Prelude To A Legacy 3.27.09 - Saigon

Posted by Fred Richani on 03.27.2009

Who would have thought a supporting character on HBO's Entourage could have so much potential to change the face of hip-hop? Fred "The F-Bomb" Richani drops you some knowledge on the man they call Da Yardfather!



Saigon is kind of famous. No, not Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, formerly known at Saigon. I'm talking about Saigon, Brian Carenard, of HBO fame via the hit dramedy Entourage. Perhaps, you know him for the ridiculous amount of mixtapes he puts out or his much publicized beefs with the likes of Prodigy of Mobb Deep and more recently, Joe Budden. And if you don't know who the hell Saigon is, well, you are about to find out.

The future Saigon was born in Brooklyn, NY as Brian Carenard. He was mostly raised in Rockland County, a place he passionately refers to as "Mooseknuckle". Carenard did not exactly have an ideal childhood. He got mixed up with the wrong crowd and caught up with the "gangsta s***" that you hear many rap about these days. Unfortunately for young Brian, he didn't earn a record deal, but rather a nearly seven-year prison bid for attempted murder. While details have been disputed, it has been said that the biggest mistake made was his ownership of a gun. Being a 15-year-old in jail for attempted murder may get you "street cred," but as Carenard has stated in numerous interviews, it cannot get back seven years of your life.

Just imagine yourself barely in your teen years, in jail with murderers, rapists, and a slew of other society's rejects. If that's not that bad enough, the Mooseknuckle native had to sit and watch rappers brag about the criminal life he once had, profiting from it. More often than not, rappers do not know when to separate the entertainment and real aspects of their lives, tending to "keep it real" or merge them into one. The young man could see through many rappers' BS. Although Carenard took up rapping as a hobby in jail (as if there were really any better choices to spend seven years incarcerated), he became serious about it as it helped him escape his daily trials and tribulations, albeit briefly.

He decided to call himself Saigon, after reading books on the Vietnam War. It is said that jail can either rehabilitate a person or break them. Luckily for Saigon, it not only rehabilitated him, but helped him make an effort to reach out to those that were in similar situations. Rather than glamorize the criminal lifestyle of his past like many rappers, Saigon decided to take a different route and promote a better life than the one he had previously lived. Sure, some of Sai's early work featured hardcore rap, but a majority of his tracks speak on society's problems, politics, his past mistakes, etc. He earned the nickname Da Yardfather from those close to him (a play on The Godfather).

When Saigon was released from prison after his nearly seven-year stint, through word of mouth, he met New York rapper Tru-Life. Ever since then, the two have been close and collaborated on a number of tracks, including Saigon's first single "Bust Ya Guns". Saigon also founded Abandoned Nation, which is a nonprofit foundation that provides support for the children of incarcerated parents, along with help for up and coming artists. In addition to Tru-Life, another one of Sai's first major music contacts was DJ/producer Mark Ronson, who assisted the rapper in making numerous connections within the industry. For a guy that never put out an album, Saigon had plenty of buzz online, in the mixtape circuit, and certainly on the streets.



When Saigon put out his debut mixtape Da Yard Father 1, it received a huge amount of critical and commercial success, only being topped by the buzz from fellow New York rappers Dipset and 50 Cent with 50 Cent is the Future. Hip-hop fans became in awe of the artist's ability to tell a thought-provoking story in one minute and go hard at a dude in the next. Some even called him New York's version of Tupac Shakur, based on his lyrical ability and similar messages in music. Not a bad compliment indeed.

Great exposure followed for Saigon, as he was featured in publications such as The Source, XXL Magazine, Murder Dog Magazine, and even TIME. Not soon after, the Mooseknuckle native signed with Warner Music Group-owned label Atlantic Records, under producer Just Blaze's Fort Knocks Entertainment, increasing the hype and expectations amongst fans. It was around this time Saigon continued to release mixtapes with DJs such as Clinton Sparks and Kay Slay. However, 2005 is when Saigon truly became nationally known.

In 2005, Saigon was cast in a recurring role as well, an up and coming rapper named....you guessed it—Saigon, on the hit HBO show Entourage. Despite only appearing sparingly in the second and third seasons, the rapper obtained much greater exposure to the mainstream. The hype from that point on only increased for what Brian Carenard emphatically stated was a classic album in his upcoming debut The Greatest Story Never Told. Two singles were released from the album. One of them is titled "Pain In My Life" (featuring Trey Songz), which has the two artists musically unleashing vivid imagery of the hardships people can go through in life. Needless to say, the song was a hit with critics, but did not translate into much chart success.

Surprisingly, his next single "Come On Baby" (featuring Swizz Beatz) did not equal chart success as well. This led to Saigon and Just Blaze recording a remix with none other than Jay-Z. The result was a hot song, perfect for the clubs. Unfortunately for Sai, an altercation at a HOT 97 event in the New York area with Prodigy of Mobb Deep led to the track not being played on one of the top hip-hop stations. Back to the drawing board.

With the independent releases of Warning Shots and The Moral of the Story, Saigon continued to show those in the industry and fans that he was here to stay. Sadly, his major label debut would never see the light of day, due to numerous delays, lack of hype, and just plain artistic differences between the artist and Atlantic Records. Things became so tense between the two sides that Saigon even faked a retirement in 2007 in hopes of getting released from his contract. That didn't happen right away, but eventually the two sides mutually agreed to split. One may have thought The Greatest Story Never Told would never see the light of day at that point—except for the fact Saigon got to keep his master recordings.

Not much followed after Saigon's Atlantic Records departure, until a recent beef with Joe Budden reignited interest in the rapper. The two have since squashed their beef. This year, Saigon signed with independent digital label Amalgam Digital to further promote his music and retain the buzz that has surrounded him for years. Fans were finally rewarded with an album. It was not The Greatest Story Never Told, but rather a taste of that in All in a Day's Work featuring DJ/producer Statik Selektah. What is truly amazing about the collaboration is that it only took the two 24 hours (a whole day for you non-knowledgeable folks) to record the album. Once again, Saigon was met with critical acclaim and this time—true commercial success.

The success of the album may have not shown on the Billboard 200 (yet), but is currently No. 4 in the Top Rap Albums list of iTunes. This is remarkable not just due to the length of time put into creating the content, but because there was barely any promotion for the album that did not have even a month's worth of time to be fully known. It is rewarding for Saigon, showing him that fans still do care.



Now the question is this: Why should you care?

The man known as Saigon has created an independent resume' that is like no other. All his mixtapes are like albums, as they have been all original tracks. The content is thought-provoking, even being compared to past work of the deceased 2Pac. In this day and age, the rapper continues to stay relevant despite all his hardships. He doesn't have any Gold or Platinum plaques, but they may soon follow. Lastly, Brian Carenard is a walking lesson on how one can change their life for the better, despite past hardships and leave a positive impact on people. Ironically, his "true" debut album is titled The Greatest Story Never Told. I hope for hip-hop's sake, we can all be musically told the story of a man that hit rock bottom as a kid and came out a man that is a success story still in progress.