*UPDATE* - Just Blaze Responds To Sai's Comments + Partial Tracklist for GSNT

[Makaveli's Food & Liquor]

Im sure some of u have read the saigon interviews on Hiphopgame and HipHopDX, even if u havent it was just basically him raving and ranting bullshit bout the album not being released, and u've all read Sai's blog entry...... Well in the interviews Sai said that he wasnt sure y Just got mad at him which then caused him to pull down the blog, well Just has replyed  And proves that alot of wot Sai said is bullshit while clearing up alot about the album(Don't get me wrong Sai's 1 of my fav rappers but lets b real the guys a bitch whose always whining needlessly (OK his album has bin pushed back three years but read below!!) O yea he also names the tracks that he produced for 'Greatest Story Never Told' aswell as some guest features such as Jay-Z, Bun B and Swizzy!!  He also states how much he usually charges for beats which is quite interesting  The below is very long but worth the read and is from Just Blazes personal blog....(heres the link if u don't want to read it offa here cos im not sure if it'll fit a single post: http://themegatrondon2.com/2007/06/14/strictly-business/ )

I didn’t really want to do this at first. I’ve seen a lot of what’s been going on the past week online and what’s been said by various folks and media outlets. As I’m sure most of you can see, I’m not really the type to care what people may necessarily think of me, there’s more to me than you’ll ever know. However I’m doing this because at this point too much has been said about a situation that I am very involved in, some of it said without complete information and/or speculation. Add to that that there are a a lot of people that honestly just want to know what in the world is going on with this album, and have patiently waited for it for a few years now. That being said,  there is also sensationalism in every aspect of journalism, be it print, television, or the internet and I’ve been asked by a few outlets to respond to what’s been happening. However,  I’m not going to let anyone read  someone else’s take on my opinions and facts. I’ll take the time to type it myself.  I can’t addess everything that’s happened over the past 3 years, and I dont think I need to… yet  Some things do need to be cleared up however. With THAT being said, this may end up being a very long read. Take it or leave it, some of you may just learn something.

As far as Saigon’s infamous Myspace blog entry, and its subsequent removal, he stated that he took it down because It offended me and I didn’t understand why he would say what he said. That…. isn’t exactly the case.. it’s actually not at all. Don’t take that as me calling him a liar by any means. To me that means he was either too frustrated to really read it thouroughly (understandable) or.. well I can’t think of another reason.  I have no vested intrerest in his feelings towards the label, I wasn’t even mentioned in his blog, so there was nothing fo rme to be offended about. To sum up what I said in my email to him, I explained that I didn’t understand why he would post that NOW. Now that the album is pretty much done, and the only issue holding up the release of the first record is a sample clearance issue, which Craig Kallman (President of Atlantic) is personally handling directly with the sample’s publishers, as well as the management of the group that was sampled. Please believe that does NOT happen very often, especially not with a new artist who has not sold one record. It’s usually "Well replay the sample or make a new record" If this man is going out of his way to personally get this cleared, and we (myself and Saigon) just had a short meeting about this the night before and you know exactly what is happening and who is working on what, why would you go out and slander the company  he runs in the middle of him trying to negotiate something on YOUR behalf? It’s kinda like going out and sleeping with your lawyer’s wife the night before he’s about to represent you for a murder case.  You’re asking to get buried. These are the people that once this record DOES get cleared, have to work, push, and market it. We don’t make pop/crunk/rock/dance/snap rap, so we already have an uphill battle.. let’s not make it more difficult for ourselves. I dont care what you personally think of the man, but now is not the time to go and kick up dirt when they are in the middle of working out something for us to finally release a record.  6 months ago? I would have understood completely, right now? Let them do what they are trying to do so we can wake up to some good news about the record being clear to release, as opposed to me being woken up at 9am because the president is pissed about your blog, when hes trying to clear your sample personally.  You may not be entirely wrong,  and I actually agree with a LOT of what you said.. but I feel now isnt the right time for it.

