Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of
remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and
deejaying
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
. It developed in the
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
hip hop scene in the early 1990s by
DJ Screw
Robert Earl Davis Jr. (July 20, 1971 – November 16, 2000), better known by his stage name DJ Screw, was an American hip hop DJ based in Houston, Texas, and best known as the creator of the now-famous chopped and screwed DJ technique. He ...
. The screwed technique involves slowing the tempo of a song down to 60 and 70 quarter-note
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ...
and applying techniques such as skipping beats, record
scratching
Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...
,
stop-time
In tap dancing, jazz, and blues, stop-time is an accompaniment pattern interrupting, or stopping, the normal time and featuring regular accented attacks on the first beat of each or every other measure, alternating with silence or instrumen ...
and affecting portions of the original composition to create a "chopped-up" version of the song.
History
1990: Creation
Preceding the late 1990s, most
Southern hip hop
Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memp ...
was upbeat and fast, like
Miami bass
Miami bass (booty music or booty bass) is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexually explicit ...
and Memphis, which was inspired by
Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force
Soulsonic Force (also referred to as Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force) is an American electro-funk and hip hop ensemble led by Afrika Bambaataa who helped establish hip-hop in the early 1980s with songs such as " Planet Rock." They were also ...
with their groundbreaking track "
Planet Rock". Unlike its southern musical counterparts Houston's rap style has consistently remained slower, even in the beginning of Houston hip hop, as can be heard on the earliest Houston based group
Geto Boys records from the mid to late 80's.
It is unknown when
DJ Screw
Robert Earl Davis Jr. (July 20, 1971 – November 16, 2000), better known by his stage name DJ Screw, was an American hip hop DJ based in Houston, Texas, and best known as the creator of the now-famous chopped and screwed DJ technique. He ...
definitively created "screwed and chopped" music. Screw's former manager Charles Washington stated, "Screw mistakenly created the sound while hanging out with friends at an apartment in the late 80s." Screw discovered that dramatically reducing the pitch of a record gave a mellow, heavy sound that emphasized lyrics to the point of
storytelling
Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...
. Initially, the slow-paced hip hop genre was referred to as laid-back driving music and was limited to South Houston until it was popularized by DJs such as DJ T-Rent Dinero and DJ Z-Rusty.
1991–2000: Rise to popularity and death of DJ Screw
In Houston, between 1991 and 1992, there was a notable increase in the use of
lean
Lean, leaning or LEAN may refer to:
Business practices
* Lean thinking, a business methodology adopted in various fields
** Lean construction, an adaption of lean manufacturing principles to the design and construction process
** Lean governm ...
(also known as purple drank and sizzurp) which many believe contributed to the allure of screw music.
The drug beverage has been considered a major influence on the making and listening of chopped and screwed music due to its perceived effect of slowing the brain down, and giving the slow, mellow music its appeal. In an interview for the documentary film ''Soldiers United For Cash'', DJ Screw denounced the claim that one has to use lean to enjoy screwed and chopped music, saying, "People think just to listen to my tapes you gotta be high or dranked out. That ain't true. There's kids getting my tapes, moms and dads getting my tapes, don't smoke or drink or nothing."
In the mid-1990s, chopped and screwed music started to move to the north side of Houston by way of DJ
Michael "5000" Watts
Swishahouse is an independent southern rap record label and hip hop collective based in Houston, Texas.
History
Swishahouse was founded in North Houston in 1997 by founder and CEO Michael "5000" Watts and OG Ron C as a response to the populari ...
, and later
OG Ron C.
A rivalry between north and south Houston over the true originators of chopped and screwed began to arise. Michael "5000" Watts always gave credit to DJ Screw as the originator of chopped and screwed music, although Watts has been a proponent of the slogan "screwed and chopped" instead of "chopped and screwed". In the late 1990s, with the help of
P2P
P2P may refer to:
* Pay to play, where money is exchanged for services
* Peer-to-peer, a distributed application architecture in computing or networking
** List of P2P protocols
* Phenylacetone, an organic compound commonly known as P2P
* Poin ...
networks such as
Napster, chopped and screwed music spread to a much wider audience.
On November 16, 2000, DJ Screw was found dead in the bathroom of his music studio. The autopsy report later revealed that Screw died from a lethal combination of
codeine,
marijuana and alcohol.
2000–present: Expansion and development
Following the death of DJ Screw, his musical influence spread all over the southern United States. Later in 2000, the
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
-based group
Three 6 Mafia
Three 6 Mafia is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip hop group, they would eventually go on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mys ...
came out with their song "
Sippin' on Some Syrup
"Sippin' on Some Syrup", sometimes known as "Sippin' on Some Purple drank, Sizzurp", is the second single from Three 6 Mafia's fourth studio album ''When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1''. It features UGK and Project Pat. The song samples the s ...
". The song debuted as a minor hit but later became one of Three 6 Mafia's most popular songs.
