Remember 2007? Wiz Khalifa could’ve been the name of a magician for all most people knew, Kid Cudi really was a lonely stoner, and you still checked your MySpace.

If you’d been friends on there with Brooklyn rapper Saigon, you’d know that his debut album, The Greatest Story Never Told, has been ready since the summer of that year. According to a few frustration-fueled blog posts on his MySpace, Atlantic, his label at the time, pushed the album back repeatedly.  Almost four years later, it’s finally shaken off its shackles.

Saigon’s got the rawhide exterior typical of New York rappers; instead of letting his voice break with bitter disbelief, he lets his lyrics speak. “My living condition is not in the greatest position/Nah I ain’t bitchin’, I just gotta make a decision,” he raps on one of many standout tracks, “Believe It.” Later, on “Oh Yeah (Our Babies),” he raps a cappella, “I’m flabbergasted you got a platinum plaque for that wack shit/All the real gangsters, they on their way to bein’ dead or in jail/They don’t make records to sell.”  Placed side by side, the two songs reveal the toil those years took on him.

Despite having sat on the shelf for so long, the project gathered no dust. Glossed almost completely with producer Just Blaze’s jubilant orchestration, the record reminds you how much you miss the kind of cohesive albums that, thanks to iTunes, are practically nonexistent now. Take the a chunk in the middle of the album, for instance: “Enemies’” dark clouds part momentarily in the chorus, then hesitantly begin to clear during “Friends,” until the sun bursts through victoriously in “The Greatest Story Never Told.” In a masterful move, Just Blaze follows that with the born-again gospel of “Clap,” featuring Faith Evans.

The penultimate song, “And the Winner Is (featuring Bun B),” is especially poignant. Filtering the sound as if the track were recorded during a live performance of “Enemies,” a voice announces midway through, “And the winner for best rap performance is—.”  The dream is abruptly cut off by the sound of a billy club rapping cell bars and a man’s voice. “You are here to repay your debt to society, not to sleep around all day! Get up, now!” he shouts. Four years is a long time to dream while your project sits in jail. Fortunately, Saigon’s is finally free.