Coming out of Fresno, Planet Asia has been holding it down since the late '90s and is a longtime fixture in the California underground scene. He's part of both Cali Agents (with Rasco) and the Skhool Yard collective, and he's worked with a wide variety of artists over the course of his career. He also earned a GRAMMY® nomination for his work with Bay Area songstress Mystic. Black Belt Theatre is his ninth solo album (not including many collabos and mixtapes). It finds him sounding better than ever, dropping his trademark super-lyrical style over an array of sample-heavy, soul-drenched beats. While Asia sounds great on his own, he also shares the mic with a gang of co-conspirators, including Talib Kweli, Camp Lo, Raekwon, The Jacka, Mista F.A.B., Phil the Agony, Ras Kass, and even Paul Wall. At 20 tracks deep, there's not a wack song here, though highlights include "Whirlwind Patterns," "Furniture," "No Apologies," and "External Motives."