Nas proclaimed that Hip-Hop is dead and Jay-Z declared his return would save the game.  Many artists are not pleased with the current state of Hip-Hop, but refrain from being vocal about their disdain, in fear of being called a hater.  Others make their own personal statement by making their own brand of music as opposed to conforming to the norm.  Enter Planet Asia.  Your favorite Cali Agent returns with an attempt to rectify the situation with another dose of Gold Chain Music.

    PA comes out of the gate running with “Da Prescription”, where he displays much lyrical dexterity and reminds us L.A. isn’t the only place in Southern Cali where MC’s dwell.  The Fresno representative teams up with his City of Angels brethren, Evidence, who handles the production of the enitre album.  These two are at their best on tracks like “All The Names” and “The Medicine”, where the reveal the true meaning of Gold Chain Music.  The production combined with the lyricism is reminiscent of any DJ/MC duo from the era of the four-finger ring and gold chain. 

    Asia enlists an arsenal of guests which leaves us with some hit or miss tracks.  On “Over Your Head”, the super lyrical Black Thought delivers a not so stellar performance.  Not only does his verse sound last minute, it’s only 8-bars.  This is definitely a shock coming from the man who held his own beside the likes of Big Pun, Common, and Mos Def.  PA makes up for the misstep and even borrows Mr. Trotter’s style for a portion of the track.  “Stick & Move” features Dilated Peoples East Coast connection Prodigy, who spits a verse that leans more towards “Flavor For The Non-Believers” (Juvenile Hell) than “Burn” (Infamy), which is definitely a good look, and leaves the two sticking and moving all over this joint.  “Dilated Agents” brings in the other Cali Agent, Rasco, and of course Dilated Peoples.  Nothing overly exciting, but nothing unbearable either.

    The album falls short due to too much filler. Songs like “Get Active”, and “That’s On Me” would not have been missed if they were removed from the final playlist, while “Ghetto’s Thirsty” only dilutes the medicine instead of making it more potent.  This is disappointing because on this song Asia recites some of the album’s most meaningful content.  If you can get past the completely boring track and absolutely terrible chorus, you will realize the message expressed is one that needs to be heard.  Completing an entire album with one producer can be a gift and a curse.  On some tracks Evidence seems to be reaching for a more West Coast, G-Funk type of sound, which is alright, but it doesn’t complement PA’s flow.  At other times, he manages to give us what we’re used to and leaves the track reeking of their patented GCM.  This album may not be a complete cure for the illness that plagues Hip-Hop, however it is a large enough dose to remedy your need to escape what is commonplace.

    Meth has not outgrown Hip-Hop; however he has outgrown the current state of the music, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  He realizes that today’s music is marketed to grade school children and he has no business running around like a grown-ass thirteen year old just to sell some records.  This was evident in two of his most recent public appearances.  He reunited with his Shaolin brothers to perform on the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors Awards and was so amped up that you would have thought it was The Hard Knock Life Tour, and that he was stage-diving with Redman.  The crowd that he performed in front of was obviously made up of a generation of die hard fans that have been missing in action (those of us who are 25-35).  He also performed his single “Say” to a less than lukewarm reception on MTV’s Wild’n Out.  Even when he tried to get the crowd involved, they still remained somber.  This comes as no surprise from a new generation whose minds have been over-saturated from “Walk It Out” and overdosing on “Chicken Noodle Soup”.  The irony of “Say” is that it is one of the most accessible tracks on the album, due to The Green Eyed Bandit’s soulful production and with the help of Miss L-Boogie herself, but it also finds the Wu-Tang veteran dropping some of his most lyrical gems on the album: “R.I.P/make me the king of all I see/and when death call I’m good I got Call ID/see it was Clan in the front/now they just gon’ front/like my joints is on Proactiv and they just don’t bump/(come on) then niggas gon’ say I lost my skill/when in fact they all been programmed and lost they feel/for real.”

    This album contains no lack of lyrical content whatsoever.  Actually, there are points when he outshines his co-stars. On “Ya’ Meen”, which is definitely New York music at it’s finest; he’s joined by Fat Joe and Styles P for one of the album’s more exciting tracks.  All three heavy hitters come out swinging and Meth even appears to take a stab at his newly appointed boss
“New York, New York rock tube socks and Timberlands/cause Hip-Hop ain’t feelin’ them flip-flops they feminine (ouch?).”  “Walk On” finds our favorite Boodah Brothers back at it as Funk Doc and MEF remind us why we waited so patiently for their albums to drop in October ’94(remember, Month of the Man?).  Johnny Blaze joins his Wu counterparts for a handful of joints (“Dirty Mef”, “The Glide”, “Everything”, “Presidential MC”) which are good, but do not quite mirror the chemistry displayed throughout such classics as Enter the 36 Chambers and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. This assessment may not be fair, but it’s the truth.  One of 4:21′s best tracks is not even produced by a Wu member or even a recurring collaborator.  “Somebody Done F****D Up” finds the infamous Havoc on the boards.  This song has both veterans bringing the best out of each other.  It almost leaves you waiting for Prodigy to jump in and spit. 

