"Whereas now, (they say,) while you're rapping in Chinese, I actually know what you're talking about. I feel closer to you now because at least I can grasp the message that you're trying to convey in your raps, even if it's very simple."
There's a curious flipside to that linguistic divide, though.
'I also encounter Cantonese speakers who will tell me 'Jin, I don't really like your Cantonese raps.' They know what I'm saying, but they'll say 'I don't really like it, it doesn't have that intensity, I just don't feel it, whereas I love your English stuff,'' Jin says. 'But then you ask this same person who just gave me that critique, 'Do you know what my English [stuff is] about?' They may not. That's a mindbender."
Jin hasn't given up on rapping in English-in the spring he released a free mixtape of English tracks "Say Something." It was made to keep" the sword sharp," he says, but the lyrics also reflect a fresh sense of purpose and a spiritual awakening that Hong Kong has aroused in him.As Jin reflects on his songwriting and the direction of his career, the conversation drifts inexorably toward his religious growth-"the power of the Holy Spirit," as he puts it.
He attributes this tilt toward Christianity to a religious community in the city that he has joined, including a weekly bible study group with others in the entertainment industry.
"God is so dope and he's done so many awesome things in my life,"he says. "I'm a workhorse now. What is driving me? This newfound responsibility."
read more here.........http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/09/02/chinese-american-rapper-mc-jin-discovers-god-cantonese/
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