High & Mighty Present Eastern Conference All Stars

Back in the late-'90s indie-rap boom, a small handful of labels were remarkably consistent and always dope. New York's Rawkus, Fondle 'Em, and Fat Beats come to mind, as do Cali standard-bearers ABB and Stones Throw. Eastern Conference was right there with 'em for a little while; based in NYC and headed by Mighty Mi and Mr. Eon, it put out an impressive run of singles and full-lengths from not-quite-famous-yet artists like Cage, Mad Skillz, and RA the Rugged Man, plus the label's own groups High & Mighty and Smut Peddlers. This compilation was first released in '98 and features the cream of the crop, including the Mos Def–assisted single "B-Boy Document," the Alchemist-produced Evidence collabo "E=MC," the posse cut "All in Together," and the masturbation anthem "Hands on Experience," plus the Kool Keith remix. Like countless other labels, EC fell prey to a deadly combination of money issues, roster changes, and industry drama, disappearing from the scene shortly after the millennium. Regardless, this is a great compilation and a nice time capsule of underground hip-hop in the pre-MP3 era.