The 2007 documentary film ''Screwed in Houston'' details the history of the Houston rap scene and the influence of the chopped and screwed subculture on Houston hip hop. In 2011, University of Houston Libraries acquired over 1,000 albums owned by DJ Screw. Some of the albums were part of an exhibit in early 2012 and, along with the rest, went available for research in 2013.
As of to date, the chopped and screwed music genre has been added to all forms of streaming services including
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
,
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
and has crossed over to receive mass mainstream appeal.
The Chopstars
The Chopstars, also known as Chopstar DJs or simply Chopstars, are a collective that include American disc jockey, DJs and Turntablism, turntablists that perform chopped and screwed remixes of popular music under Chop Not Slop Ent. including Drak ...
/ChopNotSlop
Created by Swishahouse Records Co-founder
OG Ron C they began calling their remixes ChopNotSlop due to all the “sloppy” remixes that came out after the passing of DJ Screw. Since 2001 they have dedicated their cause to the legacy of DJ Screw.
The Chopstars
The Chopstars, also known as Chopstar DJs or simply Chopstars, are a collective that include American disc jockey, DJs and Turntablism, turntablists that perform chopped and screwed remixes of popular music under Chop Not Slop Ent. including Drak ...
have become the prominent source for chopped up music. With official releases with
Brent Fiayaz,
Don Toliver
Caleb Zackery "Don" Toliver ( ; born June 12, 1994) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He released his first major label mixtape, ''Donny Womack'', in August 2018. He is known for his singles " No Idea" and " After Party", from his de ...
and
Little Dragon
Little Dragon are a Swedish electronic music band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1996. The band consists of Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards).
Little Dragon' ...
br>
(Nabuma Purple Rubberband)they have made a niche in the sub genre. They currently have a radio show called ChopNotSlopShow on
Sound 42 which is
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
’s radio station on
SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sa ...
. Notable members include DJ Ryan Wolf, official DJ of the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
,
DJ Candlestick
Omar Barton (born June 21, 1985), better known by his stage name DJ Candlestick, is an American DJ, radio personality, and record producer. He is a member of The Chopstars of the ChopNotSlop subgenre, former on-air personality for KQBT 93.7 Th ...
, DJ Hollygrove,
Mike G
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, better known as Odd Future and often abbreviated as OF, was an American hip-hop music collective formed in Los Angeles County, California in 2007. The original members were Tyler, the Creator, Casey Veggies ...
formerly of
Odd Future
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, better known as Odd Future and often abbreviated as OF, was an American hip-hop music collective formed in Los Angeles County, California in 2007. The original members were Tyler, the Creator, Casey Veggies, ...
and
Oscar Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
winning director
Barry Jenkins
Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film '' Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Inde ...
as a creative collaborator.
Future screw and lean house
In the mid-2010s, producers on
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
began experimenting with fusing chopped and screwed music and
EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
. It has since developed into subgenres such as "future screw and lean house".
Slowed and reverb
"Slowed and reverb" (stylized as "slowed + reverb") is a technique of remixing which involves slowing down and adding reverb to a previously existing song, often created by using
digital audio editors such as
Audacity. The technique originated in 2017, when Houston-based producer Jarylun Moore (known online as Slater), having been inspired by DJ Screw, began uploading remixes of popular songs using the technique to
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. The first of these a remix of
Lil Uzi Vert
Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous fashion, ima ...
's song "
20 Min" earned over one million views on the platform in under two months, eventually earning over four million views before being taken down. Other notable producers in this sub-genre include wretchshop (also known as ''
ciki 8k''), rum world, Aestheticg, imlonely, Chovies as well as streliz. The style became especially popular on YouTube, where it became common to play remixes over looping clips from
retrofuturistic
Retrofuturism (adjective ''retrofuturistic'' or ''retrofuture'') is a movement in the creative arts showing the influence of depictions of the future produced in an earlier era. If futurism is sometimes called a "science" bent on anticipat ...
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
scenes. Slowed and reverb remixes were also uploaded to
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
using the service's podcast feature. For
Okayplayer, Elijah C. Watson dubbed slowed and reverb remixes "the soundtrack for
Generation Z", comparing the style to
lo-fi hip hop.
Remixes using the technique also became popular on the video-sharing service
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version ...
. However, they became controversial on social media in mid-2020 after a viral video posted to TikTok failed to attribute the creation of slowed and reverb to chopped and screwed, causing users to brand slowed and reverb a "
gentrified
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...
" version of chopped and screwed.
For the ''
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
'', Shelby Stewart wrote, "Give DJ Screw his flowers. Slowed + reverb is a poor imitation of what chopped and screwed music is."
See also
*
Nightcore
A nightcore edit is a version of a track that increases the pitch and speeds up its source material by approximately 35%. This gives an effect almost identical to playing a 33⅓-RPM vinyl record at 45 RPM. This 35% increase in RPM causes the ...
References
{{DJing
20th-century music genres
21st-century music genres
1990s in music
2000s in music
2010s in music
Hip hop genres
Southern hip hop
DJing
Unofficial adaptations