Screwed & Chopped: Houston Got It On Lock
I first heard screwed and chopped music through none other than the 3-6 Mafia, who hail from Memphis, Tennessee. This was way back in the day. For those who are not in the know, screwed and chopped music was invented and popularized by DJ Screw, originating in Houston, Texas. "Screwing" music takes a track, and sloooooowwwssss it down. "Chopping" the track is almost like scratching it, repeating a certain phrase several times and then proceeding with the song. Back in the day, DJ Screw would not only screw and chop his labelmates' music, he would also take all kinds of other hip-hop artists' albums and screw and chop them as well, releasing them on the underground scene.
What people don't know, is that DJ Screw, by inventing this type of hip-hop, started a movement in which the city of Houston's blend of southern slang and screwed and chop music is launching a hip-hop revolution. Swishahouse, the label DJ Screw belonged to and that which made screwed and chopped music popular, is now dominating the hip-hop charts, with artists like Paul Wall, Cootie Bang, and Mike Jones, with DJ Michael Watts continuing the screwed and chopped tradition. Tons of other artists are down with this scene, including Slim Thug, and especially 3-6 Mafia, who have been screwing and chopping their music since at least the mid-1990's.
The advent of screwed and chopped music was and still is fueled by none other than sizzurp. Call it syrup, drank, lean, R, purple rain, or purple stuff, this drink is the basis for screwed and chopped music. The drink consists of promethazine (phenergan) and codeine cough syrup, usually mixed with sprite or hennessey, and a jolly rancher, in a styrofoam cup. The phenergan, which is an antihistamine, and codeine, an opiate, makes things kinda drrrraaaag, making drank go hand and hand with screwed and chopped music.
The popularity of sizzurp subsequently spread from Houston to all over the rest of the South, and now even P. Diddy got a song out with Jim Jones and Paul Wall about drank. Recently, however, a bunch of Houston doctors and pharmacists were arrested for supplying the city with hundreds of gallons of promethazine/codeine cough syrup (peep the details here). While this might put a dent in Houston's sizzurp consumption, I doubt it will harm the screwed and chopped movement in the least.
DJ Screw died in November 2000. The cause has always been rumored to be a codeine overdose from sizzurp, but his autopsy proved it was secondary to a heart attack. Nevertheless, Houston, also known as Purple City, has taken off with Swishahouse's remaining artists. Paul Wall, who is a white rapper, has had several hits off his new album "The People's Champ", with a screwed and chopped version released which I'm bumping as I write this.
It seems one of the hardest working cats in the south is none other than Bun B, half of the duo UGK (Underground Kings), who, along with The Geto Boys, have been representin' Houston for well over a decade. Lately he has been on just about every other hit or mixtape song that's been released from the south. You may remember UGK's breakout hit with Jay-Z, "Big Pimpin". Pimp C, the other half of UGK, is locked up, but when he gets out, I expect UGK to return big time, given that Houston and the rest of the south is now on fire. Other Houston rappers have been cashin' in on the city's success, including Jim Jones, a member of Harlem's Dipset Crew (along with Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, J.R. Writer, and a bunch of other lesser known cats), and Lil' Flip, who has had several hits in the last few years.
Houston is gonna keep it on lock. Screwed and chopped music is just becoming popular on a national level, although hip-hop heads have been bumpin' it on the underground for over a decade. With artists like Mike Jones, Slim Thug, and Paul Wall representin', we've only just started to see the potential hits from the City of Purple.
What people don't know, is that DJ Screw, by inventing this type of hip-hop, started a movement in which the city of Houston's blend of southern slang and screwed and chop music is launching a hip-hop revolution. Swishahouse, the label DJ Screw belonged to and that which made screwed and chopped music popular, is now dominating the hip-hop charts, with artists like Paul Wall, Cootie Bang, and Mike Jones, with DJ Michael Watts continuing the screwed and chopped tradition. Tons of other artists are down with this scene, including Slim Thug, and especially 3-6 Mafia, who have been screwing and chopping their music since at least the mid-1990's.
The advent of screwed and chopped music was and still is fueled by none other than sizzurp. Call it syrup, drank, lean, R, purple rain, or purple stuff, this drink is the basis for screwed and chopped music. The drink consists of promethazine (phenergan) and codeine cough syrup, usually mixed with sprite or hennessey, and a jolly rancher, in a styrofoam cup. The phenergan, which is an antihistamine, and codeine, an opiate, makes things kinda drrrraaaag, making drank go hand and hand with screwed and chopped music.
The popularity of sizzurp subsequently spread from Houston to all over the rest of the South, and now even P. Diddy got a song out with Jim Jones and Paul Wall about drank. Recently, however, a bunch of Houston doctors and pharmacists were arrested for supplying the city with hundreds of gallons of promethazine/codeine cough syrup (peep the details here). While this might put a dent in Houston's sizzurp consumption, I doubt it will harm the screwed and chopped movement in the least.
DJ Screw died in November 2000. The cause has always been rumored to be a codeine overdose from sizzurp, but his autopsy proved it was secondary to a heart attack. Nevertheless, Houston, also known as Purple City, has taken off with Swishahouse's remaining artists. Paul Wall, who is a white rapper, has had several hits off his new album "The People's Champ", with a screwed and chopped version released which I'm bumping as I write this.
It seems one of the hardest working cats in the south is none other than Bun B, half of the duo UGK (Underground Kings), who, along with The Geto Boys, have been representin' Houston for well over a decade. Lately he has been on just about every other hit or mixtape song that's been released from the south. You may remember UGK's breakout hit with Jay-Z, "Big Pimpin". Pimp C, the other half of UGK, is locked up, but when he gets out, I expect UGK to return big time, given that Houston and the rest of the south is now on fire. Other Houston rappers have been cashin' in on the city's success, including Jim Jones, a member of Harlem's Dipset Crew (along with Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, J.R. Writer, and a bunch of other lesser known cats), and Lil' Flip, who has had several hits in the last few years.
Houston is gonna keep it on lock. Screwed and chopped music is just becoming popular on a national level, although hip-hop heads have been bumpin' it on the underground for over a decade. With artists like Mike Jones, Slim Thug, and Paul Wall representin', we've only just started to see the potential hits from the City of Purple.
posted by J-Mart @ 6:35 PM
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