EthnicMajority

(Los Angeles Times) Tiger JK's life has been defined by his sense of never quite belonging. He came of age in 1980s and '90s Los Angeles listening to the traditional Korean folk ballads his grandmother played around the apartment, while outside he was drawn in by the city's bustling hip-hop culture. As one of the few Korean American kids at Beverly Hills High, Tiger (who lived on the outskirts of Beverly Hills) never quite felt a kinship with the 90210 lifestyle. And when it came to being taken seriously as an Asian rapper? He wasn't.

"It was rare to see an Asian dude rapping then, so I got a pass — when I was mediocre, they said I was a lot better than they'd thought," said the artist, who now lives in Uijeongbu, South Korea, near Seoul. "But when I got good, they couldn't admit it."

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(Wall Street Journal) The Chinese-American rapper, best known to U.S. hip-hop fans for his freestyle contest wins on BET that led to a deal with the Ruff Ryders record label in 2001, has always specialized in a style of rap that showcases clever wordplay—in English.

Two years after he moved to Hong Kong, the city his parents left for the U.S., Jin’s rhyming skills in Chinese are improving steadily, he has a fresh concept album with a Singaporean hitmaker out this summer and he’s building a burgeoning acting career, with a prominent role in a film about the early life of Bruce Lee due out in November.

The 28-year-old Jin, whose full name is Jin Ah-Yeung, was born in Miami and as a teenager moved to New York, where his rap career blossomed after he won seven straight Freestyle Friday competitions on BET’s “106 & Park,” putting him in the show’s Hall of Fame. He won crowds over not just with quick, clever rhymes but also with blunt, irreverent nods to his race—a novelty his opponents frequently mocked.

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