This is Michael Mixerr. Today I will review the Lil Cease - The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo album from 1999 off Queen Bee Records, UNDEAS, and Atlantic Records.
You are now entering 'The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo' on the introduction of this album but Lil Cease does not want to call the introduction of this album an introduction but rather as 'No Intro' which quickly turns into a dedication track which is slightly unusual for your average album. But Lil Cease lets us know in advance that The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo is not your average album nor is he mellow about it. Lil Cease even goes as far to comparing himself to then-president Bill Clinton.
More Dangerous is one of my most favorite tracks off of The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo! When I first heard it, I fell in love with it right away. The sad rainy day/morning blues added to the effects of danger to this track. The sound effects had an adverse effect of nature to the entire theme of this song. I really liked Busta Rhymes too much for whatever reason, but he really went off rapidly great on More Dangerous. He was at his best. Lil Cease is neither mellow on this track either. More Dangerous is quite grimey and gritty. The more weed they puff the more dangerous they are!
Get Out Way is where Lil Cease and Blake C shine the most when rapping. Ya'll best to start running. Lil Cease is coming. Mase appears too I believe. One of my favorite tracks on The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo.
Lil Cease and Redman were great on Future Sport. They are the ones who stood out the most on Future Sport. The big synth horns fit in perfectly with melody for the Future Sport track. Future Sport is one of my other favorites on The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo album.
Lil Cease is looking for the right lady on Looking For A Lady. One that he would never leave. One that would be there for him on those romantic nights or those tragic days. Men need a lady in their life. It's been said time and time again. To sum it all up, Lil Cease basically needs a lady to be in his life. Looking For A Lady samples Need A Lady by Ronnie Laws.
Long Time Comin' is about how Lil Cease has been in the game since day one. Lil Cease wants it all. It's good but not great.
Kelly Price does sing her most remarkable vocals on Girlfriend. The mood is rather mellow and calms the albums mood down. Girlfriend is a track to have sex to.
Play Around is the Ruff & Rugged hit single track on the album. Joe Hooker, Mr. Bristal, and Lil Kim do their best on this track. You don't want to 'play around' with them. They'll kill you!
Chickenheads is the slow mellow dance track the clears the dance floor for this album. The beats are smooth and slow paced. Various sexual references are made on Chickenheads. Carl Thomas is added as a bonus!
4 My Niggaz was the East Coast tribute answer to 2Pac - Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. in 1999. BK Style! Jay-Z's verse was bananas! Jay-Z was spitting raw. Mr. Bristal and Blake C was the ones with the most gruff voices. They stood out the most. 4 My Niggaz is the male posse cut of the album. Lil Cease, Jay-Z, Mr. Bristal, and Blake C are at their best when rapping on 4 My Niggaz. Another favorite track of mine with a handful of others off this album.
Work It Out is another one of my favorites off The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo album. It's a perfect track to play on the beach during summertime. That's why Work It Out is one of my favorite tracks. The melody is perfect. Musical notes in range are upbeat.
Mr. Nasty is a solo track written by Lil Cease. Yes finally! A track with no featured guest artists to ruin a great track. Lil Cease is quite good at songwriting. He should do more songwriting himself on future albums. Mr. Nasty is just basically rhymin' and rappin'. Mr. Nasty should have been a single too.
Dolly Baby is a track with Lil Cease and Total this time. Yes Total out of all girl R&B groups. Dolly Baby is very similar to Chickenheads, Looking For A Lady, and Girlfriend. The particular mood of Dolly Baby is quite timid, smooth, and mellow.
Don't Stop is another hot track on The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo album! Yes it's one of my favorites.
The bass is super sick! Don't Stop should have been a single itself. Also Don't Stop should have had a music video to accompany itself as a single for The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo album. I don't know what Atlantic Records was thinking at the time concerning promotions and marketing for this album. Lil Cease and Puff Daddy (Sean Combs) are at their best on this bomb ass track!
The track Everything is a dedication to the deceased Notorious B.I.G. for those who didn't know. Everything is a heartfelt track with soulful 112 singing. 112 is added as a bonus. Loosing the Notorious B.I.G. to Lil Cease was like loosing a brother.
The outro is more of a montage of various Notorious B.I.G. sound clippings dedicated to the deceased Notorious B.I.G. than an actual outro. Lil Cease lets us know at the end of The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo album that is B.I.G. & Cease forever! Many people were sure that this is how eventfully Lil Cease planned to end The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo album.
Now I will discuss how Lil Cease turned GOAT into SCROAT regarding the album cover.
Lil Cease originally wanted to appear nude on the album but Atlantic Records forbid him in doing so due to the fact that Atlantic Records is a mega-corporation/record label. They would not let him. So as a result from corporate censorship, Lil Cease's genitals (penis and testicles) are blocked out by a military stencil font typeface with 'LIL CEASE' in big bold letters and arms from females of all races covering his testicles. It gets worse before it gets any better. Lil Cease's back is turned away from the viewer on the back cover as he is standing nude for a portrait. That gets censored too by corporate censorship because no one wants to see a grown man's naked ass. Really. Come on now. Him smiling and grinning real big on the front cover is what's creeping me out! Good god! That's just terrifying!
To sum it all up… The front cover is just creepy.
That's how Lil Cease turned GOAT into SCROAT for the album cover.
[No disrespect to Lil Cease. The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo was a great album!]
To sum it all up…
The Lil Cease - The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo is the right way of having so many guest artists features, appearances, and contributions unlike Mr. Short Khop - Da Khop Shop album. Having Lil Kim, D-Roc, Puff Daddy, and Jacob York produce this album was a brehsive idea. I know having a lot of guests artists on nearly all the tracks for one album usually annoys fans and listeners, but this an album you do not want a chance to miss out on or skip! This whole entire album had the right perfect sound. Having Blake C, Joe Hooker, Jay-Z, Lil Kim, Mr. Bristal, and Redman as guest artists was a great choice! Heck even Stevie J plays some instruments on some of the tracks. He does a good job at it too.
A lot of the tracks were filled with samples and interpolations which was unusual in 1999 due to the new music sample clearances and music rights laws that had resulted from the outcome from the Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records, Inc. ruling that all samples must be cleared with given consent from the original artist before being used. That altered the landscape of hip-hop and rap forever!
Other than that, The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo album was a great way to start off the new millennium for the Y2K! Lil Cease's album was so underrated! It was solid from beginning to end. Too bad The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo album was heavily under-promoted. Lil Cease could have furthered his music career if The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo album sold a lot better that it did.
I rate this album, The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo, 5/5*****!
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