Moving on from that, the next issue.. you guys may be asking, "well why are you guys just clearing a sample for a record that was done supposedly 2 years ago?"  To be more exact, the BEAT was created in LATE 2005, the song went thru a LOT of incarnations before it ended up in the current form ( a few months ago) . I can think of  4 different versions of the song just off the top of my head, different lyrics for each one. Now let’s put this in real perspective here: If you have recorded a song more than once, more than twice, more than three times. What does this mean? You think the song has potential, but something is mising, whether its the performance, the production, or a combination of both, something somwhere is missing. However you are pusihng along in the hopes that it will come together. Now, for those of you who don’t know. The process of clearing samples costs money. You’re not just calling up James Brown’s estate and saying, "Hey, we want to sample one of your songs, how much?" There are lawyers, publishers, managers and sample clearance houses involved. Sample clearance houses are companies that you submit your song to, along with the song you sampled, and they will do research (if necesarry), track down everyone and anyone that would have any say-so in the record (not always easy)  and coordinate  terms between all the parties involved. And… they don’t do it for free, even if you get denied. Anyway, back to the previous point, being that this costs money AND time, you are not going to start clearing a sample as soon as you make a beat, and you aren’t going to clear it once you start recording, you are going to clear it once you have an idea that the record is something you definitely want to use. Now, BEFORE I was even 100% positive that this record was a keeper,my management went ahead and started the process of clearing the sample because it was a big name artist (more work), and  I felt it was something that had TOO much potential and was determined to make work. (Pretty much just violated my own rules there) That being said sample clearance on that record (and just about every other record we knew we were keeping) started a pretty long time ago, at least a year I’d say. And they were all cleared. So why is sample clearance holding up this record now? Being that we were on the job and well prepared? Am I  just B.S.ing you here? No… I have two words for you:

Don Imus

Not long after the Imus incident, we recieved a phone call that the management of the group we sampled was requesting a copy of our song’s lyircs for review. Once i thought about it I said to myself.. "We are sampling an all-american rock-band.. "good ‘ol boys" so to speak. They have tons of money and dont really need ours ( I was suprised it cleared to begin with),  and they are asking for lyrics… and everyone is scrutinizing rap lyrics thanks to this Imus guy…we’re screwed" Sure enough they came back and denied the usage based on what they had read. I offered to release it as a "clean version only" record (see: Streets is Watching) They asked for a version of clean lyrics. Then they decided they couldnt really understand everything that was being said and would get back to us.  Now… you’re saying, but the sample was already cleared right? Well yes.. and no. There are two sides to clearing a sample. You have publishing and master usage. In most cases the songwriter (sometimes the artist) owns part or all of the publishing, while the record company is the owner of the masters. (Cash Money’s ownership of their masters is part of what made their deal so historical when they signed, it almost never happens) In our case, the publishing had cleared, but we discovered later on  that this artist actually has 50% ownership of their masters, so they had a right to come back and deny their PERFORMANCE from being used, even if they don’t have any rights to the song itself. (see: Jay-Z sampling Paul Anka’s version of "My Way" not Frank Sinatra’s) Translation: If we can replay the sample, we can still use it, but we cannot sample from the master owned by the label/artist. Plans were immediately put into place to start replays and interpolations, but obviously, nothing can be released until we have a final decision from the group as to what they will and will not allow at this point. This is a prcoess that unfortunately can take some time and I don’t have the privilige of saying "It’s for Jay-Z" this time. That doesn’t mean we sit around and wait forever, if all else fails with that record, we do have another record to go with very soon, just not the one we hoped to set up everything with and changes to the gameplan will have to be made.

Now, does this all sound like people sitting around doing nothing? I don’t think so, maybe some of you do. Your opinion.  It’s unfortunate when you work so hard for something only to have a last minute incident like that stop plans you have been putting together (and had clearance on).  There is so much more to this sublject, but I’ve said a lot already and I’m sure most of you can get the basic idea, which is all I’m here to give. Otherwise I’d have to write a book about the making of this album. It really has been a saga of ups and downs..

