Saigon - Warning Shots 2

If an album is "great" but it never makes its way to iTunes or store shelves, does it matter if said album is good at all?  That's the question that's been facing Saigon since an opportune appearance on "Entourage" put him in the public eye in 2005.  Since then Saigon has gone through a career's worth of highs and lows.  Between the slew of mixtapes, street albums, driving himself to the hospital after being stabbed in the head, feuds with rappers that the mainstream couldn't care less about (Joe Budden and Mobb Deep), and a retirement, one claim about Saigon has remained constant: he's the greatest rapper out there.  Just ask him. Oh, and the oft-delayed/possibly mythical debut album Greatest Story Never Told? One of the best albums of the past 20 years.

In lieu of having the debut to judge for ourselves, Saigon has just released Warning Shots 2, which is the self-proclaimed "prequel to my classic Greatest Story Never Told."  The album features enough clever wordplay and meaningful songs to make the listener buy into the hype around Saigon.  It opens with a trio of tracks ("Nothing Comes Easy", "That's Not What's Up", "Fatherhood") to the tune of laid-back, soulful beats with introspective, insightful lyrics that touch on becoming a father, the state of the rap game, and the world beyond hip-hop.  It's the kind of rapping that sets Saigon apart from many of his up-and-coming peers.

The problems begin when he lets derivative and generic songs into the mix.  "Cookies and Milk" and "For Some P*ssy" (which inexplicably appears in two incarnations) are the kind of songs that wouldn't be out of place on a Souljah Boi album.  Here they just clutter up the flow and stand out for all the wrong reasons.  Saigon's skills don't lend themselves well to weaksauce confessions of love for various women.  Hearing him neigh the word "broads" like a hip-hop Mr. Ed is almost physically painful.  He should leave the ladies man jams to Drake or Mike Posner.   

Thankfully, the album does get back on track after that brief detour in uncomfortable misogyny.  Saigon sharpens his focus and sprints to the finish line.  He rips through bouncy beats ("Copping Pleas," "Be On Time"), relentless, horn-infused tracks ("Rusty Gunz"), and a beat or two that wouldn't be out of place on Dr. Dre record ("Who Can Get Busy").  The album-capper "Gotta Believe It" paints Saigon as a vulnerable, anxious man facing fatherhood, street life, and the record industry.  This unexpectedly humble side is refreshing because of its honesty.  It's far and away the best track on the album.

Shots 2 may not be a great album.  It isn't even the most creative or interesting Saigon release this year (that would be the gimmicky but well done All in a Day's Work). But it succeeds in simultaneously sating and whetting appetites for his proper debut.  Here's hoping we're still not waiting four years from now.

- Eddie Strait