Underdog fan favorites shock Emerald Cup, take top prize
The Emerald Cup is one of the country’s most respected cannabis contests. The storied competition held its 20th-anniversary celebration over the weekend at the historic Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland, Calif. Farmers showed off their best buds, brands and genetics companies offered the latest and greatest in the marketplace, and performances from Oakland legends like Too Short lit up the stage. But at the center of it all is the Emerald Cup Awards, and this year, the Mendo Dope Boys emerged victorious with their gas-forward Headies strain—the first time a personal use entry took Best in Show.
Mendo Dope is known throughout the Emerald Triangle and beyond for its reggae-infused hip-hop sound and deep passion for the plant. The group is typically on stage performing rather than collecting trophies. There’s no doubt the brothers cultivate fire; they just haven’t put an emphasis on entering contests until now. But Old E and Bleezy, along with farmer Cody “Dope” Akin, felt particularly inspired when the time came to submit entries for the 20th Emerald Cup.
The boys’ big winner originated from a plant grown by childhood friend Nick Box, who had died by suicide. After his death, Box’s parents asked the Mendo Dope crew to check out his garden and see what could be salvaged. Despite a raid by local thieves, the future Headies plant survived.
“It was chaos, you know, a bunch of chopped plants,” Old E recalled. “One of the plants that was very special looking was just down to the bottom, with maybe two branches left on it with buds. So we’re like, ‘let’s take a cut of this and bring it home and try to root it and bring it back to life.’”
The Mendo Dope Boys eventually re-vegged the plant, thought to be a 4 Kings cross, initially calling it Nick B OG in tribute. The sungrown flower is cultivated in living soil with Soil King substrates, Green Trees nutrients, Extreme Gardening teas, and Plant Therapy. The plant’s pungent terpenes, with their old-school OG kush aromas and sticky-icky buds, stood out to the legacy farmers. The opportunity to honor their fallen friend was the icing on the cake.
“For (Nick’s) family and everyone, they’re going to be super happy. It just keeps his name going,” Bleezy told GreenState.
The strain name eventually evolved to Headies, also a nod to Box. Mendo Dope explained that their friend always used the term “headies” when he had fire weed and that it was a perfect way to honor his memory.
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“It truly stood out…”
The Headies entry was an all-around star in the Emerald Cup flower category, impressing the judging panel and event founder Tim Blake himself. The personal use sub-category had never been in contention for the top prize—until this year.
When it came time to select the Best in Show, the judges were reportedly unanimous in their decision, an extremely rare occurrence in a hotly contested competition. But the Headies had what it takes to sway the table.
“We deliberate for days to come up with these winners,” explained long-time flower judge Jason Beck. “This was the first year that the ‘home grow’ category was even in the discussion for Best in Show. (Headies) truly stood out among the rest.”
Mendo Dope also found themselves in the winner’s circle in the personal use solventless extract category, taking third place via a collaboration with Pezbro. Taking top terpene content for a second year was an added bonus.
The next batch of Headies will be on California shelves soon via Redwood Roots. The upcoming drop is sure to sell out, so consumers should be on high alert.
