Jin was born in Miami, Florida and was raised in Miami by his Chinese immigrant parents who ran their own restaurant. In junior high, he became fascinated with hip-hop music and dreamed of becoming a professional rapper. He was inspired by artists such as Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Jay-Z, Big L and other New York rappers from the early 1990s, an era now referred to as The Golden Age. When first taking up rapping, he struggled with the form of music but with much practice he realized he had talent for freestyle rap. He soon began performing for his classmates, co-workers and whoever would listen. Jin began entering freestyle battles in local hip-hop clubs where he was usually the only Asian around. He was often underestimated due to his ethnicity. Jin's talent won crowds over, and he went on to win many battles. He quickly developed a reputation as Miami's most clever freestyler. But in the hip-hop world, Miami is better known for bass music than clever lyrics. He knew how rap could do for him in the near future. He knew this would be another obstacle to overcome in order to gain acceptance.