Releasing a music video dedicated to rapper Tru Life earlier this week, Saigon spoke with VIBE about his motivation behind the clip.
Sai, who served seven years in prison before rapping his way to a reoccurring role on HBO’s Entourage, says he made the song and video for “Free Tru Life” to keep the incarcerated rapper’s memory alive while detained under murder charges.
“He’s in a jam right now, and I just don’t want people to forget about him,” Saigon told VIBE. “I want people to support him ’cause he’s innocent. I know for a fact that he’s innocent. So for him to be sitting, facing capital murder or felony murder charges when [he] didn’t do it is crazy.”
Formerly a protégé of Jay-Z, who signed the LES rapper to Def Jam’s Roc La Familia imprint in 2005, Tru Life was arrested earlier this year, on June 23 after an early-morning brawl a week earlier in a Manhattan lobby left Christopher Guerrero, 18, fatally stabbed, and another man critically injured.
Tru–born Roberto Rosado–pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and gang assault. He’s being held by authorities without bail.
“I just tell him ‘pray, man. Keep your faith in God, think positive thoughts and keep your mouth shut,” Saigon said of his advice to Tru, who he calls his brother. “Let your lawyers do their job’.”
The two rappers had long spoken of releasing a collaborative album, however, there is no word on the status of the project.
“It’s just a shame that he may have to go to trial to prove his innocence, said Saigon, whose Warning Shots 2 (Amalgam Digital/E1 Music) drops September 29. “I hope it never gets to that point. That’s a scary thing. You don’t want your life hanging in somebody else’s hands.”–John Kennedy
Check out the video for “Free Tru Life,” directed by Derek Pike.