Another thing I saw, which I have to admit personally bothered me was, "Just Blaze ate the budget".  Let me be clear here… There is not, and has never been, any budget whording on my end. Depending on what I’m working on, I charge anywhere between 50 to 80 thousand a beat. I’m not even charging half of my full rate here, I think it is in the area of 30? And that is for 6 songs produced by me. That’s all I’m contracted for. However, let me run down the song list.. (Here’s your partial tracklisting kids: Clap, Dont You Baby, A Better Way, Friends, The Truth, The Invitation, Preacher, However Do You Want it (aka Chilly Boom). Thats 8 songs, and I think I’m forgetting something, thats also not counting my additional production on other producer’s songs, and some skits that are songs in themselves.  Let’s not forget Letter P, Don’t Do That, and another new promo record that will be straight to internet video soon. That’s 11… and I still may be forgetting something..  So how do I get paid for these additional records? Simple, so far, I haven’t, and probably won’t.  Is what it is, I’m not complaining, it’s part of all of us working for a common cause. Then there are the side artists, such as Faith Evans, Bun B, Swizz Beats,  Jay-Z and others.. these folks came thru for me and  for the most part I made these situations happen for none  or next to no money, But in some cases i had to come out of  MY  pocket in one form or another to make these things happen…  not  "the budget"

 Oh wait, but I own Baseline Studios, where most of the album was recorded. I gotta be caking off that end then right?  Wrong, people. We did a flat fee of something like 50 thousand for the studio for however long it took for the album to be recorded. Now you figure most commercial studios charge 2 grand a day. Let’s say I charged a dsicounted rate of $1,000. That would add up to be about.. 50 sessions? We’ve been recording what 2 years minimum? We’ve done way more than 25 sessions per year. How is the studio being paid now? Simple: It’s not. I’m paying out of my pocket for sessions now. Utilities, power, staff,  engineer, etc. when it comes to Saigon sessions.  When you have an artist who is a bit of a perfectionist and wants every single line, nuance, ad-lib, chorus, etc to be 100% on point, it’s obviously going to take time.  I’m not mad at that by any means, i actually appreciate that dedication,  but that’s  the finiancial reality of it. Some of that is partially my fault for not always being at sessions and just saying "HEY! that ad lib is ok.. you dont need to do it agian.." and I can admit that with no problem. I think I definitely underestimated the needs of a new or unexperienced artist in this situation at times. I went into this situation thinking I was going to have a lot more than I had though. Especially help, such as A&R’s etc. Like Sai said, Hip Hop did leave, and Sickamore does come through the studio here and there to help out, but for the most part, as far as the studio is concerned, it’s just been me, with Neysa (my manager) helping run that end. So yeah.. Eating budgets? Sorry, Not me. Lastly, a lot of that sutff you guys heard on those past few mixtapes? Also recorded and put together at  Baseline, mind you there is no "mixtape budget" at Atlantic. Guess what that equals… $Free.99!  Sidenote: the album was not done 6 months after the deal was signed.. not even close..  If it was I’d probably have killed someone by now.. Maybe that was frustration talking, I guess.

How do I feel about Atlantic? I have mixed feelings about certain things. I DO feel 100% that once it  picked up the little bit of steam it had, they should have gotten behind "Pain In My Life" Regardless of whether or not they thought it was a great song or understood it. That record got Saigon spins on Hot 97, rotation on BET, a FULL WEEK of hosting Rap City (who else has that? 50 i think?) and MTV exposure. And that’s without a single person  pushing a button on it in the building. Off the strength of the record itself, with a little push from us internally, that record got a lot more going for itself than the label ever thought it would. So if I was the label and saw that, yeah, I’d have taken advantage of the fact that this record was moving itself and could possibly go a little further with some help from the building, it would have definitely accelerated things.  I’m not saying bet the office on it, it wasn’t that kind of record, but just  put some real work into it and see where it goes.

