Rapper Saigon has officially
inked a deal uniquely structured joint venture with Just Blaze’s new label, FT. Knox Entertainment and Atlantic Recording Corp.
Under the terms of the deal, Saigon will work closely with former Roc-A-Fella
producer Just Blaze, who will handle the majority of production for Saigon’s
future releases.
He is currently working on his debut for the FT. Knox, titled The Greatest
Story Never Told, due out in 2005.
“With Just Blaze doing my beats, I’m unstoppable,” Saigon said.
“Just Blaze is our Dr. Dre out here on the East Coast, has been for the
past five or six years.”
The rapper took the name Saigon from the influential Vietnam war book “Bloods”
by Wallace Terry, which he read while he was serving time in prison.
After being released in 1999, the rapper hit the mixtape circuit and experienced
success with his "Yardfather 1" and "Yardfather 2" releases,
mixtapes that he says moved over 40,000 copies combined.
His next mixtape Warning Shots was a one-off deal with independent label
Sure Shot Records. The release moved almost 50,000 copies independently.
“Now that the business side of my situation is straight, I’m shutting
that s**t down again,” Saigon said. “I hope all of these new cats
used my absence as an opportunity to come up, ‘cause it’s gonna be
real hard now.”
In addition to working with Just Blaze, Saigon has secured the production services
of Alchemist, Scram Jones, Buckwild and Digga, as well as the guidance of respected
Hip-Hop executives Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua and Gee Roberson.
In addition to working on his new album, Saigon also runs a non-profit organization,
Abandoned Home Foundation, which gives money to children whose parents are incarcerated.