End of the Weak (EODub) 10 Year Anniversary – Highlights, Photos, Videos, Recap

September 4, 2010

Underground (and legendary) stars descended on Highline Ballroom on September 3rd to honor End of the Weak (EOW), NYC’s longest running weekly hip hop showcase, on their tenth anniversary, who provided a barrage of talent, including rappers, DJs, beatboxers and dancers, covering nearly every aspect of hip hop music and culture on one stage.

One of Birthplace Magazines “5 Reasons Why NY Hip Hop Doesn’t Suck,” End of the Weak, or as it is affectionately nicknamed, EODub, has become a worldwide franchise, brandishing their showcase formula in countries such as France, Argentina, Germany, Uganda, Brazil, Spain and the U.K., all while maintaining their flagship event at Pyramid, for over 500 weeks. In a row. As we mentioned in our column, “Very few things (including artists, groups, showcases, organizations, labels, radio stations) last ten years in hip hop,” and indeed, EOW has done so, without losing their credibility, following or love for the music they showcase, as evidenced by the joyous way EOW honchos Big Zoo, Jess Jamez and Vice Verses freestyled/rapped/hosted the night’s multi-element festivities.

Click here to see more photos from the End of the Weak 10 Year Anniversary Show

During the event, the word “family” was used often, and indeed, the atmosphere, complete with long, curving couches for audience members to lounge in, felt almost informal, with Highline clearly filled with fans who were also proverbial “friends of the show,” including other artists, media and supporters. Past EOW participants were sprinkled on stage throughout the night, with performances interspersed among a DJ Challenge, an beatboxing exhibition, an awe-inspiring B-Boy demonstration and the MC Challenge that EOW is renowned for.

Percussionist extraordinaire Swiss Chris, after an impressive solo set, helped maintain a live music feel throughout the evening, climaxing with an old-school-meets-new moment of the evening when Bronx rapper Albe Back brought out the legendary DMC for a set that included parts of their song together “I Like It,” a bit of a freestyle session and DMC running through a quick flurry of Run-DMC classics.

Pretty epic.

Other performers included Mazzi of S.O.U.L. Purpose, Mohammad Dangerfield (Hasan Salaam and Rugged N Raw), PackFM, DJ Evil Dee, underground legend J-Live, and the inimitable Homeboy Sandman.

While we strive to write as journalists, reporting while remaining as impartial as possible, the NYC-hip-hop-scene-advocate in us compels us to offer our congratulations to the End of the Weak family for achieving such a remarkable milestone, especially in a city, and genre, where so much has changed over the years, and for celebrating that milestone with an event that demonstrated exactly why they were able to make it this long in the first place.