Saigon | The Greatest Story Never Told

Suburban Noize (2011)
By CHRIS FARAONE  |  March 3, 2011
4.0 4.0 Stars

 Saigon

When you finally tell the greatest story never told, holy shit, had it better be a banger. To say that formidable Brooklyn beast Saigon had his career riding on this album is an understatement on a par with the name Odd Future — after years of being sold short and shelved by evil imprints, this was do-or-die time on a deadline. To his credit, the Saigon who emerges here is æons more mature than the clever criminal who kicked the New York mixtape game in the dick five years ago, or even the MC who played himself on Entourage. The somewhat reformed loose cannon is now a thoughtful class warrior with switchblade skills — sort of like a blue-collar Jay-Z whom cats can actually relate to. The fact that Greatest Story didn't drop on a major just attests to how perverted the industry is. That said, the delicious and anthemic Just Blaze beats, money cameos, and precise orchestration that spoiled deals afforded render this the last great major-label rap album of all time — even though it's on an indie.

STRANGE NOIZE TOUR WITH SAIGON + KRIZZ KALIKO + JOHNNY RICHTER + MORE | Worcester Palladium, 261 Main St, Worcester | March 11 @ 7 pm | $20 | 508.797.9696 or thepalladium.net

  Topics: CD Reviews , Music, Saigon, Saigon,  More more >
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