You want to say I'm Chinese/ son, here's a reminder/ check your Timberlands/ they probably say "Made in China"

“I’m no Eminem/ but I’m not wack either/
The only reason you compare me to him/
Is because I’m not black either.”
These lyrics from the song “I Don’t Know” are a clear indication of Jin’s awareness towards his Asian identity and its function in the hip-hop world. As Oliver Wang stated, “Jin was intimately aware of how race played into perceptions of him…both [he and Eminem] played up their racial difference as a way to disarm potential critics” (56).
In his song “Learn Chinese,” Jin acknowledges the issue again with his terse and introductory exclamation “I’m Chinese…and what?” According to Wang, this is both a challenge and an acknowledgement of his Asian identity, his way of “calling-out” the critics before they do it to him. The lyrics also point to a desire from Jin to establish his own place in the rap world as an MC not modeled not on others. Jin does not want to be aligned with Eminem, the other non-black rapper, but rather prefers being “China man.” Finally, he challenges Chinese stereotypes in his song hoping to create a Jin devoid of such images as a delivery boy or Bruce Lee and instead build one on the ideas he provides like, “And your girl, she love the Jin motion, rub it on her body like body shop lotion.” While he confronts the effeminate Asian male stereotype often lamented by the Asian American community, the alternative he offers is not necessarily any better. Is a nerdy, feminine Asian man any better than a hypermasculine misogynistic Asian male? In my opinion, no. It’s simply trading one bad fortune cookie for an old piece of watermelon – in other words, he switched stereotypes: “Jin failed to create an alternative to the problematic construction of black masculinity; he was merely changing the face of it” (Wang 56).
An interesting part of Jin’s “Learn Chinese” is the typical Orientalist riff he utilizes, a rhythm often associated with Asians and what was examined earlier in the year in Flower Drum Song. His intentions are unclear on whether incorporation of the stereotypical sound was meant to be satirical, but it would logically follow from Jin’s attentive lyrics and his racial awareness that he employed this background against his words for a reason. Perhaps this was his juxtaposition of traditional (or what has been traditionalized for Asian American) versus new, American’s vision of the East living in the West as oppose to Jin’s vision of the East/West embodiment.
“Chinese Beats (Skit)” offers an insight into Jin’s struggle to effectively and comfortably fuse his race and his music. His rejection of the “Chinese Beats” at the end of the track and his vocal frustration speak to the obstacles he faces: the always prevalent suggestion of using Orientalist riffs and the expectation for him to like Orientalist riffs because he is Asian. While I commend Jin for his smart rhymes, I cannot but agree with Wang on his statement concerning Jin’s face over black masculinity. His “black” masculinity does not hide the fact that women are moaning his name while embracing his “Jin motion.” Should we celebrate? The new Asian American male paradigm is a Chinatown gun-totting, sex machine. But in order to be fair, Jin’s lyrics should then be held to the standards of his peers, which, if anything at the time, were more than willing to encourage this machismo behavior. Should the responsibility fall on Jin, as an Asian American male, to uphold different virtues? Or does this suggestion just circle back to the model minority?