August 18, 2009

By By Mariel Concepcion, N.Y.

E1 Music, formerly known as Koch Records, has signed a deal with online label and promotional company Amalgam Digital to release new studio and catalog albums by hip-hop artists Saigon and Joe Budden.

The first release under the new deal will be Saigon's "Warning Shots 2," slated for a September 29th, 2009 street date. A new studio album by Joe Budden is tentatively scheduled for release in October 2009.

Budden's claim to fame is his 2003 self-titled debut album, released on Def Jam Records. The set debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart and has sold 429,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan. The album's lead single, "Pump It Up" garnered the New Jersey rapper his first and only top ten hit on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.

Budden's Amalgam debut was "Padded Room," released earlier this year, which sold 28,000 copies.

Saigon, who was signed to Atlantic Records but never released an album through the label, released "Warning Shots" last year through Amalgam, selling 21,000 units.

Subscribe to Billboard magazine today!