The High and Mighty - "Home Field Advantage"

Mr. Eon and DJ Mighty Mi, known collectively as The High & Mighty, released their album “Home Field Advantage” in August of 1999 on Rawkus Records.  1999 was a banner year for Rawkus Records and The High & Mighty definitely contributed to that with “Home Field Advantage” and their work on “Soundbombing 2.” Their song “B-Boy Document 99” was even featured on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, which gained the group a lot of interest and interest to Rawkus Records as well.  The duo, hailing from Philadelphia, PA, employed head-nodding beats and a wide array of rhyming styles. The album also features production from Reef and The Alchemist and rhymes from Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, Eminem, Kool Keith, Defari and Evidence. If you were interested in underground Hip Hop, sports references, weed and pornography chances you were a fan of this album around the time of its release.

Sean’s (@bort_sampson_) 4^th appearance

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Chris: My first memory of hearing The High & Mighty was “Soundbombing 2”, which I believe I was introduced to by Mike’s brother.  The “BBoy Document” featuring Mos Def and Mad Skillz, was never really a fan of that particular song but that was introduction to them.

Sean: I want to say I first heard them when that same track was in a skate video, probably a 411 section. I can’t say I was super hyped on the song but I think I actually liked it because it went so well with the skating and vice versa.

Mike: I first heard of “The High & Mighty” from the Chaos section of a 411 skate video. It was the first time they spliced a music video into the skating. The video was the “B-Boy Document 99” which my brother and I made fun of it at first but after a few views we were hooked. In that same video there was a commercial for “Home Field Advantage”. I later bought it at Best Buy.

411VM Issue #36 starts at 2:18 
The High and Mighty feat. Mos Def and Madskillz - “B-Boy Document 99” 

Chris: As far as “Home Field Advantage”. Sean, I think that you were the first one of us to purchase the actual album. Do you remember where you purchased it? Also, you know I have to bring it up, what do you recall from first listening to it because I remember you not caring too much for it which is how it made its way into my hands.

Sean: I’m not sure if I bought “Soundbombing 2” or “Home Field Advantage” first. On a side note, the Soundbombing series was great. Most likely the reason I picked it up was because it was a Rawkus release and not necessarily because I was hyped on The High & Mighty. Back then, if it had that Rawkus razor blade, it was pretty an automatic cop. I don’t remember really feeling it and I’m sure it got passed on to you for that reason. The flip side of that is that however long it was, I remember you telling me you were feeling it and it was worth giving another listen. I heeded your advice and to this day, it’s an album I’ll fire up for a few days like once a year. It’s not in the regular rotation but it’s not the shelf collecting dust either. You ever fire it up anymore?

Chris: Honestly, I don’t listen to it that often anymore but I listened to it 5 times this week and it brought back a lot memories, so I’m definitely glad we decided to review it.

Sean: Where does “Home Field Advantage” rank in everyone’s Rawkus pantheon?

Chris: Let’s exclude the compilations for this question. For me, I think it’s below “Black Star”, “Black on Both Sides”, “Internal Affairs”, “Funcrusher” and “The Big Picture”. I feel like it’s on par with “Train of Thought” and “Hi-Teknology”

Mike: The sentimental aspect of it being an album I got on early into my lifelong love of Hip Hop, bumps it up. Sonically, “Home Field Advantage” doesn’t hold up to the likes of “Funcrusher” or “Train of Thought”, yet I find myself listening “Home Field Advantage” more often than those two.

Sean: If “Black on Both Sides” is Joe Montana then “Home Field Advantage” is probably Jeff Garcia.

Chris: I’m sure that Mr. Eon would appreciate that sports reference! What was your guys’ favorite feature?

Mike: My favorite feature is probably Pharoahe Monch’s hook on “Dirty Decibels”. While a verse would have been dope, his hook made the song.

Chris: Yes! Pharoahe Monch’s hook is too good.

