For
over two years now, E.O.W. has been a driving
force in the New
York City underground hip hop scene as hosts of the city's
premier open mic event, concert organizers and creators
of the MC Challenge. Initially conceived in the summer
of 2000 by DJ Joey Ty, End of the Weak was a response
to the uninspired commercial garbage that dominates the
airwaves. Joey wanted to start an open mic event and envisioned
a place where creativity and originality would be fostered;
a place where up and coming artists could build with veteran
MCs in a movement to change the status quo. He enlisted
three MCs, Vice Verses and Prolific Wone and Big Zoo,
to host the event at the Lower East Side venue, Baby Jupiter.
Unfortunately, Joey Ty passed away that same summer, and
never got to see his vision come to fruition. However
the idea behind E.O.W. lived on, and with the addition
of DJ Scram Jones, End of the Weak was born. The open
mic grew steadily, attracting some of the top talent in
the area, and eventually had to move to a larger venue,
The Pyramid. It is currently the longest running weekly
open mic in New York City, having rocked every Sunday
night for over 130 consecutive weeks. In 2001, E.O.W.
incorporated as a record label/entertainment company.
At the end of that summer, they organized the E.O.W. Hip-Hop
Town Hall that brought local politicians together with
members of the hip-hop community. That fall they released
their first compilation album, "Special Forces". Shortly
thereafter they released Webbafied's debut solo album,
"DemoGraphix". All the while, E.O.W. was stepping up its
name as purveyors of real hip-hop by organizing concerts
with The Beatnuts, Brand Nubian, and Run DMC's last performance
in New York City. E.O.W. had also created the most elite
form of MC competition, the E.O.W. MC Challenge. Conceived
as the anti-battle, it is a pentathlon of events testing
each facet of a real MC. To date, there have been 19 MC
Challenges, and three Challenges Of Champions. In the
summer of 2002, E.O.W. released their debut 12" vinyl,
"Black Ops", and promoted it on a national tour with stops
in Philadelphia, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and
at Chicago's famous House Of Blues. That winter, E.O.W.
opened its recording studio, The Dojo, in the Dumbo area
of Brooklyn. E.O.W. jumped off 2003 correct, releasing
its second compilation album "Definition". To support
this album, E.O.W. is going worldwide, with a European
tour scheduled for this summer. In the meantime, E.O.W.
keeps doing what it's always been doing: bringing the
end of the weak minds, end of the weak lyrics, and the
end of the weak spirits.
www.endoftheweak.com