AT FIRST GLANCE, 21-year-old Jin Au-Yeung looks like any other youngster bitten by the hip-hop bug. The baggy street wear and up-to-the-minute trainers. Then there's the trademark crooked pout, cocky attitude and swagger-and-stoop walk.
It's not until you hear him rap, and see the diamond-studded platinum chain with a glittering letter 'R' dangling around his neck that you, realise Jin is not your average street punk.
The 'R' stands for Ruff Ryders, the New York-based record label that is home to a galaxy of hip-hop stars. Last year, the fast-talking upstart became Ruff Ryder's first Asian signing (under the name of Jin Tha MC). That came hot on the heels of music magazine Rolling Stone singling him out as one of 10 artists to look out for in 'the next wave'.
While his debut album, The Rest Is History, doesn't hit stores until next March, in Hong Kong this Friday the man labelled 'the Chinese Eminem' will release his Learn Chinese music video, and a day later will play his first Hong Kong show.
It was a year ago that the buzz around Jin Tha MC first hit Hong Kong. A mass e-mail did the rounds, showing a clip of a short Chinese rapper verbally tearing down his opponents on Black Entertainment Television's (BET) 106 & Park: Top 10 Live freestyle rap contests. The sender was a proud Jin fan who declared: 'Finally, someone representing his people!'
Today, America's rap scene is buzzing about Jin. He won seven consecutive rap battles last year, earning a place in BET's Freestyle Friday Hall of Fame. After winning his final encounter, Jin's Ruff Ryders deal was announced.