The High & Mighty feat. Pharoahe Monch – “Dirty Decibels”

Sean: It’s still weird to me that Eminem is on a track with them. Like, I can’t picture him being on a weird independent release ever again. On the other hand, his appearance fits precisely because it’s kind of a weird album anyway.

Chris: “Home Field Advantage” actually came out the same year the “Slim Shady LP” did. If you were a fan of Eminem’s early work, you weren’t disappointed by “The Last Hit”.

There are so many great features on “Home Field Advantage”. Mos Def, Pharoahe, Kool Keith, Evidence, Defari and Jean Grae. I’m just going to say it, this album needed that many great features because I don’t believe Mr. Eon could have carried an entire album on his own. What are you guys’ thoughts?

Mike: Eon’s simplistic raps and predictable subject matter (weed, sex, sports and Star Wars) were more exciting when I was a kid, that’s for sure.

Sean: One thing about Mr. Eon is that I’ve never thought he had the dopest lyrics or anything, in fact they’re pretty simple but I still think he has a nice flow. I think he was the weaker half of the duo. DJ Mighty Mi put some nice beats down and I feel like the cameos generally did more with them than Eon did. I think he held his own to an extent but there are definitely tracks were his limitations are apparent.

Chris: 20 years later, I wasn’t as impressed with Mighty Mi’s beats. They’re pretty simple and my two favorite beats on the album, “Top Prospects” and “Weed”, weren’t actually done by Mighty Mi

Mike: I agree that after re-visiting, Mighty Mi’s production seems basic and unimaginative as a whole. What I dislike about it now is what drew me to it as a kid. Catchy tracks with simple beats that didn’t take many listens to “get”.

Chris: What were your favorite tracks?

Sean: “The Meaning”. I like the stripped down simplicity of the beat, the B-Real and Lord Jamar samples, the little bit of scratching in it. I think it does a good job of getting the most out of Eon's limitations as an mc. Is it a masterpiece? No. Do I think it's a highlight of the album? I do.

The High and Mighty – “The Meaning

Chris: To me, the best track on the album is “Top Prospects” with Defari, Evidence and produced by the Alchemist. It’s probably Mr. Eon’s best verse and the sample Alchemist flipped is crazy.

Mike: Great track. I almost chose it on the strength of Alchemist’s work on the boards.

The High & Mighty feat. Evidence and Defari – “Top Prospects” (Produced by Alchemist)

Brian Bennett – “Solstice”

Mike: Did this debut prompt you to listen to future High & Mighty projects? And how did you feel about them?

Chris: I bought the Smut Peddlers’ album, listened to it a couple of time but it didn’t hold my interest. I was hoping for “Home Field Advantage” and it wasn’t that. Plus, I was never really a big Cage fan.

Mike: I really enjoyed the Smut Peddlers effort but I may be biased, as I do like Cage. I liked his album “Movies for the Blind” and the project he did with TameOne. High & Mighty’s “Air Force 1” EP didn’t resonate with me though and made me lose interest in the group.

Chris: How do you all feel about the “Home Field Advantage” now?

Sean: My feeling on the album now are it's still one I love, but am not in love with. The cracks are a little bigger in the production and Eon's mic skills, the bad songs sounds even worse (like the football one - that track was awful and has only gotten worse), and even some of the good songs aren't banging for me as much as they used to. That's what the skip button is for. BUT, it's an album that I'll always have a real soft spot for and it'll never completely fall out of the rotation.

Chris: I feel like it’s what Mike had said earlier, what I liked about it back then is kind of what turns me off to it now. It has its moments but I’m not nearly the fan of this album to the degree that I was before.

Mike: I still like the album to this day, but I have to ask myself if it’s purely out of nostalgia. A few tracks get some genuine occasional spins, but overall, I view the album now as somewhat of a novelty. It’s a cool album that clearly impacted all 3 of us, and there’s something to be said for that.

