Forerunners of independent movement, Mr. Eon and DJ Mighty Mi, otherwise known as The High & Mighty, first began to turn heads in 1997, going for delf (literally) on their first single Hands On Experience, featuring Bobbito The Barber and Company Flow’s El-P, speaking on the joys of flying solo. As their popularity among backpackers began to climb, the group released a few more 12″‘s on their label Eastern Conference, even branching out far enough releasing singles from Mad Skillz, and a new offshoot, Smut Peddlers, a group consisting of Mr. Eon and Cage. Most recently, the group planned to release their album through their label, until Rawkus  heroically snatched it up and gave it a little bit of A&Ring and the extra push it needed.

By now, you net heads have heard this album already, as either the singles have landed on your turntables, or through greedy DJ’s leaking the exclusives on their mixtapes. But, whether you scored a ghetto dub from Chase, or got it from some disappearing illegal MP3 site, you still haven’t heard this album.

Upon first review, before the crew signed with Rawkus, we evaluated a second generation dub, direct from the hands of Mighty Mi. This poor duplication, not only was missing half of the tracks added to the final version, but also didn’t do the album justice due to its poor sound quality. For one, some of the older tracks, such as “Dick Starbuck Porno Detective”, “The Meaning”, and “The Half” have been re-recorded and/or re-mastered, showing much improvement. Meanwhile, tracks like “B-Boy Document” and “Flyest Material” have been given the remix treatment, reborn as “B-Boy Document ’99″ (w/ Mos Def & Mad Skillz), and “The Last Hit” (w/ Eminem). Sonically, it’s like comparing the original Star Wars to the Special Edition that was released in 1997.

All of the classics are still here, whether it’s the first time you’ve heard them or not. “Top Prospects” with Defari & Evidence, is better than ever, with new lyrics from Mr. E, while older tracks like “The Meaning” and “In Outs” with Cage still sound just as fresh as the album’s new material.

Listening to the final version of the LP, it becomes evident what a great piece of work this is. Since their debut, DJ Mighty Mi’s production has improved, as he’s learned to perfect the science of making beats. Tracks such as “Dick Starbuck” or “The Half”, need more than just a dope sample, and Milo realizes this with his addition of better drum tracks and cleaner final mix-downs. Milo’s own “jiggy backpack” sound becomes the perfect mix of underground beats, that don’t put you to sleep, yet still aren’t disgustingly commercial.

Half of Mr. Eon is a microphone court jester, yet the other half is a serious man with a high regard for hip-hop as a culture and artform. Tracks like “The Half” are laced with creative, humorous wordplay and metaphors, that conjure up some truly odd images: (“Keep that shit tight like grandpa’s Speedos” or “You couldn’t even fuck with my echo”) to name a few. Tracks like “Hot Spitable” and “The Meaning” illustrate his love for the art. Eon is a dope emcee in his own right, but when he slips, the LP is has enough guest appearances from top-notch lyricists to clean up after him. From Kool Keith to Eminem to Evidence to Thirstin Howl III, there is never a point when the listener gets bored on this LP.

While it’s unclear how much Rawkus will promote this record, or if the larger audience will even notice it, Mi and E have delivered a borderline classic. In it’s final form, they’ve got all bases covered with the Home Field Advantage.