{{Short description|American rapper and activist}} {{Infobox person | name = China Mac | birth_name = Raymond Yu | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|2|5}} | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Rapper|songwriter|activist}} | years_active = 2013–present }}
'''Raymond Yu''' (born February 5, 1982),<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vyas|first=Karishma|date=|title=Ex-prisoner-turned-rapper fights for justice for Asian Americans|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/10/16/china-mac-prisoner-turned-rapper-fights-for-justice-for-asian-americans|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017013418/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/10/16/china-mac-prisoner-turned-rapper-fights-for-justice-for-asian-americans |archive-date=2020-10-17 |access-date=2020-11-01|website=Al Jazeera|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mac|first=China|date=February 5, 2020|title=Blessed to see another year Birthday cakeFolded hands. Gift me by Pre Saving THE ARRIVAL|url=https://twitter.com/chinamacmusic/status/1225056473853677571|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206003859/https://twitter.com/chinamacmusic/status/1225056473853677571 |archive-date=2020-02-06 |access-date=2020-11-01|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref> known professionally as '''China Mac''', is an American rapper, entertainer, activist, and former gang member.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Meet an Ex-Member of One of the Most Violent Chinese-American Gangs in the U.S.|url=https://nextshark.com/china-mac/|last=Editorial Staff|first=Editorial Staff|date=2018-04-15|website=NextShark|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924165451/http://nextshark.com:80/china-mac/ |archive-date=2015-09-24 |access-date=2020-02-18}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=China Mac talks to Plugged Soundz about his Lil Pump Beef, career after prison, and his skincare regimen. {{!}} Plugged Soundz|url=http://www.pluggedsoundz.com/interviews/a-talk-with-mac-china-mac-interview/|last=Leutz|first=Ryan|date=June 10, 2019|website=Plugged Soundz|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626062124/http://www.pluggedsoundz.com/interviews/a-talk-with-mac-china-mac-interview/ |archive-date=2019-06-26 |access-date=2020-02-18}}</ref>
== Early years == Yu was born and raised in Brooklyn to Chinese immigrants, from Hong Kong.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti6HBhOd8Xo&feature=youtu.be|title=China Mac Explains How to Smuggle Sneakers Into Prison|date=June 27, 2019|last=|first=|type=Video|language=en-US|publisher=Sole Collector|series=Full Size Run}}</ref> He moved into a group home at the age of 8.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Exclusive Interview with China Mac|url=https://musicexistence.com/blog/2014/11/17/exclusive-interview-with-china-mac/|last=Vicino|first=Stephen|date=2014-11-17|website=Music Existence|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230155459/http://musicexistence.com:80/blog/2014/11/17/exclusive-interview-with-china-mac/ |archive-date=2014-12-30 |access-date=2020-02-18}}</ref> Yu joined the Ghost Shadows gang when he was 12.<ref name=":0" /> In his teenage years, he would partake in freestyle rap battles with other kids at the juvenile detention center.<ref name=":0" />
== Career ==
=== 2000–2013: Incarceration === At the age of 18, Mac was sentenced to three years in prison for gang related crimes in 2000.<ref name=":0" />
On November 9, 2003, Mac was involved in an altercation with MC Jin at a bar in Chinatown, Manhattan, where he shot Jin's acquaintance, rapper Christopher "LS" Louie, in the back.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=China Mac sits down for a talk with MC Jin 15 years after NYC shooting|url=https://sr-mag.com/2019/06/china-mac-sits-down-for-a-talk-with-mc-jin-15-years-after-nyc-shooting/|last=Druzkowski|first=Piotr|date=2019-06-25|website=SR-MAG.COM|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Jin & China Mac Reconcile 15 Years After China Mac Shot Jin's Friend|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.51841/title.jin-china-mac-reconcile-15-years-after-china-mac-shot-jins-friend|last=Riley|first=Wallace|date=2019-06-22|website=HipHopDX|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623215257/https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.51841/title.jin-china-mac-reconcile-15-years-after-china-mac-shot-jins-friend |archive-date=2019-06-23 |access-date=2020-02-18}}</ref> Mac later went on the run for over a year and was apprehended in Seattle, Washington when he tried to leave the country with a fake passport.<ref name=":0" /> In prison, he was nicknamed "China Mac" by the Makk Balla Family gang. He was released on parole in November 2013 and founded the Red Money Records record label and a pet store with the money he saved up while in prison.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />
=== 2014–present: Music production and activism === Mac returned to prison for an accused parole violation and was later released in 2017.<ref name=":3" /> Since then, he has uploaded video content, including the food show ''Mac Eats'', onto his YouTube channel, China Mac TV.<ref name=":1" />