Dr. Dre - "The Chronic"

“The Chronic” is the solo studio debut of legendary Hip Hop producer Dr. Dre. Released in 1992 on Death Row Records, “The Chronic” triple platinum and made it all the way up #3 on the Billboard Top 200. Dr. Dre relied heavily on samples from Parliament and Funkadelic. “The Chronic” was the genesis of the Hip Hop sub-genre G-Funk which was unique to West Coast recording artists. Probably Dr. Dre’s greatest talent as a producer is assembling an array of other talent individuals for a common goal. Dr. Dre received songwriting and/or production help from Snoop Dogg, RBX, D.O.C., Colin Wolfe, Daz Dillinger, Kurupt and The Lady of Rage. The same cast went on to record another Hip Hop classic with Snoop Dogg’s “Doggystyle” a year later. “The Chronic” was seminal in establishing Gangster Rap as a part of popular culture while also spawning multiple successful careers.

Guest Request Mike T’s (@mike_t_bvnm) first appearance on the blog

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Chris: What are some of your went earliest memories of listening to Hip Hop music? What do you remember from listening to “The Chronic” when you were younger?

Mike T.: My earliest memory of listening to Hip Hop was probably in Middle School. Seventh grade I want to say. I remember hearing your typical Rap around that time Lil Jon, Ludacris, and other artists of that caliber, but I had a classmate who was all about Tupac. He loved the West Coast Gangster Rap and he would bring his Walkman and we would listen to mix CDs of Snoop, Tupac, and Dre. Now when it came to “The Chronic” we had a family friend’s house that me and my sister would go to a lot with our Mom. The husband had his “Man cave” with a huge cd collection. Which he had “The Chronic” so I would put the cd on his stereo and basically play “Nuthin' But A "G" Thang” over and over.

Chris: I actually had the single of “Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang” and I used to play it on this like old school Fisher Price cassette player. Man, I was listening to some hard stuff when I was 8 year old. I had this friend named Chris Lucero that lived on my street who was quite a bit older than me, and he introduced me to King T, Tim Dog, NWA, Dre, Snoop, Eazy-E and Bloods & Crips “Bangin on Wax”

Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg – “Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang”

Chris: Dr. Dre was killing the game production-wise at this time. He already had a few platinum records under his belt, what did you think about the beats on “The Chronic”?

Mike T.:  I personally love the beats that the album has. It thrives off that West Coast feel. It has those hints of Jazz, blues, and Funk. The synth with a more full band feel rather than just a generic bass line.

Chris: I agree and after re-listening to the album I really enjoy the production. They did a great job of enhancing the samples they used with live instrumentation.

Dr. Dre feat. Jewell – “Let Me Ride”

Chris: Looking at the credits, D.O.C. wrote a good portion of the lyrics on “The Chronic”? Does it change your opinion of Dre knowing he didn’t write a lot of his lyrics on “The Chronic”? Why do people care so much whether or not a rapper wrote his own lyrics? Why in your opinion is this something that only exists in Hip Hop music?

Mike T.: Personally I don’t care if Dre wrote all of his lyrics or not. Eazy didn’t write all of his stuff, but fans loved him. Look at politicians most of them don’t write their own speeches. The fact that people get upset when someone has another person write lyrics for them in my opinion is stupid. Music is about expression. Some people are better at projecting that expression than others. Just like there’s people who are better writers, and others who are better talkers. Now I don’t feel this is the only genre this happens in. It just might be that whole image thing that is associated with a rapper. Personally being someone who is into Metal music I feel this is just like the sell out aspect in metal. It comes off as that artist is fake to fans.

Chris: You might be right. I just kind of feel like in other genres it’s much less taboo when the actual singer is not the one who wrote the song, plus covers are much more prevalent in other genres and I like covers because to me it’s a sign of respect. I think people are so much more critical of Rappers for not writing their own lyrics because one of the tenets of Hip Hop is originality. Personally, it does not bother me if Dre or anybody else doesn’t write their own lyrics, I’m all about the quality of the song. Dre knew that, got some help and his album is far better for it.

