95/100
I want to preface this review by saying that I haven’t had a record hit me quite like this in a long time. It’s a damn shame that The Greatest Story Never Told almost never saw the light of day, especially considering how truly remarkable this album is. I’m going to take it one step further and say that this is one of the best front to back albums I’ve heard in a long time. Saigon has walked the harrowing hallway known as the music industry with a great deal of major label setbacks, and after one listen I’m convinced that the trials and tribulations that Sai Giddy had to go through make this album even more incredible. The liquid smooth stanzas put forth by the Yardfather are exactly what any fan of Hip-Hop wants to hear: thought provoking lyrics that skew a great deal of real-life topics over pristine production by Just Blaze and other great producers like Buckwild, Scram Jones and Kanye West.
The album’s intro, “Station Identification” finds Just Blaze visiting Saigon in prison and giving him the alarm clock that The Greatest Story Never Told is broadcast through, and it also kicks things off the right way with the soulful strings and hard hitting drums that Just Blaze is known for. Just Blaze seamlessly fades the album’s intro into the magnificent masterpiece that is “The Invitation”, and this is where it becomes evident that this album is going to be packed with hardcore political lyricism, “The party is in the penn, and the government is promotin’ it/that’s the reason I don’t be believin’ in all of this votin’ shit/they bring the coke in this bitch/ain’t no poppy seeds in the P/please, it’s nothin’ but a whole lot of hopelessness”. Just when the listener thinks that it can’t get much better, “Come On Baby” blasts through the speakers with the force of a Desert Eagle, and Sai Giddy spits audio heroin alongside Jay-Z over an incredible Just Blaze beat; what makes this track so impressive (besides one of the best examples of sample utilization in years) is that Saigon walks perfectly in stride along one of the greatest emcees of all-time with no hindrances.
DJ Corbett keeps the record moving fluidly, and he provides the perfect soul and punk infused backdrop on “Bring Me Down Pt. 2” for Saigon to spit his vicious bars full of venom and angst: “I dare somebody to jump out the window and try to stop me/I wait for niggas and shoot em’ like I was a paparazzi/that Just Blaze knock in the Maserati/I’ll jump out the back and turn your block into Nagasaki”. On the album’s title track, Just Blaze lays down a smattering of horns, symphonic strings, and perfectly placed scratches for Saigon to spit “The greatest story never told/chapter one, verse one, the Genesis of his scrolls”.
The apex of The Greatest Story Never Told comes on the gospel influenced track “Clap”; Just Blaze’s incredible beat combines heavenly horns, organic organ keys and upbeat strings. Saigon’s poignantly penned lyrics provide words of inspiration for those who live in the inner city and want a better life, “Do away with the clubs and the drug spots/do away with the judge and the mug shots/like we do away with the day when the sun drops/clap your hands if you’re tired of hearing gunshots/or hearing news about who got popped/by another black man, or if not then a white cop”. Faith Evans even lends her angelic voice to the beautiful hook on this already perfect song.
All in all, The Greatest Story Never Told is one of the finest pieces of lyricism and production I’ve had the pleasure of hearing in a long time. The fact that this album has essentially been shelved for the last five years is outstanding; all of the music on this album has withstood the test of time, and it is still completely relevant. This album further solidifies Just Blaze’s name among the greatest producers of our time. The Greatest Story Never Told also shows listeners that Saigon isn’t just some actor you know from Entourage; he’s a top tier lyricist who has overcome many obstacles just so his story could see the light of day.
— Tim Althaus
Saigon – Clap
Saigon: Site
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Lottery halts free coupons after abuse Malone predicts a loss of $20m
The Boston Globe (Boston, MA) February 14, 1997 | David M. Halbfinger and Daniel Golden, Globe Staff The state lottery yesterday abruptly canceled its distribution of nearly $100 million worth of free coupons a year, following reports of widespread abuse and theft of what had become a cash equivalent at the agency.
Treasurer Joseph D. Malone said he dropped the longstanding practice of printing coupons as promotional items even though it would cost the state an estimated $20 million in net revenue. A Globe series this week documented the lottery’s misuse and lax oversight of coupons, as well as its reliance on them to evade a legislated spending cap on advertising.
