Customer Reviews

Conspiracy (PA)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Notorious B.I.G. may not be the Godfather, but he's still the reigning Big Poppa. And for all intents and purposes, he's the don of the Junior M.A.F.I.A. They are his protégés and his posse. His appearance on Conspiracy, their debut, pulls the album closer to the apex of this year's hip-hop. From the first sample of his voice in "White Chalk," there is no question that he is the guiding force behind this record.
Conspiracy seems a bit disjointed because it follows the loose narrative of a friend who's been shot, with little segues between the songs laying out the story. Strangely, the songs that the segues lead into don't have much to do with the story, and the narrative seems like an afterthought.

This is not necessarily a bad feature, it just makes the album play more like a compilation of songs by members of the crew rather than a group effort. NWA 's masterpiece, Straight Outta Compton , played in much the same way.

"Player's Anthem" is a standout, with the Notorious B.I.G. laying down rhymes in his inimitable style over a jazzy vibe and bass combo. Other rappers in the M.A.F.I.A. take their turns in this song, but are overshadowed by Biggie and Little Kim. She shines here and on other tracks like "Get Money" and "Back Stabbers." Too few female M.C.s can hold their own, but luckily for us, Little Kim is a facet of the best songs here.

While "White Chalk" features able rapping by Trife and Larceny of the Snakes, it falls into the easy trap of being just another gangsta tale. The track builds itself around the sound of a beating heart, moving slowly as a sluggish bassline surrounds the tale of another death on the streets in the hood.

"Realms of Junior M.A.F.I.A," on the other hand, has a raw rhythm track that recalls the organized chaos of Nation of Millions era Public Enemy. Four members of the M.A.F.I.A. pass the mic just like an old freestyle jam, creating the best track on the album.

If the loose feeling of this track was recreated elsewhere on the album, it would make Conspiracy a stronger, more cohesive project. Yet, while Conspiracy eventually runs out of gas before it runs out of tracks, there enough here to keep us interested until the Notorious B.I.G. drops his next album, tentatively titled Life After Death.

When Biggie's Ready to Die dropped, he kept yelling out, "Junior M.A.F.I.A." and people kept wondering who in the world they are. The answer to our questions came when "Players Anthem" and "I Need You Tonight" (featuring Aaliyah) came out, and most of us ran to the store to cop the album. Anything having to do with Biggie has to be good, right?

Wrong, this album was such a disappointment. I gave it one extra star because Biggie drops such amazing verses that I would have been a fool not to buy the album. The best song is not "Get Money" but "Oh My Lord" (produced by Special Ed) where he drops extra-nice rhymes. Also, Lil' Kim has such a dope flow that no one cared if Biggie wrote her rhymes. But with the exception of Lil' Cease, the other members were wack. Songs like "Lyrical Wizardry" and even "White Chalk" (with that dope "flatline" beat) suffer from too many Biggie-inspired lyrics and rappers who just aren't dope enough. Even the intro and outro seem like a ripoff from Ready to Die. Not to mention there are absolutely no "beats" on the whole album. Buy this album only to hear Biggie and Kim rock the mic.

This album has alot of great track and especially get moeny and the aaliyah track which is so catchy. I now understand why they were so good, Biggie taught them a lot about the music biz. Kim is a gret artist too and you can see from this album

The Junior M.A.F.I.A. cd titled "Conspiracy," is indeed a good cd to add to your rap collection. I am a fan of all of the coasts of rap. East, West, South, North, Midwest, you name it. Though this album may not be able to match up with albums like 2pac's "Me Against The World," or Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's "E.1999 Eternal," it sure represents the East Coast's style of 1995. The highlights on this one are White Chalk, Player's Anthem, I Need You Tonight, and Get Money. This is definitly a must-own for any rap fan, especially a rap fan of the east coast!

Good album... must have if you're a rap fan.. especially if you like the old bad boy entertainment... not this commercial rubbish that they sell now!

Junior M.A.F.I.A. are not real rappers. "Conspiracy" has its delights(Player's Anthem; Realms of Junior M.A.F.I.A.; Get Money), but they never really show us who Junior M.A.F.I.A. is. Biggie and Lil' Kim seem to be the only ones who are noticable on this album, because the other rappers go from song to song rapping about the same things(murder, drugs, sex). No wonder Pac dissed them. The main point is buy Biggie's two albums(not Born Again) and Lil' Kim's debut if you want better music.

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This is one of the best rap CD'S i have ever heard. A MUST BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still one of the greatest albums of all time. It's only peers are "Ready to Die" and "Life after Death"

I luv the album.. I think it it provides a view from a young person living in the ghetto

with the help of the notorious big, junior mafia, comprised of the snakes, kleptomaniac, the 6's, and lil kim, made a hot record for the mid 90's. what better person to be connected with at the time then biggie who produced the album. songs like "white chalk" and "murder onze" show incredible lyrics. (check out larceny's last verse on "murder onze")the incessant hospital sounds on "white chalk" give an eerie but cool feel to track 2. kleptomaniac aka klep puts down the best 32 bars on the album with "oh my lord" feat biggie. cease got good recognition with this album too. lil kim definatelly did her thing and it didn't hurt her one bit to be side by side with biggie on the 2 main singles. what makes this album four stars though, in my opinion, is the credibility. in the march or april issue of xxl cease says how big got JM into the music biz before they got to heavy in the dope game and the album makes them look like drug lords. also, besides lil kim and trife and larceny and maybe klep, jr mafia had their lyrics written for them. sounds a lot like memph bleek. anyway for the sake of the production, hot beats for the time, hot lyricism, and two gold singles, get this album.