Saigon is one of Hip-Hop’s most promising talents, but his rise was nearly cut short by a pair of assailants that stabbed the rapper in the head with a broken bottle. Still, the rapper aims to stay on course as The Greatest Story Never Told, his forthcoming Atlantic Records debut album, prepares for release. Click here to get the intimate details of Saigon’s brush with death and how he intends to move forward.
Click To Hear AllHipHop Audio:
Saigon talks about the attempted chain snatching and near-death assault.
Saigon speaks on what New York rappers need to do.
Sai responds to detractors that feel he hates on the Dirty South.
THE INTERVIEW:
AllHipHop.com: Hey, I heard you had a situation the other day.
Saigon: No. I’m okay. A little something… a little mishap…little fa**ot ass trying to act on the kid. You know what I mean? I’m the one. I fight back, though.
AllHipHop.com: What happened?
Saigon: F**ker was coming out of Chelsea Diner, man. You know. I seen the other media screwed up a few facts on it, but I was coming out of Chelsea Diner during the night. I seen him with my little man. My little man is small little n***a, B. You know. Okay, well I seen the kid inside the diner, but I didn’t pay any no attention when I came out, right? And then he came up behind me – like, walked in front of me. I thought maybe you know the whole Saigon s**t. [He] snapped my chain off my neck. So, I snatched it back. When I snatched it back and my man caught him. Bing. My man catches him [with a punch]. The n***a falls. So, he starts stompin’ on this guy. I’m lookin’ like this n***a’s retarded. I’m like I think I really thought he was gonna come at me, but I ain’t seen his man come from the back. His man came from the back with a bottle and s**t. And the s**t stabbed me in the artery and cut a artery in my temple. And you know I lost mad f**kin’ blood all over. Like mad man blood ‘cause I was up there still fightin these n***as.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. Yeah.
Saigon: My man got cut, too. So you know my stupid ass not wantin’ to f**k up my car, my little man was trying to get a cab. We tryin’ to get a cab. I’m like f**k it man. F**k the car. So, I jump in the car. We flyin’ to f****n’ Bellevue Hospital. I don’t know why Page Six [of The New York Post] said something about St. Vincent. I ain’t going to St. Vincent. I went to Bellevue. They patched the kid up. Gave me a little blood transfusion. But I lost so much blood. [A relative interrupts]
Relative: [Sobbing] How are you doing?
Saigon: [To relative] Don’t cry, man. I’m all right. What are ya cryin for? I’m all right, ya know. I’m good.
Relative: You better not wear that [chain].
Saigon: I’m good, ya know. Hey, you know. I got, you know, they just patched me up. You know. [back to AllHipHop.com] And I’m takin’ pictures. I still got both of their phones, B. I got the n***a phone right in my pocket. I got both of their phones. They’re both off right now, but they turned their phones off. While we was fighting, they just dropped their phones. Like a**holes. F**kin’ amateurs.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. That’s crazy.
Saigon: I didn’t know I was this important. You n***as need to follow me around more.
AllHipHop.com: Remember, you had that scuffle last year at the AllHipHop.com Breeding Ground event.
Saigon: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The SOB’s joint.[Laughter]
I got a little piece of the glass in my head now. That’s the worst part of the s**t, man. I still got a little like chips of glass in my head. I got my cousin trying to pick the s**t out with pieces. That s**t hurt more than the f**kin’ stitches, man. Getting’ the scar.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. What did Just Blaze and your crew say?
Saigon: You know everybody was just happy I was all right, man. You know, they was like, you can’t be walkin around like that. My man put it the best. He was like, “Man the economy too bad, man. Economy, they were just hungry in the street.”
AllHipHop.com: What’s your family saying, man? Like I’m –
Saigon: You know man, they heard. They happy I’m alive. They happy I’m okay. Everybody like once they seen it. Once they seen me and they see I can walk and talk. I mean everybody’s happy. But they was worried at first. You know my Mom told me. My mom seen the chain first. I just got the chain for Christmas.
AllHipHop.com: I’m looking at the Ill Community message board and they wanna know why you didn’t file a police report regarding the assault.
Saigon: I ain’t no f**kin’ rat. I ain’t no rat. I don’t get down like that. We don’t play those games. I mean, I grew up in prison. We don’t do that s**t. I got the n***as’ phones, both of them. I’m telling [one of the men’s girlfriends] what happened and she just kept saying, “Wow.” Now, I’m like I’ll give you five G’s if you can tell me who this n***a is.
AllHipHop.com: [Laughter]
Saigon: She says, “Sorry, I can’t do that. Wow, can’t.”
AllHipHop.com: Right. Right.
Saigon: I never had no expensive jewelry like that ever ’cause you know. But the chain, you know, its like 39 karats. Got a lot of diamonds and all that s**t in it. I’m not really even into s**t like that.
AllHipHop.com: Right. Right.
Saigon: More like for a gift from somebody else than myself. You know what I mean?
AllHipHop.com: What’s on the chain?
Saigon: Huh?
AllHipHop.com: Is it like Abandoned Nation [his crew’s name] chain or what?
Saigon: Nah. It’s just a cross with like yellow and white diamonds in it. I’m bloody and I’m still fightin’ these n***as. And you know what’s f**ked up about people. All those mother f**kers was in the diner, looking at us. Nobody came outside try to help us or nothing. They was at the glass looking. All this happened in a matter of, no bulls**t, like four minutes, B
AllHipHop.com: Right. Right. Okay. Any lessons learned or I mean?
Saigon: Yeah man. Survival is the lesson learned. I didn’t realize the economy [is this way]. Like my man said the economy’s f**ked up man. N***as still f**ked up on the street, and, the n***a thought I was fooled, man. I been on the other side of the game, so, I understand. You know what I’m sayin’? Then I think they’re looking for [income] so. I understand the game, so, it ain’t like I’m bitter about it. I just gotta move more cautiously, because, number one, I got a lot to lose, man. I could of died out there and s**t.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah.
Saigon: I mean, he coulda had a knife. He coulda punctured my lung. He coulda had a gun. You know what I mean? I was flippin’ like a motherf**er. So, I gotta move more cautiously especially walking around with a expensive piece of jewelry like that. N***as hungry in the street, man.
AllHipHop.com: You gonna write a rhyme about this?
Saigon: Oh yeah. Of course. I’m gonna address it in a rhyme, man. I ain’t gonna dwell on it and make it like a publicity stunt. I’m going to talk about it. A n***a stabbed [me] in my f**in’ temple.
AllHipHop.com: No doubt.
Saigon: You know. I’m happy. I’m happy that I’m feelin’ good. I’m alive, and, you know, I still got my chain.