The Grand Opening (album)

The Grand Opening
The Grand Opening
Studio album by Planet Asia
Released	January 27, 2004
Studio	Def Con IV (Los Angeles, California); The Static Lounge (Los Angeles, California); Wolfpack Studios (Los Angeles, California); Quality Control Studios (San Francisco, California);
Genre	Hip-hop
Length	56:58
Label	Avatar
Producer	Darren "Limitless" Henson; Evidence; Ivan Barias; Jake One; J. Thrill; J. Wells; KutMasta Kurt; Oh No; Supa Dave West; The Architect; Tracks; Vitamin D;
Planet Asia chronology
Singles from The Grand Opening
	"Pure Coke"; Released: 2001; "Summertime in the City"; Released: August 12, 2003; "It's All Big"; Released: March 30, 2004; "Real Niggaz"; Released: 2004;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllHipHop	^[1]
HipHopDX	3/5^[2]
Prefix	6/10^[3]
RapReviews	8.5/10^[4]

The Grand Opening is the second full-length solo studio album by American rapper Planet Asia. It was released on January 27, 2004 via Avatar Records. Recording sessions took place at Def Con IV Studios, The Static Lounge and Wolfpack Studios in Los Angeles and at Quality Control Studios in San Francisco. Production was handled by the Architect, Darren "Limitless" Henson, Evidence, Ivan Barias, Jake One, J. Thrill, J. Wells, KutMasta Kurt, Oh No, Supa Dave West, Tracks and Vitamin D. It features guest appearances from Big Wig, Cecilie Davis, Crunch, Ghostface Killah, Goapele, Martin Luther McCoy, Shake Da Mayor, and his Cali Agents cohort Rasco. The album debuted at number 46 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart in the United States.

Background

The release of 2000's How The West Was One landed Planet Asia a deal with Interscope Records. He released a single "Pure Coke" in 2001 under the label. However, while signed to Interscope, he was not promoted much and stayed with the label until 2003 without releasing an album. The result was the rapper moving to Avatar Records and recording new material, including the single "Summertime in the City", which was released on August 12, 2003. The songs "It's All Big" and "Real Niggaz" were issued as the third and the fourth singles, respectively, from the The Grand Opening.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"			0:15
2.	"16 Bars of Death"	Jason Green Roger Roberts		3:28
3.	"Right or Wrong"	Green Michael Perretta	Evidence	4:12
4.	"Real Niggaz" (featuring Ghostface Killah)	Green Dennis Coles David West	Supa Dave West	5:04
5.	"It's All Big"	Green Jon Wells Michael Thaddeus McDonald	J. Wells	3:42
6.	"Pure Coke" (featuring Martin Luther McCoy)	Green Martin Luther McCoy Darren T. Henson Ivan Barias	Darren "Limitless" Henson Ivan "Orthodox" Barias	4:15
7.	"Hypnotized" (featuring Cecilie Davis and Crunch)	Green Cecilie Davis Crunch Davis Michael Jackson	Oh No	4:50
8.	"Paper Up (Hustler's Theme)"	Green Kurt Matlin	KutMasta Kurt	3:27
9.	"The Greatest" (performed by Cali Agents)	Green Keida Brewer Gary Herd	Architect	4:14
10.	"Freestyle Interlude"			1:07
11.	"Upside Down" (featuring Goapele)	Green Goapele Mohlabane Derrick Brown	Vitamin D	5:08
12.	"Light Green" (featuring Shake Da Mayor)	Green Chuma Solwazi Omar Barclay	Tracks	4:31
13.	"Summertime in the City"	Green Brian Armstead	J. Thrill	3:59
14.	"Swallow Dem Whole"	Green Herd	Architect	4:15
15.	"As Long as I'm Alive"	Green Jacob Dutton	Jake One Walt Liquor (co.)	4:31
Total length:				56:58

Personnel

Steve Pageot – flute & additional keyboards (track 5)
Levy "Bloe" St. Mary – keyboards (track 15)
Todd "Mum's The Word" Mumford – recording (tracks: 2, 7, 12, 13)
Michael "Evidence" Perretta – recording (track 2)
Jon "J. Wells" Henderson – recording & mixing (track 3)
Walter "Walt Liquor" Taylor – recording (tracks: 4, 6, 11, 15), mixing (tracks: 7, 11, 12, 15), engineering assistant (tracks: 7, 12), executive producer
"KutMasta Kurt" Matlin – recording & mixing (track 8)
Gary "The Architect" Herd – recording & mixing (tracks: 9, 14)
Justin "Dubb" Taylor – mixing (tracks: 2, 13), engineering assistant (track 7)
Richard "Segal" Huredia – mixing (tracks: 3, 4, 7, 12, 15)
Victor Mancusi – mixing (track 5)
Joe Warlick – mixing (track 6)
Jeff King – mastering
Russell Redeaux – executive producer, A&R
Jason "Planet Asia" Green – executive producer
Keith Corcoran – graphic design
DJ Raphiki – A&R

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
US Independent Albums (Billboard)^[5]	46

References

^ "The Grand Opening". AllHipHop. March 1, 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
^ Andres, Hale (April 23, 2004). "Planet Asia - The Grand Opening". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
^ Burrell, J (January 27, 2004). "Planet Asia - The Grand Opening Album Review | Prefixmag.com". Prefixmag. Retrieved May 1, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (May 25, 2004). "Planet Asia :: The Grand Opening – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
^ "Top Independent Albums". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 11. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 13, 2004. p. 75. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 27, 2025.

External links

Planet Asia – The Grand Opening at Discogs (list of releases)

[1] "The Grand Opening". AllHipHop. March 1, 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2025.

[2] Andres, Hale (April 23, 2004). "Planet Asia - The Grand Opening". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 27, 2025.

[3] Burrell, J (January 27, 2004). "Planet Asia - The Grand Opening Album Review | Prefixmag.com". Prefixmag. Retrieved May 1, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.

[4] Juon, Steve 'Flash' (May 25, 2004). "Planet Asia :: The Grand Opening – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved May 27, 2025.

[5] "Top Independent Albums". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 11. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 13, 2004. p. 75. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 27, 2025.

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