There’s alotta stuff coming outta Michigan that has nothing to do with Eminem and J Dilla, although both (woulda) should be fans. Athletic Mic League isn’t a new act. And at this point, being in the game for over a decade, the ensemble should be considered a clutch of veteran emcees and producers.

Releasing no less than three proper albums since the group’s inception, Athletic Mic League, for a short time, benefited from the sponsorship of Barak Records’ RJ Rice. As a result of not just encouragement from an industry type, but also the local acclaim that the group garnered prompted all involved to move out to New Jersey in order to be closer to the heart of it all. As so many stories of this nature, Athletic Mic League only stayed out there in Jersey for a short while. Bummer.

Returning home, the group figured that they’d learned what they needed to and no longer saw being on a coast as a necessity for their career. There were some hiatuses and some moments when it seemed as if the group had fractured – although the relative success of One Be Lo has probably emboldened the group – but a new album is due out during the 2010 calendar year – look for it.

But what started it all was a demo that was recorded during the late ‘90s – 1998 to be exact. And while The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat didn’t wind up being considered an instant classic, the disc saw a few features on Bobbito’s radio show in New Yawk, New Yawk.

When the demo was recorded fellow Michigan residents Binary Star were on the rise. And even as that group would eventually peter out, Athletic Mic League persisted due to its confidence gained from the recording of this here demo.

Immediately, the opening track should endear itself to jazz fans and hip hop heads. “Verbal gymnastics” are represented in spades and even if there’s some lame mention of predicates, the rest of the track is nothing other than pleasant. Sporting a buoyant piano line and enough positivity to make Guru smile, Athletic Mic League presents a thesis for its entire career. The group might not have actually takin’ over, but “Takin’ Over” is still a gem and an apt beginning to the group’s demo.

Buff 1 was able to conjure a track sporting a variation on his own name. “The Buff One” might not be one of the strongest efforts here. But even with that slight beat and almost non-existent melodic backing, the emcee is able to craft not just a persona here, but also display his lyrical prowess. Lines like, “Lyrical apocalypse/Appearances are monsterous/Only the strong minded survive this” grant listeners enough proof that the Athletic Mic League should have been bigger than Puffy.

The impending release of that new disc probably won’t right the wrongs that his group has suffered over time, but it will undoubtedly provide heads with at least another forty five minutes worth of worthy music.