Saigon recently spoke to VladTV about filming “Love & Hip Hop” and the nature of the reality TV show.
The rapper, who first appeared as a recurring character on the series’ fourth season earlier this year, began with an explanation of his decision to join the cast. “I joined ‘Love & Hip Hop’ because it’s a reality show and that’s where the world is going and you want to stay in the loop when you’re trying to get your point across,” he said. “It’s not about what you’re doing, it’s all about how you do it.”
The New York emcee continued with a comment that the show represents an opportunity to control his online footprint. “I think everybody’s on a reality show,” he said, “and I’ve said that before. If you don’t believe me, get into a fight in public and whatch how many cameras is on your ass. Get into an argument where you look like you’re about to get into a fight in public and everybody gonna pull their phone out.
“But that’s content you can’t control, because it’s gonna get uploaded to the net. You could have a fight among your people, if there’s somebody with a camera there they’re gonna upload it and say ‘Worldstar‘ and now ‘Q’ is getting paid for my fight,” he said in reference to the website’s owner, Lee ‘Q’ O’denat. “When I had a fight with Prodigy I didn’t want that shit online, but it was all online. I talk to a girl, curse her out and she makes a video and goes on Worldstar, I don’t want that online. So if ya’ll are gonna put me on a reality show anyway I might as well do it myself and this way get back in the loop so I could make it conducive to putting my music out, ‘cause they were doing it to me anyway. I wake up, ‘Yo, you’re all online, you’re all over the place,’ and I’m like ‘Huh?’ And it’s a video somebody took and put it online.”
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Describing the type of content that producers curate for the show, Saigon added that there’s an obvious motivation to capture the more dramatic parts of a cast member’s life. “That’s the thing, reality TV is tricky because if you go on thinking you’re gonna be the nice guy, your shit won’t make the cutting room floor,” he said. “It is reality TV and people tune in for a reason. You can’t go into something that you know what it’s about thinking ‘Oh, I’m gonna reinvent this TV show,’ that’s bullshit. Even my moment on that show, I told them, I said ‘Look, I’m not in a good mood…me and homegirl is not in a good space,’ you know what I’m saying? There’s a lot going on with my son, there’s a lot going on and I didn’t wanna film, but you sign a contract.”
Speaking to the nature of filming on a reality show, Saigon added that he didn’t feel like he needed to act a certain way to be considered for the series. “I didn’t look at it like, ‘Ok, you gotta be ratchet to get on ‘Love & Hip Hop’ because I don’t believe that,” he said. “There’s some people on the show who conduct and carry themselves as they would in regular life, like myself.”
Adding that the schedule of “Love & Hip Hop’s” filming can be extensive, Saigon also spoke to the fact that the show catches its cast in real-life scenarios. “When they tape you for six months they’re gonna find some moments where you’re not the happiest guy in the world,” he said. “They tape your life for six months, that shit ain’t no overnight shit. Not everyday, but three days a week, sometimes four days a week.”
Earlier this month, Saigon told MTV that he’s “always exposed [his] life to people.” “I don’t have Interscope Records, I don’t have a major label,” he said. “Me being independent, this is perfect for me because I’ve been putting my life out there, it’s just that nobody was listening.”
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