Saigon – “Paint the World Black” review

Brooklyn, New York emcee Saigon finally releasing his 6th studio LP entirely produced by Buckwild under It Goes Up Entertainment distributed by Strange Music & Virgin Music. Breaking out in the early 2000s off his debut mixtape Da Yardfather, it wouldn’t be until 2011 when he would make his full-length debut by dropping The Greatest Story Never Told under Suburban Noize Records. The album would spawn a sequel to fulfill his contract with the Spade the following year & then a final installment on his own imprint Squid Ink Squad Records in 2014. He returned from a 6 year hiatus in 2020 by signing to It Goes Up/Strange & dropping the STREETRUNNER-produced EP 777: The Resurrection & fulfilling that deal on Pain, Peace & Prosperity the next spring. Following a quick trip back to The Jordan Era under Payday Records last spring, Da Yardfather’s linking up with Buckwild to Paint the World Black under It Goes Up Entertainment alongside Strange Music & Virgin Music.

“Yardfather Talk” after the “Over the Break” intro opens up with some horns & a guitar talking about his music being too analytic for critics while “Write Back (Hear Me Now)” after the “Dear God” skit working in some sampling to acting the exact same things he did last time. “Well Wishes” fuses gospel & boom bap talking about wanting nothing but the best for those who turned on him leading into the “Meet Raymond Riches (Fame & Riches)” skit.

We get a soul sample chopped up on “Whose 4 da Young?” providing words of wisdom to the youth & Saigon doing this music shit for them prior to the passionate “My Child” pleading God for him to let his kid grow up in the world due to the state it’s been at these past 8 months. “No Witness” featuring Benny the Butcher hooks up a dope flute sample throughout talking about being O.G.s on the lowkey while “2000Now (Crowd Go Wild) starting the 2nd half by showing us how he likes hip hop to sound.

“Toxic Love Story” blends pop rap & R&B together for a look at a relationship where he & his girl are constantly arguing with each other over & over again but after the “187.4 FM DJ Titty Toucher” intermission, “Bare Necessities” talks about his altruism contrasting the greed that these so called “ballin’” artists are so overcome by & “Dying Never Goes Outta Style” tells the story of a child running wild.

After the “Let’s Talk About Love” skit, “Any Love” winds down the last few minutes of Paint the World Black observing a whole lotta jealousy these days asking if there’s any love left in the hearts of the population & the closer is a sequel to “Yardfather Talk” talking about opportunity knocking at his door. Only for it to be Raymond Riches, who introduced himself during a skit midway through.

The Jordan Era was a big improvement over Pain, Peace & Prosperity as a love letter to the mid 80s/late 90s except Paint the World Black raises the stakes exactly how I thought he would because it moves 777: The Resurrection behind itself for the right of becoming Saigon’s best project of the 3 he has put out since signing to the It Goes Up Entertainment subsidiary of Strange Music. From the lyricism to the production, he & Buckwild are merely doing what they felt was normal to them & pulling it off excellently.

Score: 4.5/5

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Saigon – “The Jordan Era” review

This is the 5th full-length LP from Brooklyn emcee Saigon. Breaking out in the early 2000s off his debut mixtape Da Yardfather, it wouldn’t be until 2011 when he would make his full-length debut by dropping The Greatest Story Never Told under Suburban Noize Records. The album would spawn a sequel to fulfill his contract with the Spade the following year & then a final installment on his own imprint Squid Ink Squad Records in 2014. He returned from a 6 year hiatus in 2020 by signing to Strange Music’s new subsidiary It Goes Up Entertainment & dropping the STREETRUNNER-produced EP 777: The Resurrection & fulfilling that deal on Pain, Peace & Prosperity the next spring. However, he’s linking up with Swedish producer Fredro for produce The Jordan Era after signing a new contract with Payday Records.

After the intro, the first song “G Miller” instrumentally kinda has this old school hip hop flavor to it talking about dressing like a tiger & biting like a killer whereas “Lyrical Genius” featuring Grandmaster Caz works in this danceable groove so both MCs can boast their prowesses together. “Think Twice” featuring Grand Puba has this prominent organ sample throughout only giving the listener advice 1 times, but then “1 Foot in the Door” featuring Big Daddy Kane points out that there’s something about the name Big whether it be the Kane himself or even Biggie Smalls & Big Pun.

