Compilation: No Rating Given

    Eastern Conference Records has been known to showcase some of the finest underground acts while maintaining such a cohesive sound. And while they’ve been instrument in the earlier careers of today’s allstars, even those that moved on (Cage, Eminem, Royce), they still have been able to maintain credibility in the fickle underground. Now DJ Mighty Mi and Mr. Eon bring to the masses Eastern Conference All Stars IV. With a little shake up in format, the duo hope to still maintain the credibility EC has been known for over the years. 

     Right out the gate Copywrite, Tame One and Cage blast off with “Weatherwhatevermen.” As the beat pounds and the emcees jockey for position amongst the track, fans of the Weathermen may salivate for a true album from the crew. Copywrite and Tame trade punch lines like heavyweight boxers as Cage slides through the track with his trademark flow. Tame One completely terrorizes “Superbad” with an off the wall ridiculous style, continuing where he left off on the spaced out Leak Bros album. The seldom seen Copywrite also chips in with his solo joint “H.B.T.” and continues to
demonstrate his ability to deliver enough quotables to fill an average emcees whole album. Vast Aire and Mr. Eon work their magic on the spacey “The Beam Up” while High & Mighty work it out over the head snapping “Key Master.”

    What may throw the listener off is the inclusion of many remixes on the album. With four remixes, including one for hometown crew Ice City’s “Lock it Down”, it takes away from an Eastern Conference album that is usually filled with breakthrough joints from its promising roster. Also some of the pairings don’t pack the oomph of a Cage, High and Mighty or a Copywrite joint. The pairing of Cheif Kamachi and Guru may not pack the punch of a Nighthawks joint, but then again, why would it? But even with the slight missteps included the album still has many highlights that should hold a
hungry listener down for a while.

     EC All-Stars 4 may not be as dope as their previous work but it still carries its weight when the Eastern Conference family is intact. It only shows how strong that each artist affiliated with EC shines brighter than many other artists coming out of the independent scene.  While this may be the final chapter of the EC series it still goes out with a bang and proves the staying power the label that helped shed some light on the diamonds in the rough.