Saigon

On his latest offering, Warning Shots 2, underground mainstay and former Entourage guest star Saigon puts together a thought-provoking and sometimes self-contradictory mix of conscious rap and straight-up thug shit. While he may not be morally consistent, Sai's flow is always on point. It doesn't matter if he's telling the youth to stay away from the street life on "That's Not What's Up," or dismembering bodies on "Fuck Me, Fuck You," Saigon always manages to come up with an amazing array of mind-twisting metaphors and polysyllabic bars. The beats, which are mostly supplied by Just Blaze, are also way above average. But there are a couple missteps on Warning Shots 2. Saigon's attempts at sex rhymes ― "Cookies & Milk" and "For Some Pussy" ― are so obviously dumbed down that they're embarrassing, but these screw-ups don't do any serious damage to the album's overall quality. If the rumours are true, and 2010 is the year when Saigon finally drops his long-awaited full-length debut, then Warning Shots shows that we have a lot to look forward to.