Saigon is tired of rap music that glorifies violence.
The Brooklyn rapper recently joined the AllHipHop podcast to chat about everything from the hip-hop media to his upcoming fifth studio album, "Jordan Era."
During his conversation with DJ Thoro, the now 46-year-old also shared his thoughts on what he feels needs to change in the modern rap game.
"I think we’re going to have to go back to meaningful shit," he said. "We can’t keep sending these babies to the jail, to the strip club, or to the fucking graveyard."
Saigon, who in the late '90s served time in prison for a gun-related offence, reflected on how hearing records like Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones Part II" impacted his own upbringing.
"When I was growing up, Onyx and them was coming out," he said. "I went and picked up a gun like, 'What’s cool? To all the killers in the hundred dollar billas.'"
"I remember hearing that at 14, 13 years old, I'm about to go clap something," he added. "The music has power, bro."
Tackling issues of social injustice, systemic racism, and inequality, Saigon's 2011 debut album "The Greatest Story Never Told" was widely acclaimed by critics and remains a conscious hip-hop classic.
The project was also infamously delayed for a number of years, with Saigon embroiled in a battle with Atlantic Records over its content.
Speaking with DJ Thoro, Saigon opened up on why the album, which was initially set to drop in 2007, took so long to hit the shelves.
"We made a crazy album that sat on the shelf for seven years because Julie Greenwald, I’ll never forget, told me one time she was like, 'We like you Saigon here at Atlantic Records and you can bust your artistic nut on the rest of your album, but I need my three singles to push,'” the New York native recalled.
"Pretty much saying I need three of them bullshit records and then whatever else is on your album, who cares?" he said.
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