China Mac

{{Infobox person

| name = China Mac

| birth_name = Raymond Yu

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1981|2|5}}

| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

| occupation = {{hlist|Rapper|songwriter|activist}}

| years_active = 2013–present

}}

Raymond Yu (born February 5, 1981),{{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}}{{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}} known professionally as China Mac, is an American rapper, entertainer, activist, and former gang member.{{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}}{{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}}

Early years

Yu was born and raised in Brooklyn to Chinese immigrants, from Hong Kong.{{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}} He moved into a group home at the age of 8.{{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}} Yu joined the Ghost Shadows gang when he was 12. In his teenage years, he would partake in freestyle rap battles with other kids at the juvenile detention center.

Career

= 2000–2013: Incarceration =

At the age of 18, Mac was sentenced to three years in prison for gang related crimes in 2000.

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.{{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}}{{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}} 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. In prison, he was nicknamed "China Mac" by the Mac Ballers 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.

= 2014–present: Music production and activism =

Mac returned to prison for an accused parole violation and was later released in 2017. Since then, he has uploaded video content, including the food show Mac Eats, onto his YouTube channel, China Mac TV.

Mac released his album MITM in 2017.{{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}}{{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}}

In 2018, Mac was a prominent critic of Lil Pump's single "Butterfly Doors", which used the pejorative ching chong slur.{{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}}

In 2019, he released the dual EP, Yin and Yang.{{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}} That same year, Mac released a Chinese/Spanish record with Tali Goya.

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.{{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}}{{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}} 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. The "They Can't Burn Us All" rallying cry transformed into a national protest for "unity amongst all people against hate crimes and racism."{{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}} The duo later held rallies in both Los Angeles and San Francisco.{{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}} The events had hundreds of attendees. China Mac's activism led him to release the single "They Can't Burn Us All" on October 30, 2020.{{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}}{{Better source needed|date=November 2020}}