I also do think they may not get the project 100% because it goes against a lot of what popular music is today, and of course the music business is.. the business of selling music.So if they are not sure if something will sell, they will be a little hesitant to jump on something, but at the same time, they have had enough faith in us to let the project continue and come by every few months to see where it’s at because they DO want to put something out. I mean they spent money, they’d want to make it back at bare minimum right? At our last meeting,   we finally came to a common ground on some records, Records that we felt didn’t sacrifice anything and were good music… period.. and that they would finally feel comfortable pushing the button on..  Then came the man with the nappy headed hoes…. However, we should actually know the fate of that record tomorrow so keep on the lookout. Whatever record it’s gonna be, it’s coming much sooner than  later.

I’ve said a lot and I could really go on about this for another 5 pages because there is SO much more to this story and a lot of other things I have an opinion or stories behind but I’d be here until tomorrow.  You guys don’t want to read all that, and not all business needs to be public anyway, so I hope what I have said has clarified or expanded upon some of thie things you guys may have read, heard , or even asked yourself.

FYI: I’ve never been the type to rave on about the greatness of  something I’ve done. The people and the fans decide  artwork’s greatness. So when this album does come out, all i can say is I hope you apppreciate and enjoy it for what it is.. good hip hop music…

Let the media orchestrated divide and counquer begin! (not)
jb@themegatrondon.com

[KURUPTION-81]

major props on posting that, interesting read.

[sniperuk]

wow............this dude is just so cool........i mean that in a non stan way, in the sense of him explaining every single obstacle involved in trying to get this out to the people, i gained respect for this cat.

[Layeth THe Smacketh Down]

Wow!  This is an eye opener.  Now I can see how a cat can be signed all this time without dropping an album.  It doesn't look like this is all Atlantics fault.  It's great that Just will take the time to give everybody all this info.  More producers and industry heads should drop knowledge like this.  And Saigon is shooting himself in the foot blasting the people that hold the release of his album in there hands.

[Makaveli's Food & Liquor]

Wow!  This is an eye opener.  Now I can see how a cat can be signed all this time without dropping an album.  It doesn't look like this is all Atlantics fault.  It's great that Just will take the time to give everybody all this info.  More producers and industry heads should drop knowledge like this.  And Saigon is shooting himself in the foot blasting the people that hold the release of his album in there hands.

Yea it seems that Saigon doesn't seem to understand the music business and all he is doin is further destroying any chance of his album coming out.....

[Makaveli's Food & Liquor]

Saigons reply from his Myspace apparently

This is why I guess they say the truth will set you free....A couple of days ago I posted a blog on MySpace to explain to the fans, (I dont even like to call them fans,) But the people who enquire everyday about the hold up of my project..Never was it posted to disrespect Atlantic Records or to seem ungrateful or unapreciative..I dont know HOW it became a media fiasco or all of that but my intentions were to solely let the people now about my frustrations and the hold up of my album....Now, as corny as this internet **** is, its also great because now you can get both sides of a story instead of getting caught up in that he say, she say ****.....Now I consider Just Blaze a friend and a mentor and respect him as an artist and a man, but I didnt understand why he would post a blog to the world only telling 1/3 of a story before even attempting to contact me at all and I dont know how it went from Saigon Vs. Atlantic to Saigon vs. Just Blaze when Ive never even mentioned him at all...The power of the dollar man...

