The battle is a classic test of emcee skills. No excuses, just emcee versus emcee. In 30 seconds a rapper can begin building a rep or he can flush his ego and name down the toilet. The newest addition to the Ruff Ryders family, 20-year-old Jin tha MC, is no stranger to the battle. He has used the format to, literally and figuratively, battle his way to the top. Jin might not appear to be a logical fit for the Ruff Ryders, whose roster includes DMX and the Lox, both of whom are noted for their harsh reality raps. But Jin caught the ear of Ruff Ryders, along with many other major labels, as he displayed his microphone dexterity in front of a national television audience on BET's weekly emcee battle, Freestyle Fridays at 106 and Park. Though he is still hovering beneath the radar for the most part, Jin was the top emcee on Freestyle Fridays for seven straight weeks and was inducted into the show's hall of fame.

Winning seven weeks in a row on Freestyle Fridays is impressive, but what's gotten most to take notice is that Jin is Asian. Having spent many years on the battle circuit, Jin has faced punch lines about slanted eyes, Chinese food, selling batteries and other Asian stereotypes, but he has learned to stay calm and use it to his advantage. As a result, he can easily take jabs at his culture and flip them on his opponent. With all his battling success, Jin is now set to release an album that shows he's no fluke and can be just as mind-blowing on record as he is in a battle. Prefix Magazine caught up with the newest Ruff Ryder to find out about how he's gone from a kid picking on friends in the grade school cafeteria battles to a member of a Grade-A crew and about what we can expect next. (Via Prefixmag.com)



Jin vs. Verse
Good freestyle videos are hard to come by. Not because the clips aren't out there, but because the sound quality is so bad that you'd be better off listening to AM radio in a submarine. Anyways, this is Jin tha MC workin' Verse. (commentary by thehundreds.com)