Saigon

Brian Daniel Carenard (born July 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Saigon, is an American rapper. After years of delay due to former record label interference his debut album The Greatest Story Never Told (2011) was released on Suburban Noize Records. He is also known for his appearances on the HBO television series Entourage. Life and career Born to an African-American mother and a father from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saigon was raised in Spring Valley, NY and was sentenced to jail time at Napanoch's Eastern Correctional Facility in the late 1990s, 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, and released his debut single titled “Pain In My Life” produced by DJ Cocoa Chanelle in 2006. 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.