producer: his-panik, protest, paul nice, madlib, 427, others

guests: chuck taylor

What do you know about Planet Asia and Rasco? Their track record is full of deep notches. Their name has been seen on many a dope recordings. Right? They got that straight spitting, straight bouncy beat thing going. Like showcased on "How The West Was One". Paul Nice's beat is, yes, bouncy, and is providing the carpet for the Agents to rhyme about clown emcees, frown on nonbelievers and retrieve us from all the wack shit out there. Rasco opens the track with his simple styling (he states to comments like this: "whoever said Rasco should change his style / can eat a fat dick, nigga"), going "hey yo, this is how the west was one / it's not about running round toting your guns / it's all about who can sound the illest to beats / and not how many brothers that you shot in the street" and Planet Asia is explaining their state when he goes "it ain't no need to hate on it, cause we ain't trying to offend / only thing we came to do is spit flows, rip shows and make some ends". But actually, we just forgot about the Intro. And that's very well worth a mentioning, as a long time had to pass, for another humorous intro finding it's way onto an album, one that actually is funny. Well, this here "Intro: Behind Closed Doors" is belly laughs.

Back on track, with cut no. 3, that is giving us a sparkling piano, hooked up by His-Panik. Again focusing on pretty much the same lyrical content as the track before, we are tempted to move on, and leave "Cali Agents: The Anthem" behind us and check out "Crash The Boards". A Defari sample, as well as a rolling bass line, plus scratches, make up this M-Boogie beat. Should we be mad, that the lyrics are still on the braggadocios tip?

Madlib is providing the beat for "Up Close And Personal", and with this track, he's proving, that he's not only doing them strange jazz sample beats, but can come layered. On "Neva Forget", the Agents talk about staying true to your roots, or as Asia puts it "I heard you went platinum on your first album / but tell me this: why is it now I heard you only sold about 200'000? / now what's that telling you? / that your fans was never down / got you wondering now / 'maybe I shoulda stayed underground?' / but you can't come back, cause real rap fans, they hate you / you over-did your image, now you can't stay true / all glittery and shiny looking empty on the camera / with nothing to say, dancing with the mic like who..?". That's cool yo, but what Rasco is dropping, is kinda phony: "I tried to reach y'all but couldn't relate / we in a whole other state / mind-traveling / while you niggas still battling". Yo, sorry dood, but isn't that just about all you do on this album? Anyways, the guitar His-Panik hooked up for them cats is nice, what can't be said about the unneeded Interlude, that's coming next.

His-Panik also did the beat for "This Is My Life", which is a blow addressed to other cats in this underground game: those that claim that they are not in it for the money, those that "be spitting big words your ass can't even spell". While the Cali Agents are admitting: "we rep the underground, but still we out to make dough". That's fair enough. However, this track also show's how simple Rasco is behind the mic, and that Asia does sound complex compared to him. And so Rasco uses his voice to his success, but the voice is not able to completely take away the focus from his often basic rhyming.

Planet Asia is the focus on the R'Kasha produced "Faces Of Death", before the 12" track "The Good Life" burst out of your speakers with the Protest produced beat. And the flipside of that record follows right after next. The Memo produced "Just When You Thought It Was Safe" is taking down the in your face bouncyness, and keeps it lower, with a deeper piano and a restrained bass: dope. The topics stay the same, also on "Talking Smack", produced by 427. And "Real Talk" again produced by Protest is kinda jiggy. We could picture Foxy Brown or Lil Kim rhyme to this. The content adapts to the club vibe this track is having, with Asia doing a little tell tale. The change in vibes for "Fuck What You Heard" is appreciated, as the musicality of this Roddy Rod produced beat, gives the album more depth. Now if you have been lucky, you were able to cop the GrooveAttack version of this album, and you will be laced with an extra cut. It's "On The Hustle", produced by His-Panik, a track that will most likely resurface on the second "Superrappin" compilation though.

Aight, let's conclude: Rasco is no poet. He can be rather weak behind the mic. However, he rides the track with confidence. Asia on the other hand does spit complexer rhymes, and seems to be the more appealing for the elitist backpackers. But he probably does not even want that (and yes, rightfully so). As these two cats seem to be happy with just spitting. Planet Asia says something about this on the title track "it's been a long time since you heard two tight-ass MC's / make a record for the love of it". True. But he ends the line with "but still succeed". Not by a big margin though.