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_) 4th 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”
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”.
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.
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