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MC Jin returns to his roots of battle rapping for the first time in 17 years

He surprised the crowd at King of the Dot by battling Illmac

LiFTED | Marcus Aurelius | 28 Feb 2023


When most people first saw MC Jin, he was on BET’s 106 & Park winning the Freestyle Friday battles seven weeks in a row. His battle roots got him noticed and soon he was the first Asian American solo artist signed to a major record label in the US. Soon, Jin was doing songs like ‘Learn Chinese’ with Wyclef and was part of the Ruff Ryders crew with DMX, Eve, Swizz Beatz, and others.

This past weekend, Jin went to Canada to participate in King of the Dot’s Stay Forever tribute to Pat Stay, a legendary battle rapper whose life was cut too short last year. At the event, Jin was a surprise guest and took on Illmac in front of a hyped-up crowd. This was a battle that was 10 years in the making and never happened.

In an Instagram post afterward, Jin said, “Thank you to all my battle rap peers and family who continue to push this thing we love and cherish forward while preserving the essence of it. Thank you to each person that approached me with the gleam in their eyes, expressing what my contribution to battle rap and presence in their youth means to them.”

In another post, Jin was feeling nostalgic. Over the ‘Dear Summer’ beat, he said that he was happy to join the crew for a special event, but also that this was most likely going to be his curtain call.

Check out Jin and Illmac coming out to battle at King of the Dot’s Stay Forever event below.