Mac released his album ''MITM'' in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|title=M.I.T.M, by CHINA MAC|url=https://chinamacmusic.bandcamp.com/album/m-i-t-m|website=CHINA MAC|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=EXCLUSIVE: China Mac on Chinese Mafia, Shooting Jin's Friend, Prison Time (Full Interview)|url=https://www.vladtv.com/article/236596/china-mac-on-chinese-mafia-shooting-jins-friend-prison-time-full|last=Santi|first=Christina|date=November 21, 2017|website=www.vladtv.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171121225145/http://www.vladtv.com/article/236596/china-mac-on-chinese-mafia-shooting-jins-friend-prison-time-full |archive-date=2017-11-21 |access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref>
In 2018, Mac was a prominent critic of Lil Pump's single "Butterfly Doors", which used the pejorative ching chong slur.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=China Mac Puts Lil Pump on Instagram Blast for Mocking Asians in New Video|url=https://nextshark.com/china-mac-lil-pump-beef/|last=Casino|first=Khier|date=2018-12-18|website=NextShark|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218032718/https://nextshark.com/china-mac-lil-pump-beef/ |archive-date=2018-12-18 |access-date=2020-02-18}}</ref>
In 2019, he released the dual EP, ''Yin'' and ''Yang.''<ref>{{Cite web|title=EXCLUSIVE: China Mac: I was in a Maximum Security Prison for 10 Years, I Suppressed a Lot|url=https://www.vladtv.com/article/257443/china-mac-i-was-in-a-maximum-security-prison-for-10-years-i-suppressed-a|last=Todd|first=Jessica|date=August 28, 2019|website=www.vladtv.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829180202/https://www.vladtv.com/article/257443/china-mac-i-was-in-a-maximum-security-prison-for-10-years-i-suppressed-a |archive-date=2019-08-29 |access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref> That same year, Mac released a Chinese/Spanish record with Tali Goya.<ref name=":1" />
In July 2020, amidst the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, an 89-year-old Chinese grandmother was assaulted and set on fire in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kim|first=CeFaan|date=July 24, 2020|title=Exclusive: 89-year-old woman who was attacked, set on fire in Brooklyn speaks out|url=https://abc7ny.com/woman-set-on-fire-elderly-attack-89-year-old-attacked-bensonhurst-crime/6333749/|access-date=2020-10-31|publisher=WABC New York}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=August 31, 2020|title=Rapper China Mac: 'Who Will Stand with Us If We Don't Stand Up for Ourselves?'|url=https://people.com/human-interest/people-voices-china-mac-on-fighting-racism-in-the-asian-community/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901192125/https://people.com/human-interest/people-voices-china-mac-on-fighting-racism-in-the-asian-community/ |archive-date=2020-09-01 |access-date=2020-11-01|website=PEOPLE.com|language=EN}}</ref> Mac and actor Will Lex Ham organized a march in that neighborhood on August 1, 2020 as a response to raise awareness about anti-Asian hate crimes.<ref name=":4" /> The "They Can't Burn Us All" rallying cry transformed into a national protest for "unity amongst all people against hate crimes and racism."<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Chen|first=Maina|date=September 10, 2020|title=#TheyCantBurnUsAll Movement Makes Its Way to Los Angeles and San Francisco|url=https://nextshark.com/theycantburnusall-rally-los-angeles-san-francisco/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200910213801/https://nextshark.com/theycantburnusall-rally-los-angeles-san-francisco/ |archive-date=2020-09-10 |access-date=2020-11-01|website=NextShark|language=en-US}}</ref> The duo later held rallies in both Los Angeles and San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yu|first=Betty|date=September 26, 2020|title='They Can't Burn Us All' Anti-Racism Movement Heads To San Francisco|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/09/26/they-cant-burn-us-all-anti-racism-movement-heads-to-san-francisco/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926154521/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/09/26/they-cant-burn-us-all-anti-racism-movement-heads-to-san-francisco/ |archive-date=2020-09-26 |access-date=2020-11-01|website=sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com|publisher=CBS|language=en-US}}</ref> The events had hundreds of attendees.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> China Mac's activism led him to release the single "They Can't Burn Us All" on October 30, 2020.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bit|first=Lillian|date=October 31, 2020|title=Bad Ass Asians: China Mac releases first single: They Can't Burn Us All|url=https://asamnews.com/2020/10/31/china-mac-asks-america-why-your-hatred-runs-deep-in-america|access-date=2020-10-31|publisher=AsAmNews}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=November 2020}}
== Personal life == His father was a part of the Chinese-American gang, Flying Dragons, that was active in the 1980s.<ref name=":0" />
== See also ==
* Stop Asian Hate—a series of demonstrations, protests, and rallies against violence targeting Asians and Asian Americans in 2021
== References == <references />
== External links ==
*[https://www.instagram.com/chinamac/ China Mac] on Instagram *[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM4eG12I7GqARlhr31uJScw/featured China Mac] on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mac, China}} Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:American male rappers Category:East Coast hip-hop musicians Category:Rappers from Brooklyn Category:Gangsta rappers Category:American rappers of Asian descent Category:21st-century American rappers Category:Former gang members Category:21st-century American male musicians Category:YouTubers from Brooklyn Category:American musicians of Hong Kong descent