Chopped and screwed
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chopped and Screwed | |
| Stylistic origins | Southern hip hop - Codeine effect[1] |
|---|---|
| Cultural origins | Early 1990s, Houston, Texas, USA |
| Typical instruments | Turntables, Mixer, PC |
| Mainstream popularity | Staple of Houston and southern hip hop as a whole. Been on a constant rise since its origins in the early 1990s the more the music spreads. |
| Regional scenes | |
| Houston - San Antonio - Dallas | |
| Other topics | |
| purple drank - psychedelic music - codeine | |
Chopped and screwed (sometimes called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) refers to a technique of remixing hip hop music which developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the 1990s. This is accomplished by slowing the tempo down to between 60 - 70 quarter-note beats per minute and applying techniques such as skipping beats, record scratching, stop-time, and effecting portions of the music to make a "chopped-up" version of the original.
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[edit] History
Up to the early 1990s most of southern hip hop was upbeat and fast such as Miami bass and Crunk. In Houston a different approach took place of slowing music down rather than speeding it up. Many feel that the slow and mellow feel of chopped and screwed music is a symbol of how people live in Houston. It is unknown when DJ Screw officially made what is known as "Chopped and Screwed" music. People around Screw have said everything from 1984 to 1991, however Screw says he started slowing music down in 1990.[2] There is no debate however that DJ Screw did in fact invent the music style. It is thought that Screw came up with the music one day when messing around with his turntables. Screw discovered that dramatically reducing the pitch of a record gave a mellow, heavy sound that gave more empathy on song lyrics to the point of almost storytelling. After messing around with the sound for a while Screw started making full length, "Screw Tapes". At first the music was only referred to as "Screw music" and was limited to only South Houston and was seen as laid-back driving music. As Screw's tapes started to gain lots of popularity he started selling his tapes for around $10.[3] Screw was well known to feature some of Houston's most renowned rappers from the south side, this eventually led to the formation of the Screwed Up Click.
Around 1991/1992 there was a large increase in use of syrup in Houston.[4] Syrup has been considered to be a major influence in the making of and listening to chopped and screwed music due to its effects to slow the brain down, giving slow, mellow music its appeal. DJ Screw, however, denounced the claim that you have to use syrup to enjoy chopped and screwed music a number of times. Screw, a known user of syrup, said he came up with chopped and screwed music when high on marijuana.[5]
In the mid-1990s chopped and screwed music started to move to North Houston to people such as DJ Michael "5000" Watts.[6] It wasn't long till a rivalry between north and south Houston started over who were, "originators" and "adopters". Michael "5000" Watts always gave credit to DJ Screw as the originator of chopped and screwed music. It is also believed that Michael "5000" Watts came up with the term "chopped and screwed". As time passed and a younger generation got into chopped and screwed music there became less worry on who was a originator and who was adopter. In the late 1990s with the help of P2P groups such as Napster chopped and screwed music spread to a much wider group of people.
On November 16, 2000 DJ Screw died leaving a legacy that has lasted to this day. The medical examiner who performed his autopsy concluded that Screw died from a lethal combination of codeine and alcohol. This hurt chopped and screwed music badly since no one since DJ Screw has met the level of popularity he had. Shortly after the passing of Screw chopped and screwed music spread all over the south. Later in 2000 Memphis based group, Three 6 Mafia came out with their song "Sippin' on Some Syrup". The song at first was just a minor hit but later became one of Three 6 Mafia's most popular songs.
In 2003 David Banner was the first person to make a chopped and screwed version of his album, Mississippi: The Album, on a major label. Michael "5000" Watts did the remix. This helped form a large audience of chopped and screwed music listeners.
Today it is still common to see chopped and screwed music on mixtapes and chopped and screwed versions of albums. Artist such as Three 6 Mafia, Lil Wayne, T-Pain, T.I., UGK, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, Drake, Scarface as well as many others have made chopped and screwed versions of their albums.
[edit] Subculture
Chopped and screwed music was created by DJ Screw in the early 1990s. Part of the chopped & screwed music scene is a beverage known as purple drank (the active ingredients being codeine and promethazine); the color purple, which is usually present as a haze in the "drank," has also become a symbolic color or motif to identify chopped and screwed versions of songs or whole albums. The 2007 documentary film Screwed In Houston produced by VBS/Vice Magazine details the history of the Houston rap scene and the influence of the Chopped and Screwed sub-culture on Houston hip-hop.
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/chopped_screwed/index2.jhtml: "Of course, it wasn't just the slower pace of Southern life that was simpatico with chopped and screwed music. It was also the drug culture springing up in Houston at the time — specifically, the one centering on the consumption of the prescription cough syrup Promethazine, which includes codeine. The elixir goes by a number of names — syrup, drank, Texas tea — and its depressant qualities were the catalyst to an illicit subculture built around its abuse and the lethargic beats of chopped and screwed."
- ^ http://ifihavent.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/givin-it-to-ya-slow-dj-screw-interview-from-rappages-1995/
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/chopped_screwed/
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/chopped_screwed/index2.jhtml
- ^ http://ifihavent.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/givin-it-to-ya-slow-dj-screw-interview-from-rappages-1995/
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/chopped_screwed/index2.jhtml
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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