Look, the songs we have for the album I wrote and recorded realistically speaking, within the first year of the deal..I signed my deal november 24th 2004...Aside from a few word changes here and there or a feature or something, we basically have the same album we have had for almost 2 years. Thats why I have been complaining to EVERYONE for the past Year and a half or so about a release date......I didnt understand why when Just Blaze knows this, he would act as if I was tripping...Then this writer from hiphopdx hits me on MySpace and says he is sorry if he ruffled anyone's feathers because in his interview I stated Just Blaze ate my budget so I couldnt work with anyone else...First of all, everyone in our camp knew Just was getting 85% percent of the recording budget when we signed the deal. We knew Just pretty much got the budget before I stepped foot in the studio. That was part of my deal. I signed that deal KNOWING I wouldnt be able to afford another big name producer. I didnt want one. He got more out of my record deal than me monetary wise but I didnt care because I just wanted to make the best album possible and Just Blaze is the best. I personally know he is the best in the world, He's almost not human when it comes to this music ****..I only mentioned other producers because I figured maybe the label felt they needed to put me with the "it" guy to put a song out...This is what happens when you get the run around for so long... I admit Just did do more than what he was contractually bound to do and he knows how greatly I appreciate that, but to make it look like my frustration is not warranted is crazy.. And yes, I had unlimited use of his studio, but he also put in my contract that I couldnt use any other studio.

Understand, Just Blaze and I only recorded about 20 songs in 2 and a half years (which is less than 1 song per month) I assumed we would be doing atleast 5 per month... Now of these 20 songs, 7 of them are slated to be on my album, the other 12 or 13 are also all keepers that if we put out right now would crush the game easily eg. Eyeball, Who Can Get Busy, Tournament of Torment etc. we litarally only probably recorded 2 songs that we couldnt use...My thing was, if we have this chemistry that works so well, why arent we in here just banging out songs all the time..We would have so much more to choose from. It never happened.. It wasnt Premier and Guru, It wasnt Rza and Gza, It wasnt Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth, It became too CORPERATE.. Just a business deal.. It seemed like the value of his beats were worth more than my rhymes so we couldnt just keep working. Which is understandable, he's Just Blaze...Im just Saigon the mixtape rapper (hahaha)...But I love the MUSIC man. I know he loves the MUSIC. I really wish there wasnt any money involved in this paticular album.. It came out great, but it couldve been greeeeat, feel me? This **** has gotten so corperate its killing the validity of the MUSIC.. This is how and why New York Hip Hop fell the **** off..I dont make a dollar off mixtapes yet Ive spit some of the hottest **** I ever wrote on mixtapes....My payment is the reaction of the people...You notice me and Just Blaze have only leaked ONE song in the 2 and a half years, Dont Do That, which I wasnt a big fan of anyway...Letter P was done before I signed with him...None of this was mentioned in his blog...I love Just Blaze but fair is fair, if he's gonna give it to the people, he should give it to them real....SAMPLE CLEARANCE? Thats what theyre telling me NOW, in June 07, but June 06' it was another story...Mind you we have the SAME album with maybe 2 slight changes? This is new to the world, not us...EVERYONE Ive spoken to on our team agrees that they have NEVER seen anything like this before....Besides, That sample shoulda been submitted when Kingdome Come (the single, not the album) came out.. We wouldve been known there was a problem. We knew we needed that record regardless....

Now that were at the final stretch I hope everything works out...Its in Gods hands now, I dont know if Just Blaze made his blog to make me appear to be ignorant or impulsive but I am neither...Ive worked very hard to get where I am and if asking for a fair chance is wrong than I dont wanna be right..Im aware of the business side of the game but it will never consume me and make me a wack artist trying to come up with a gimmick or an "image" as you guys put it.. My image is who I am mu****as, You could write a book on Brian's life. **** Saigon .People like me dont need a ****ing image, and by the time some of yall people realize it, it probably will be too late....
Greatest Story Never Told Coming Soon......

Oh by the way, If you read this Just, This woulda been much easier over the phone . But if you wanna let the world peak in, what coul I do?...Love You Dog...

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ogID=276590949

[KURUPTION-81]

props, hope this doesent cause a problem betwen sai and just blaze.

[MontrealCity's Most]

props, hope this doesent cause a problem betwen sai and just blaze.

hope ont they got a good thing going

[wcsoldier]

I hate when people cried about their pb on the internet  ... can't these 2 artists have a private grown men discussion about it ?

[Soulful]

what are u gonna do,,he had a big hype when he was on "entourage", that was two years ago right?still no album out..i just hope the shit comes out, its a shame it didnt get released 2 years ago cuz more people would have heard it back then..