“The Mobbery” picks up from there by rawly admitting that he wants to stick up the mob while the rugged “3 Digits” featuring Rock brings the 2 together explaining that this life all about the drugs, money, weed, women & standing out from the rest. After the interlude, Kool G Rap joins Saigon on “Make Money” menacingly discussing stacking up their chips just before “Home of the Wild” featuring Al Skratch finds the pair dustily talking about the wildest coming from New York.

One of my top 5 producers of all-time Pete Rock hops in the booth for “Get Loose” getting on some funky boom bap shit to show their recklessness, but then “Stop Poppin’ Shit!” featuring Craig G jumping over pianos mixed with kicks & snares calling to cease gun violence. “We Were Stars” menacingly talks about how things were back then while “Dangerous” featuring Sadat X returns to the boom bap bringing it hardcore lyrically.

“Tournament” orchestrally breaks down a tournament of torment that you can enter in for only 64¢ while the album’s proper closer “The Era” shows everyone what the real meaning of fortified is over kicks & snares. The bonus track “Sveriges Regenter (Sweden All-Stars)” featuring ADL, Ayo, Petter & Timbuktu truly wraps things up by thunderously showcasing amongst the nicest MCs that the Swedish hip hop scene has to offer.

Pain, Peace & Prosperity had it’s highlights although I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did 777: The Resurrection, but The Jordan Era has revealed itself to be Saigon’s best full-length in about a decade & almost matching the bar that 777 as amongst the 2 strongest efforts of his in this current decade. We’re taken on a journey through the culture from 84-98 seen through eyes of a young Saigon, complimented by guest appearances from the pioneers & production from Fredro paying homage to hip hop’s roots.

Score: 4/5

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Saigon – “Pain, Peace & Prosperity” review

Saigon is a 43 year old MC from Brooklyn, New York who broke out in the early 2000s off his debut mixtape Da Yardfather. However, it wouldn’t be until 2011 when he would make his full-length debut by dropping The Greatest Story Never Told under Suburban Noize Records. The album would spawn a sequel to fulfill his contract with the Spade the following year & then a final installment on his own imprint Squid Ink Squad Records in 2014. He returned from a 6 year hiatus last summer by signing to Strange Music’s new subsidiary It Goes Up Entertainment & dropping the STREETRUNNER-produced EP 777: The Resurrection almost right after but here we are 7 months later with Saigon’s 4th full-length album.

After the DJ Kayslay intro, the first song “Head Blown (Vitabudz Theme)” talks about vibing until his head is gone over an instrumental that hawks back to 80s electro while the track “2 for $5” makes multiple comparisons to the titular deal over a bountiful beat. The song “My Gun” talks about being strapped at all times over a boom bap instrumental with some sirens while the track “Blessings” pays tribute to those murdered by the system from Mike Brown to Sandra Bland over a bereft beat.

The song “People Next Door” talks about the person living next to him getting laid down the night before over a cinematic instrumental while the following track is a pointless remix to “Mechanical Animals” off of The Greatest Story Never Told 3: The Troubled Times of Brian Carenard. “The D” with Jay Varcity is a gross, lovey dovey disco tune while the song “Warm Honey” is almost as painful to listen to except the production on this one is more silkier.

The track “U Do Understand That, Right?” With Axel Leon finds the 2 talking about partying all night over a jazz/trap infused beat while the song “We Don’t Need You” talks about cutting off punks in his life over a Satanic instrumental. The track “Same Ol’ Me” talks about how he hasn’t changed after all these years over an inspiriting beat while the song “U Don’t Know Me” is a catchy bop calling out those who think they know everything about him.

The track “Buss It Down” with Bam Vito is a terribly written strip club anthem backed by generic instrumental while “The Streets” talks about how it ain’t no joke in the hood over an organ-laced beat. The track “It Goes Up” with Rough finds the 2 talking about firing at their squad if they take food out their mouths over a boom bap instrumental with some choir vocals while the song “Deeper” with O.T. the Real sees the duo talking about how deep they are over an exultant beat. After the “Saigon Speaks” skit, “The Co-Op Cipher” teams up with Cassidy to get on the battle tip over a sullen instrumental. He also takes the time to announce 2 more albums coming later this year, one produced entirely by Buckwild & the other with Jahlil Beats.

Even though I prefer 777: The Resurrection, I still think this is a solid album. There are joints on here that felt out of place like the “Mechanical Animals” remix & that cringey disco joint, but Saigon can still rip up mics like it was nothing & the production is pretty tight for a good deal of it.

Score: 3.5/5