Saigon

Saigon isn't going to win any new fans with latest album The Greatest Story Never Told Chapter 2: Bread and Circuses. It's not that it's a bad release — it's actually quite good — it's just that there's nothing new on it. Saigon doesn't do anything different on the album; he doesn't try to push himself. He just sticks to his core competencies and rallies the base. Bread and Circuses finds Saigon doing what he does best: balancing hard street shit with scathing political and social commentary, and strong storytelling. Saigon's greatest skill as a rapper is said aforementioned storytelling. Songs like "When Will U Love Me" and "Game Changer" shine because they draw you into the narrative. When he's not telling tales, Saigon manages to impress with a mixture of angry force and clever punch lines on tracks like "Not Like Them." Saigon's only downfall is that sometimes he's just a little too earnest. Social conscience and political awareness are good, but occasionally they feel too much like he's making us eat our vegetables. "Brownsville Girl" comes across like an after-school special, while "Blown Away" is just straight-up ham-fisted in its tales of social injustice. These missteps aside, it's hard to argue with Bread and Circuses. It's not game changing, but Saigon's fanbase will love it, and sometimes it's better to stick with what you know.