Have you noticed that Hip Hop is no longer geographical? It used to be that if you heard a song on the radio, you could tell exactly where they from based on the sound of the music.

Mike T: I have noticed that you can’t just hear an artist and know where they are from just from hearing the beat. I think possibly it’s just something that died with Pac and Biggie. But honestly I don’t know why that has changed. Maybe because there is so many styles of Rap now and especially with the boom in mumble, and “Emo” rappers.

Chris: I think it’s because of Youtube and these other streaming services. Music is just so much easier to come by nowadays so people making music now are influenced by music they wouldn’t have necessarily heard back in the day. I feel like growing up in New Mexico we more inundated with West Coast Hip Hop just by the sheer fact that we were closer geographically to LA than we were to New York.

In recent news, “The Chronic” was added National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. The National Recording Registry was established to preserve audio recordings that “are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.” In your opinion, does “The Chronic” warrant this honor? 

Mike T: I mean I guess I could see them adding “The Chronic” but in my opinion they should have put N.W.A. “The Chronic” hits on some aspects of the early 90’s but I feel like it was more of an album that highlighted the duo that Dre, and Snoop brought to the rap game. Not a whole lot of a reflection of the time. So I would have to say I don’t think it should be there but good on Dre for getting there.

Chris: I don’t know but “Straight Out of Compton” has to be in there, right? “The Chronic” was a pretty big part of my growing up, so it would probably go into my personal Recording Registry but I hear what you’re saying.

What are your favorite tracks on the album?

Mike T: Favorite tracks off the album. “Let me ride”, “Nuthin’ But a G Thang”, “Deeez Nuuuts”, “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat”, “Stranded on Death Row”, and “Bitches Ain’t Shit”. I like all the tracks on the album. This is one of those albums you can just put on hit play and let the whole album go. Perfect just kick back in the car and go for a cruise album. That’s what I loved about this album. It has this vibe to it. Lean the driver seat back a bit. Throw on some sunglasses, and just drive. Just missing the convertible Impala lol.

Chris: All great tracks! The album definitely has a Summer vibe to it. I really like bassline on the Quincy Jones sample they used on “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat”

Dr. Dre feat. RBX and Snoop Dogg – “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat”

Donny Hathaway – “Vegetable Wagon”

Chris: How do you feel about “The Chronic” now versus how you felt about it when you first heard it?

Mike T:  I think listening to the album now compared to when I first heard it is now you definitely understand references more for one and two it’s not just random words. You understand the story that is being told by each track. 

Chris: Oh you definitely have better understanding of the references! I’m glad you picked “The Chronic”. I have a lot of nostalgia attached to that album and I still enjoy it.

Beanie Sigel - "The B. Coming"

First and foremost, we hope everyone out there is staying safe. That being said, this is nonetheless and outlet that is practicing all safety measures and hopefully can get some Hip Hop fans smiling in these rough times.  Kind of switching up the layout for this one-off, as I (Mike) will be helming the questions that are typically laid down by the homie Chris.  This installment is a review of Beanie Sigel’s sophomore effort on Roc-a-fella records called “The B. Coming”. As always, welcome back to Rewind and we hope you dig this new installment…

Mike: When “The B. Coming” came out, to me it struck me as a wildly out of place in an otherwise wildly braggadocios Roc-a-fella catalogue. It seemed dark, eerie, and juxtaposed what we were hearing from his Roc contemporaries like The Diplomats, the Young Gunz, and Memphis Bleek. Did you expect to hear a different album the first time you gave this a listen?

Chris: Initially I remember buying the album solely because of the song with Grand Puba and Sadat X. I had heard the song somewhere and I just thought it was incredible but to answer your question, I don’t know if I did. While there are some dark, eerie and introspective songs there is still a lot of that typical Roc-a-fella vibe on this album but I enjoyed the moments where he got away from that a little bit.

