China Mac - The hottest thing outta NY for years...
Now, as any fan of hip hop will know, it is not always possible to pick out what it is that stands out about a hot artist. Is it lyricism, content, delivery, their voice, their style, their flow, their image or background? The truth is it's not always tangible. It is some sort of combination of all the above and it's not always possible to specify what exactly it is that's so dope about an artist with a buzz. There is often a lot of bickering over which of the above are actually present or in deed actually matter, but when someone is hot it's usually evident to all onlookers.
And so it is with China Mac, the only rapper of Chinese origin to make an impact since Jin, of Freesyle Friday fame. Speaking of Jin, anyone who pays attention to DJ Vlad's relentless uploading of video interviews with anyone and everyone in the hip-hop world, may recognise China Mac from the video where he recounts how he shot an associate of Jin in a New York nightclub back in 2003.
The shooting landed China Mac with an 11-year prison sentence.
Real name Raymond Yu, he was already no stranger to the prison system. From a young age he was a member of the notorious Ghost Shadows gang, and he'd only just finished a 3-year sentence when he shot Jin's associate. Despite his rough upbringing, and a lot of time in juvenile detention, jail and prison, he comes across as an intelligent and engaging young man with not only a lot of musical talent, but a certain amount of business sense
He was released from prison following the NY nightclub shooting incident in November 2013 and quickly set about using his $7,000 in savings to set up his own recording studio and music label, Red Money Records.
He immediately began showcasing his skills, dropping a few freestyles, putting out a couple of music videos, attending rap battles, hooking up with respected artists Jadakiss and Dave East on singles and began to generate a hell of a buzz. He had a decent following building up and had done a few interviews when he brought out a tune called 'Buck a Cop' exposing police brutality both in the streets and in jail. It seems the NYPD really didn't like that and in January 2016 he was sent back to prison on a parole violation, though the actual reasoning behind the breach of parole seems fairly spurious; allegations of criminal intent based on his lyrics and hanging out with criminals based on his music videos...
He's due for release early this year, and I for one cannot wait. Like I've said, I can't tell you what exactly it is that draws me to this dude, I'm just really feeling his style and his music speaks for itself. There's no doubt he's destined for great things. His street-cred is up there with the best of 'em, his music is good enough to get the attention of the legend Jadakiss and his entrepreneurial spirit is evident. As long as he can keep himself out of prison, I think he's gonna be big...
Check out www.chinamacmusic.com for more and spread the word to help support this dude through his current struggle.
