Classic Day – Chopped Not Slopped

It can be incredibly difficult to pinpoint exactly when hip-hop took over the mainstream through underground roots. While it may seem commonplace in 2019, remixing whole tracks by slowing them down, adding a new flair of glimmer and gloss was not such a simple idea. DJ Screw was a major innovator of what would become “Chopped and Screwed” as a genre where innovation came from re-working some of the beauty of Houston’s biggest hip-hop hits.

From Lil Ugly Mane to Three 6 Mafia, from Travis Scott to $UICIDEBOY$, sampling is a key factor to these artists’ music and between the way that DJ Screw could work in this intricacies that made the music feel more as moving art pieces of abstract ideals rather than just simply slowed-down tracks. It was the 2002 release As The World Turns Slow that introduced Houston artists through a spotlight of originality and ability that could not be found anywhere else in the world.

The Wreckless Entertainment artist knew exactly what tracks would highlight the uplifting hood rap that made infamous Pen & Pixel Graphics mixtape cover arts, lean-sipping hits, and a reflection of Houston itself as DJ Screw spins through the better half of incredible rhyme schemes. The style is definitely not a cup of tea for everyone as the listener must not only enjoy hip-hop and the art of sampling, but also the fine art of mixing and creating new life from old material. In some ways, DJ Screw was able to create new looks at the individual pieces of hip-hop as the sloshed lyrics over the often bouncing percussive snaps are perfect for the foggy ride through sun-ridden streets.

As the curtain closed on DJ Screw’s life in November of 2000 after an unfortunate overdose at the age of 29. Screw left a post-human legacy that came shortly after. As The World Turns Slow is not an actual official DJ Screw release and is instead looked at as a collection of tracks that almost always span into the longer runs of five-minutes or more. Regarding in the five, six, even sometimes nine-minute long tracks that will occasionally cross over into 10-minutes. The track “Topsdrop (R.I.P)” is a 10-minute remix set to honor Fat Pat who was shot and killed in 1998 before the release of his only solo album to ever

Through Houston’s long legacy of music direction and innovation, DJ Screw hit the hearts and shook the underground worlds through mixtapes and descriptive styling for music that would shape remixes even today. He should not be recognized just for his unique style, but for putting an entire city on his back to represent the hood hero that was DJ Screw.

Listen To As The World Turns Slow Here!!! – Youtube/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes