinese Food
14. I Promise
15. Goodbye

ABOUT JIN

One of the more unique rappers to emerge during the early 2000s, Jin initially made waves because of his Chinese ethnicity, but it was his free styling ability that eventually earned him street-celebrity status and a record deal with Ruff Ryders. Born Jin Au-Yeung in Miami, FL, the rapper grew up far from the streets of NYC, yet nonetheless reveled in East Coast rap. On October 23, 2007, Jin will release his third solo album, I Promise, to retail stores nationwide in conjunction with Phase One Communications and EMI Distribution.

As an aspiring teenage MC, his initial influences were early to mid-’90s New York rappers like Jay-Z, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and Mobb Deep. It was no surprise, then, when he jumped at the opportunity to relocate from Florida to Manhattan when his family decided to move to Chinatown. He immediately engaged himself in the city’s hip-hop scene and battled wherever and whenever opportunities presented themselves.

With time he made his way to BET’s 106 & Park, where he participated in one of the popular show’s Freestyle Friday’s competitions and won. His performance on 106 & Park garnered him much acclaim, and he was soon offered a deal to sign with Ruff Ryders, a New York-based label that had established such premier artists as DMX, Eve, and LOX. After signing, he played a minor role in the film 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and saw his first single, “Learning Chinese,” become quite an underground success at the turn of the year.

In fact, around this time — 2003/early 2004 — Jin got quite a bit of media attention, including a flattering profile in The New York Times (”Slim Shady, Watch It: Asian Rapper’s Got It”), and he did so without the benefit of an album on the market. Ruff Ryders/Virgin had originally scheduled his album for October 2003, but pushed it back indefinitely. In the meantime, Jin waited patiently in the wings, his moment in the sun quickly fading away as Ruff Ryders (who were undergoing troubles of their own) took their time, to the dismay of fans.

On May 18, 2005, Jin revealed that he would be putting his rap career on hold in order to explore other options. To make this clear, he recorded a song titled “I Quit.” The announcement was widely misunderstood to have marked the end of Jin’s rap career. However, he later re-emerged under a different alias, The Emcee, and freestyled over such songs as Jay-Z’s “Dear Summer.” He released a single called “Top 5 (Dead or Alive)” where Jin displays his lyrical talent in explaining the history of hip-hop’s greatest artists. The legendary DJ Kool Herc, who is credited as the founder of hip-hop, appears in Jin’s music video.

After signing with an independent label, CraftyPlugz/Draft Records, Jin released his second album, The Emcee’s Properganda on October 25, 2005. Though it failed to reach the Billboard 200 charts, the album sold 7,000 copies in its first week, although it had better reviews than his debut album The Rest Is History.

The rapper was featured in the NBA Ballers: Phenom video game, where players are given the chance to battle him in a freestyle contest. Jin had returned to battle rapping, being featured on a few Smack DVD battles. Some of his most notable battles since his return were against Shellz, Verse, Serius Jones, Professor Green and Iron Solomon. He has also performed stand-up comedy.

Jin released two albums in 2006. The first one, 100 Grand Jin is a mixtape/album that was released on August 29, 2006. The single released off the album was “FYI”, for which the rapper shot and released a music video. The second album released in 2006 was Jin’s third LP, I Promise. Jin initially released it on November 1, 2006 through his MySpace page. It later sold on CDBaby.com. The first single for the album was titled “36-24-36 ( Apple Bottom Jeans )”, a song in which Jin gives praise to Asian girls.

During the end of 2006, Jin began work on another album called ABC, which was recorded almost in entirely in Cantonese. Jin officially launched his “ABC Jin” website in January 2007 and premiered the video for “ABC” on MTV Chi that same month. The album was produced entirely by the Far*East Movement, and features guest appearances from Hong Kong actor Daniel Wu and Ken Oak Band.

Recently, on Jin’s MySpace, Jin mentioned that he is working on another English album. Jin premiered a song called “Open Letter to Obama” on April 24, 2007, which made him become 1st on Barack Obama’s Top 8 list on MySpace. He also made a tribute song to the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre called “Rain, Rain Go Away.”

This summer, Jin teamed with Phase One Communications to formally release his I Promise LP. The album will go to retail stores nationwide on October 23, 2007.