Album Notes

Who is EOW?

For three 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 140 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" and a series of monthly mixtapes featuring live performances and exclusive singles. 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.