Lil' Cease

Born in Brooklyn, James Lloyd, aka Lil' Cease, is part of the 1990s New York hip-hop tradition, with rap anchored in East Coast aesthetics, dark productions and a direct phrasing. He first appears within Junior M.A.F.I.A., a collective formed around The Notorious B.I.G., whom he is close to, and participates in the Conspiracy album in 1995, notably carried by the track 'Player's Anthem'. This early period places Lil' Cease in the East Coast rap landscape, between Brooklyn and the Bad Boy universe, with notable appearances alongside Lil' Kim, notably on 'Crush on You' and 'Big Momma Thang' in 1996. On his own, Lil' Cease releases The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo in 1999, his only identified studio album, in a vein blending street rap, more accessible hooks and collaborations drawn from the New York rap of the era. He then pursues his career through appearances on projects by Mase, Mobb Deep, DJ Clue or Faith Evans, while remaining associated with the Junior M.A.F.I.A. heritage, reactivated with Riot Musik in 2005. Lil' Cease has since operated between memorial-style concerts related to New York rap memory and sporadic appearances, in a register faithful to his beginnings.