    As mentioned earlier, there are a few radio ready tracks on this album.  Along with assistance from Lauryn Hill, Meth recruited crooners Ginuwine, and Megan Rochell.  The difference between these songs and others on the radio is that these do not sound contrived, which is not a surprise since “All I Need” garnered much unintended crossover success and redefined Hip-Hop’s traditional love joint.  Meth and Mary opened the door for all the “Ride-Or-Die Chick”, “Bonnie and Clyde” anthems.  Who can be mad at that?

    While groups like The Roots and De La Soul have not deviated from a tried and true formula, and their followers respect and appreciate that.  Meth falls somewhere in the middle of both worlds.  His last time out was more of an attempt to reach a broader audience, which usually leaves no one satisfied (even the artist).   This time around was more of a return to Shaolin.  The album falters due to the standards and expectations that we already have established for Method Man.  The lyrics are there, but even with the RZA on deck, the production fails to fully support the content.  We were teased with talk of an all RZA produced album after the lackluster sales of Tical 0, which may not be a bad move at this point, but Meth said it best himself at the end of the intro: “How could you ever say that I’m washed up when I’m the dirtiest thing in sight? / Bring out the girls let’s have a mud fight”.

Xzibit has been the target of much criticism, due to his lyrical prowess.  Some detractors feel that he has tried to mimic his Eastern counterparts with his vocabulary, sharp wit and fluent flow.  On Circle, he proves everyone wrong by staying true to his verbal voraciousness but at the same time delivers classic Los Angeles content backed by an equally coastal sound scape.  The album starts of with Invade My Space in which he attempts to steer clear of haters, but still pledges to handle his business if necessary. This is one of several tracks that was produced by and features Jelly Roll, who not only shares Executive Production credits, but sprinkles flavor throughout the album.  X manages to keep our attention with Ram Part Division which is a narrative told from the perspective of a corrupt LAPD officer a la Training Day(think Alonzo on steroids).  He flexes story telling muscle on Scandalous Bi****s where he tells us of several stories involving a few unscrupulous women and a few unsuspecting men.  On this Fyre Dept produced track, he displays his signature humor when speaking on a situation that places him in a love triangle between his lady and Usher.  He gives us a good laugh when referring to the singer, A little over dramatic/In Rome I called him a faggot/In front of millions of people/Funny but shouldn’t have done that/I was makin a joke I wasn’t tryin to offend/like when I introduced Destiny’s Child as Boyz II Men. 

Full Circle also showcases a much more mature X.  On Family Values, the man who once stood alongside the Doggfather himself and demanded that women drop to their kneecaps, contemplates settling down and addresses his future soul mate with lines like Now before I devote the rest of my life/Can you at least show a nigga you can boil some rice.  He goes even further with You may be thinking, Hey X you just a hypocrite/ You actin like you ain’t never called a girl a f****n bi***/Nah its not that/But its like this/We need change and I’m just man enough to say the shit.  He continues to man-up with Black & Brown which addresses the ever-growing tensions between Blacks and Hispanics in Los Angeles.  Thank You has Mr. X to the Z showing appreciation to fans for the support of his career and even King Tee pops up to join his long time homeboy and DJ Quik on Poppin’ Off.

In lieu of the album title, this seems to be everything but a return to the beginning for X.  He continues to show growth and maturity but sounds more like a seasoned veteran as opposed to a post golden era has-been.  Even though he managed to drop a solid project, Full Circle still has its flaws.  Some of the tracks seem to be filler, which there is really no room for on a disc with 14 tracks.  Say It To My Face features a non-rapping, trash-talking Kurupt who is entertaining but would have been more useful livening up this dull track with a hot 16 as opposed to hot air.  Some of the production doesn’t match up to Xzibit’s lyricism, which leaves us with several unbalanced tracks.  Despite this fact, he still manages to solidify his place in Left Coast Hip-Hop and shows these young bucks “how to do this son”.  Many people are looking to another ex-Eminem affiliate to utilize his youth and resurrect the West; however, they may want to take a look to one of their more experienced delegates.  Regardless of what has been said in some of the more recent disses pointed at MC’s who are closer to black-balloon parties than celebrating the departure from their mama’s house, I’ll put my money on the elder-statesmen any day.