Record Rack

** Lil’ Cease, “The Wonderful World of Cease a Leo,” Queen Bee/Undeas/Atlantic. The Junior M.A.F.I.A. member and Notorious B.I.G. protege delivers an uneven, party-tinged debut solo album. On the strong selections (“More Dangerous,” “Play Around”), the Brooklyn rapper sounds ready to stake a claim to his mentor’s hip-hop throne. Elsewhere, however, he suffers through weak choruses, bland production and recycled story lines.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.