High & Mighty

Home Field Advantage

BY Thomas QuinlanPublished Oct 1, 1999

Whether you are a fan of hard block-rocking beats, braggadocio rhymes, or just love a good posse cut or two, the debut full-length by the High & Mighty is the best release out there for any or all of the above. I wasn’t very impressed with the vocal styling of MC Mr. Eon, or the beats of DJ/producer Mighty Mi on their first twelve-inch, the masturbatory “Hands On Experience.” However, their latest twelve-inch on Rawkus “B-Boy Document 99,” brought everything together for the High & Mighty with solid beats and great lyrics. Sure, the appearance of Mos Def and (to a lesser extent) Mad Skillz helped make it a great song, but it was the new vocal flow of Eon that clinched that record and made me anxious for the release of Home Field Advantage. On their debut, they continue their obsession for posse cuts with everyone from the East Coast’s Kool Keith, Mad Skillz, What? What?, Mos Def, Cage, Thirstin Howell III, the West Coast’s Evidence and Defari, and Detroit’s bad boy Eminem, plus a bunch more. Despite all these high profile underground sensations, Eon does more than hold his own. In fact, it’s the vocals and rhymes that are reminiscent of a more laid back version of the early days of Busta Rhymes, when he still belonged to Leaders of the New School and sounded dope. The subject matter is the typical hip-hop fare: weed, sex, B-boyisms, and a little bit of gratuitous violence courtesy of feuding emcees Cage and Eminem. For an album that doesn’t wear and tear on your fast forward button, but will get plenty of rewind action, check Home Field Advantage and think back on the days when hip-hop albums used to be more dope with less filler.
(Rawkus)

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