Fresno, CA veteran Planet Asia returns with 38 Spesh to produce his 12th EP and the follow-up to one of his best EPs in years Trust the Chain. Emerging as 1/2 of the duo Cali Agents, he would also go on to a very successful solo career and has carved out a long but consistent discography for himself. This includes The grand opening, Medicineproduced by DJ Muggs Language of pain, Abrasionsproduced by Apollo Brown Anchovies & Sardines supported by Mello Music Group, produced by Evidence Rule of 3rd & the Snowgoons-production UZI (Universal Zeitgeist Intelligence). Now on its 1st anniversary Sardines coming up in a few weeks, Trust the Chain II it's finally here.
“Checking Traps” sets the tone for what's to come with a rich instrumental discussion of the whole group out here getting fat, while “Inertia” takes a cloudier route expressing its gratitude to be alive serving a purpose. “Crumble Cake” works in some pianos preparing everyone for the poison arrows yet to be unleashed, but then “BBQ” goes boom-bam head-on talking about drinking and partying.
Starring the other half of the EP, “Players & Dons” has a blast of blaxploitation on the beat that tells us the difference between the 2 types of people, while the sample-based “Illuminati Money” from General Monks featuring Klass Murda calls out to all the weird shit. “Upscale” featuring A Plus tha Kid & The Musalini brings a more bluesy vibe to the table refusing to make field bitches deals and “Greatness” ends Trust the Chain II peacefully revealing that he's into some fake shit.
Of the small projects that Asia has given us in the last 11 months, Trust the Chain II easily stands as the best of 2024 so far surpasses the previous month God's Time or even last weekend Mother & Gun as my personal favorite from the TCF camp. Spesh's production is more consistent than the Fresno emcee's output over the last 8 months, the features have been significantly reduced and the guy himself sounds as focused as he did on his predecessor 5 years ago.
Rating: 9/10