Saigon (rapper)
| Saigon | |
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Saigon in 2011
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brian Daniel Carenard |
| Born | July 13, 1977 Spring Valley, New York |
| Genres | East Coast hip hop, gangsta rap |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, Actor |
| Years active | 2000 – present |
| Labels | Squid Ink Squad Records, CPXi (current) Suburban Noize Records, Fort Knocks Entertainment, Amalgam Digital, Bad Boy, Atlantic, Block (former) |
| Associated acts | Just Blaze, Tru-Life, Jay Z, Scram Jones, Bun B, Fatman Scoop, Q-Tip, Trey Songz, Swollen Members, M.O.P., Kool G Rap, K-Slick |
| Website | www |
Brian Carenard, better known by his stage name Saigon, is an American rapper and actor. He is currently signed to Suburban Noize Records and Just Blaze's Fort Knocks Entertainment record label. After years of delay due to former record label interference, his album The Greatest Story Never Told was released on Suburban Noize Records. He is also known for his appearances on the HBO television series Entourage.
Saigon was born in Spring Valley, New York. In the late 1990s, he was sentenced to jail time at Napanoch’s Eastern Correctional Facility, serving a sentence for first-degree assault after shooting at someone in a bar. One day while in the recreation yard, Brian met a fellow inmate named Hakim, who rapped and had a reputation for incorporating positive messages, and heavy use of prestigious vocabulary in his rhymes. Carenard would later state that battle rapping with Hakim would help instigate his personal rehabilitation, as he set a course for redemption through hip hop music. While serving time, Brian named himself "Saigon" after reading Wallace Terry’s book about the Vietnam War. This book helped realign the content and diction in Saigon's raps, as well as the advice of a prison lifer: "There’s no right way to do wrong." Saigon was eventually released from prison in 2000, and immediately recorded mixtapes, with the goal of obtaining a record contract as a means to release a debut album, which he wanted to be titled "The Greatest Story Never Told".
With the help of the underground buzz that he garnered over the years, Saigon signed a record deal with Atlantic Records in 2004. Despite the co-sign from producer Just Blaze and collaborations with several acclaimed rap artists such as Jay-Z, Kanye West and Kool G Rap, Saigon's record label repeatedly balked at setting a release date for his debut album. Saigon revealed that he realized as early as two months into his deal with Atlantic Records that there were problems. He later recalled how his early excitement at signing to the same label that "had so much history with black music, like Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles" was quickly dampened when they suggested he record a radio-friendly song with the Miami-based R&B quartet, Pretty Ricky. He also recalled a meeting with an Atlantic executive who told him "We need our three singles, then you can bust your artistic nut on the rest of the album." Saigon however, wasn’t willing to compromise with this request, and only one year after signing with Atlantic, he hired a lawyer to work out a release from his label. He explained "They signed me knowing the kind of music I was making, but then they try and change the direction".
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