Curiosity drove me into picking up Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s sophomore effort “Riot Musik.” That and a ¢50 cent price tag at my local Rasputin Music Store. Released back in 2005, the album had very small promotion if any and wasn’t backed by a major label. No B.I.G, No Lil’ Kim, no Puffy, no Lance “Un” Rivera… why even bother? I even passed up this cd in the bargain bin dozens of times until I flipped the song list on the back and saw Jadakiss and Prodigy of Mobb Deep featured on the album. Yes, I was still curious and gave it a chance. The verdict… it was aiight but gave new breath to Lil’ Cease’s career. The beats weren’t sub-par, they were actually pretty good. Think of it’s production value of beats similar to other independent releases like AZ’s “A.W.O.L.”, Royce 5′9″s “Death is certain” or Cormega’s “The Realness” with Riot Muisk featuring beats by NY’s finest… The Hot Runners, Heat Makers, DJ Twinz and China Black to name a few.

The upside to the album… The beats no doubt. If there was an instrumental version I’d scoop that up with the quickness. 2nd, Lil’ Cease coming off tighter than expected. The lyrics are more consistant than his past solo release and it’s been a loooong time since I’ve heard Cease on the mic. Think of it as the second coming of Lil’ Cease. The bad part… MC Klepto and Banger (formally known as Larceny) join the ride with unispiring lyrics that flatten out the beats offered to the crew. Bland emceeing on their part. While Cease holds it’s own with hot production, Klepto and Banger flatten the albums value. It’s good to see JM back on the grind, and with the crew going their separate ways from Kim and going the independent route, I don’t think they were planning on making a huge splash… you can tell by how poorly promoted the album was.