“The Boston Globe raised questions regarding the distribution of free coupons to Massachusetts citizens and certain businesses for use in lottery promotional activities,” Malone said in letters to Senate President Thomas F. Birmingham and House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran. “Although this practice has been in effect at the lottery for 20 years and is extremely popular with consumers,” Malone continued, “we have decided to terminate the use of all coupons, including our Val-Pak promotions, effective immediately. . . . The lottery does not want a controversy over a longstanding coupon program to detract from its record of achievement.” Since the Legislature capped its advertising budget in 1994, Massachusetts has relied far more on coupons than any other lottery. In fact, lottery director Samuel M. DePhillippo is scheduled to give a talk next month at a national symposium on the use of coupons as a marketing tool. Its title: “Making the Ad Dollar Go Farther.” Birmingham, who cut lottery ad spending from $11.6 million to $400,000 over the last four years, said in a telephone interview that the coupon ban was overdue. “It’s about time,” he said. “The lottery, under Malone’s guidance, has used every device their imagination can conceive of to circumvent that ban.” He added that Malone “wouldn’t be facing this headache now” if he had followed the “unmistakable spirit and letter of our prohibition.” Birmingham said Malone’s decision will not head off legislative hearings and investigations into the lottery. “The revelations in the Globe series were not limited to this issue,” he said. “And we might want to find out more details about past abuses.” Malone’s move yesterday came as reform-minded legislators called into question whether the treasurer should even remain in charge of the lottery. Senate Majority Leader Thomas C. Norton from Fall River, a longtime Malone critic, asked colleagues preparing to investigate the Massachusetts lottery to study a list of potential reforms, including limiting the number of instant games that can be introduced in a year or sold at one time; removing instant-ticket vending machines from supermarkets and other stores open to minors; prohibiting wagering by lottery retailers; and setting up a sliding scale of commissions for sales agents to reduce the incentive for stores to rely too heavily on lottery business. Norton’s most drastic suggestion, described as his “neutron bomb” by an aide: transferring control of the lottery from the Treasury to the state Department of Revenue. Malone’s spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, retorted, “The notion that Tom Norton is concerned about the impact of the lottery is laughable. This is the same person leading the charge to bring casinos to Massachusetts and put slot machines at the racetracks.” Fehrnstrom estimated the state will lose $20 million in net lottery revenue from the coupon ban, because residents who have received “Val-Pak” mailings had to buy tickets in order to take advantage of the free coupons. “We’ll do the best we can with the limited advertising resources that we’re given,” said Fehrnstrom. “The Legislature has directed us not to advertise on TV, not to advertise on radio, not to advertise in print, and now the message we are getting is that we should cease the couponing, and we’ll do so.” Senator Michael Morrissey, a Quincy Democrat who is cochairman of the Joint Committee on Government Regulations, which will hold a special hearing on lottery abuses later this month, said he thought Malone overestimated the potential revenue loss from banning coupons. “If we’re not giving away money, we’re not going to take a hit,” he said. In fact, the lottery has printed coupons much like they were its own private currency. It has used two types of coupons: “Val-Paks,” inserted alongside ads from neighborhood dry cleaners, dentists and pizzerias in envelopes mailed to 2.1 million households across Massachusetts; and “free-plays,” printed in $750,000 batches, ostensibly to be given away in sweepstakes and other promotions, but loosely monitored and easily abused. The Globe reported Monday that employees at four stores in Massachusetts are facing criminal charges for buying stolen Val- Paks, often by the thousands. Sources close to ongoing state and federal investigations say Val-Paks have been stolen en masse by postal workers and employees at bulk mail recycling centers. The article also reported that some lottery employees used the unregulated free-play coupons as walking-around money to pay for parties, tip police officers, contribute to charities and help lottery retailers balance their books. Moreover, since the advertising cap was enacted, the lottery made a practice of using the free-play coupons to reimburse its corporate partners, including newspapers and radio stations, for promotional ventures and advertising. US Internal Revenue Service officials are conducting a preliminary review of the lottery’s coupon deals, including whether these business partners paid taxes on the coupons. Fehrnstrom denied a claim by a spokesperson for Community Newspapers Co., which received $33,264 worth of coupons in the second half of 1996 alone, that the lottery had advised it not to pay taxes on them. Fehrnstrom said company officials had called him to apologize for making the statement, reported in the Globe yesterday. “We’re not in the business of providing tax advice to our marketing partners,” he said. site free coupons by mail web site free coupons by mail
David M. Halbfinger and Daniel Golden, Globe Staff
Every track I’v heard have been bangers, hard throwbacks. Looking forward to hearing the record. What a rating, wow better check The Greatest Story Never Told out quick.