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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: Okay. Now you know of course we gotta talk about what’s the holdup on the album. Everybody’s waitin’.
Saigon: You know, it’s not so much a hold up as it’s like, you know. It’s Hip-Hop [A&R] and G. They did it so many times with Jay-Z. They did it with Kanye, so. They know like your set-up gotta be right for you to be successful. I mean if I were to put out my album last year, I wouldn’t sold no records. Know what I mean?
AllHipHop.com: Right.
Saigon: Entourage. That was before Entourage and all that. Entourage has helped me dramatically. You know what I mean? And, you know, now I got a commercial that runs on MTV. So, now more and more people are getting to know me than last year when I wanted to put my out. I was mad. I’m like, “Yo, put my album out this year.” But it wasn’t time. [They] kept telling me you know be patient, be patient, be patient. My dude be patient. You know? And plus, you know, the album’s 80 percent. We got like over 40, 50 records [finished] already. So, you know, I want the set up to be right. And I think more and more people, even a little s**t like this happen, and, more and more people find out about me. And you know, hopefully, when it comes down for the album to come out, I’ll be more anticipated, than even now. But it ain’t the music, man. It ain’t movin there. The creative aspect, if you’ve got joints. You got strong, strong, strong, strong joints.
AllHipHop.com: Timing is a lot.
You know New York is hurtin’ right now, too. But, you know, like none of us is ready to come out. I’m probably more ready than anybody to come, but, if anyone of us if, were to come out like now, we wouldn’t do nothing right now. You need a good set up nowadays before you come out. If you wanna make any kind of impact. You know?
AllHipHop.com: Overall, what do you think New York needs to do right now?
Saigon: Need to start comin’ with some f**kin’ better records, man. Stop tryin’ to copy motherf**kers, B.
AllHipHop.com: Right. Right.
Saigon: Thing with us is, we copyin’ them now, B. Like we call the fronts, grills. We copyin’ Down South. We copyin’. It’s like when I mention that, everybody’s like, oh, you tryin to diss the south. I ain’t dissn’ the south. If anything, I just sayin’ we need to step out. We look like a**holes, not them. We copyin’ them. Nelly just now makin’ a song. Nelly got a song called “Air Force One” that came out like last year. And I’ve been wearin’ that s**t since I was a kid, man.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. No doubt.
Saigon: I was, we callin’ ‘em Uptown’s. They was doin’ up’s. Know what I mean? It’s like we don’t start no trend. Everybody think everybody wanna man with a red bandana in their pocket. Talkin’ about these sets. A set is a West Coast thing. We never called each other a set. We called it my click, my crew, my posse.
AllHipHop.com: It’s a money thing? People just take the money?
Saigon: Yeah. Exactly. N***as take the money, and, they just don’t care about the artistic value of the music, because, it’s so corporate now. That’s why you see Chevrolet commercials with rap, and, McDonald’s and Pepsi and Coca Cola. Every big major American Corporation uses hip hop to endorse their product. This s**t [Hip-Hop] started in ghettos everywhere. N***gas rapped about the f**ked up conditions we was livin’ in – tryin’ to escape the harsh realities of our situation. It wasn’t about motherf**kin’ party everyday, and, just party your life away. And have fun, and, then go to the club and shake you’re ass and booty clap like it is now. S**t is f**ked up, man. I ain’t even gotta say names. Those n***a know who they are. And all they gotta do is look at the big artists in New York. The ones that’s effective right now. And ask yourself why they effective. Cause, they really, ‘cause, they copyin’.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. Is there a solution to this? I mean, obviously, we can’t control what other people do.
Saigon: Yeah. We can’t control it. I mean, only thing we can do is, man, like artists like myself. I’m like the sacrificial lamb, man. I’m gonna have to come in and be the one to say, “Yeah man, we gotta stop this s**t, and start makin New York records. Start makin dope songs and s**t again. Dope beats. We need to bring [DJ] Premier back. We need to do all that s**t man. We need to get these n***as dust off the MPC’s and come back and bring the slam back.
AllHipHop.com: Looking at the future, I heard you and Tru Life were real, real close. Is that true?
Saigon: Yeah man. It’s like my brother, man. Like my brother right there. Like we’ve been friends for like 12 years. Before the rap s**t. It’s true. Like the first n***a to put me in the studio like yo, son. Know what I mean? I’d die for that brother right there. He got a good album, too, man. I heard his album, man. Dudes gonna be surprised, man.
AllHipHop.com: There has been press on you hatin’ on the South or sayin’ you’re dumbing down Hip-Hop. Things like that. I’m sure you’ve heard about it. Like what are your thoughts on that?
Saigon: Some miscellaneous website took the interview I did like last year. And being that I did a tape with [DJ] Drama, you know. And a lot of people felt some kind of way about that ‘cause you know Drama the hottest DJ down South right now. You know they felt like, “Oh, this guy was trying to get this south. He said the South was slow. People in the South was slow.” And they took my words and they took it out of context. I said the South was always considered slow compared to other [regions]. That’s just history. If you look at the history. The Industrial Revolution started in the North. Slaves was wanting to come North. My mother and my whole families from down South. So why would I say down South people was dumb like they try to say. I said, “No, the South was always considered slow compared to New York. New York was always fast and fast paced. And that’s the truth.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the deal with you and Abandoned Nation? Are you still cool with Gotti? I heard –
Saigon: Yeah, still cool with Gotti, man. Me and Gotti we had our little differences like everybody else, but, you know, that’s still my boy. Know what I mean? He still around man, makin’ things happen. But you know Gotti go through these little emotional [periods], where he just want to disappear and nobody can get in touch with him. Certain times like we need you around. Like he does that at the wrong time sometimes. We have our ups and downs but that’s still that’s my boy. You know I mean? That’s my boy to the grave. I love Gotti to death. Know what I mean?
AllHipHop.com: Back to the album, how much of your so-called conscious side is gonna come out on the album?
Saigon: Oh, 85 percent man. The next paycheck when I do the gangster record that was just to get peoples attention, man. Now that I’m startin’ to get the ear, I’m ahead. I’m gonna wire what I really wanna say. You know what I mean? I thought if I just came at em all the way conscious from the jump, they would of just. I would have just chased them away. Nobody like to be preached to, man.
AllHipHop.com: What about Jay-Z, the new Cam’ron diss record? Any thoughts on that?
Saigon: It’s crazy right there, man. Yeah. I don’t know about that one. I’m dyin’ to see how this plays out right here, man. ‘Cause, I wonder if Jay-Z’s gonna respond, B, ‘cause, I think Jay would be helping Cam by respondin’. I like to see what’s gonna happen, man. A good battle is always good for Hip-Hop, man. Jay should just retire and enjoy my girl, man. If Jay would get out the game like he said he gonna do. The game just keep pullin’ him back in, you know? He’s. It’s like a person who wanna get out the street, but, they want to come back to the block every now and then and s**t. Jay-Z Without “Oh Boy” and all that, who knows where these n***as would be at right now. Cam didn’t credit Jay with that. Without Jigga, there’d be no Roc-A-Fella.