Mike: Clearly Beanie Sigel’s incarceration influenced his mental state during this recording. I personally cite it as one of the most introspective Hip Hop albums ever, as I feel the frustration and paranoia shine through in a way that only his predicament could incite.  Kind of a “pain fuels great art” vibe. Is this something you feel when bumping this album?

Chris: For sure, there is a lot of vulnerability that comes through on this album which is always appealing because it’s so relatable. Especially the ones about women/relationship problems. “Oh Daddy” is one that stands out for me. Such a dope beat too.

Beanie Sigel feat. Young Chris – “Oh Daddy” (Produced by Boola)

Mike: Do you think Beans’ approach to this album held him back on this album? His first album “The Truth” carried forth the typical dynamic we knew from Roc-a-fella (car raps, jewelry, drug dealing, sped up soul samples). Although the squad wasn’t too altered, this felt way more “mature” than his previous offering. Do you feel his mental growth is shown between the two albums also?

Chris: Without question, most often an artist’s first album is their best work because they’ve had their whole life up to that point to create the album. In my opinion there is a clear progression in Beanie Sigel’s game from his first album to this his third.

Mike: The amount of heavy hitters on this album reads like a “Rap All-Star Team” with guest vocals from Redman, Cam’ron, Snoop and the boards being blessed by Just Blaze, DJ Scratch, and the Madd Rapper. Who’s guest appearance impressed you the most?

Chris: My favorite guest appearances were Grand Puba and Sadat X on “Bread & Butter”. It’s my favorite track on the album. So dope! I love Just Blaze’s flip of that Johnny “Guitar” Watson song.

Beanie Sigel feat. Grand Puba and Sadat X – “Bread & Butter” (Produced by Just Blaze)

Johnny “Guitar” Watson – “Proud of You”

Mike: I have another comment and question in regard to the album…

The classic blue filtered Danny Hastings photograph cover was an instant giveaway that this was going to be one of this was going to be one to go down in the history books. From KRS’s “Return of the Boom Bap” to Jeru’s “Wrath of the Math” to Eminem’s “Slim Shady LP”, this has been proven successful. There is something to be said about the stature of this aesthetic. Was the cover art something that immediately drew you to this album? For me, it was and I think it’s a great visual depiction of Beanie’s illustrious and heavy content.

Chris: It’s not something I remember drawing to album at the time but I think you make a very interesting point. Danny Hastings has taken some of the most classic photographs in Hip Hop history. I encourage anyone who isn’t familiar with his work to google “Danny Hastings”. You’re in for a surprise! To me, Danny Hastings work is very familiar to the old Blue Note album covers where the color tone of the photo evokes an emotion in you, setting the mood for the music on the album.

http://dannyhastingsphotography.com/galleries/golden_era

Mike: I think it’s safe to say that both our favorite Hip Hop album is O.C.’s 1994 release “Word..Life”. Do you also hear similarities in the content on “The B. Coming” at times?

Chris: I think that there are some similarities in terms of some of the “personal” content but that would probably be it. No shots at all at this album because I definitely enjoy it but I consider “Word..Life” to be a perfect album.

Mike: And to wind it down, gotta end on the staple questions… favorite tracks and is “The B. Coming” and album you would still enjoy bumping to this day? I’m going with “Feel it in the Air” and I can say it has never left my rotation.  This is a 5 mic album in my book.

Beanie Sigel feat. Melissa – “Feel It in The Air” (Produced by Heavy D)

Chris: Kind of cool that “Feel It in The Air” was produced by Heavy D! My favorite tracks were “Bread & Butter”, “Oh Daddy”, “Purple Rain” and “I Can’t Go On This Way”. I’m really glad that you chose to review this album because it was an album that I haven’t heard in a while and I actually like even more than I had in the past. It’s a good listen.