Chopped and screwed is a technique of remixing hip hop music which developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s. This is accomplished by slowing the tempo down to between 60 and 70 quarter-note beats per minute and applying techniques such as skipping beats, record scratching, stop-time, and affecting portions of the music to make a "chopped-up" version of the original.
DJ Screw is known by many to be the Godfather of the genre. Screw was trying to find a tone of music that matched with the way cough syrup made him feel. Slow and down.
In Houston, a different approach of slowing music down, rather than speeding it up, developed. It is unknown when DJ Screw created "screwed and chopped" music: Screw said he started slowing music down in 1990 and also in Tulsa Oklahoma Dj Dinero And Dj Z-Nasty helpedincrease popularity in chopped and screwed music in the Mid South. There is no debate, however, that DJ Screw invented the music style." He discovered that dramatically reducing the pitch of a record gave a mellow, heavy sound that emphasized 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", was limited to the South Side of Houston, and was seen as laid-back driving music. As Screw's tapes started to gain popularity he started selling his tapes from the back of his trunk for around $10. Screw was 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.
On November 16, 2000, DJ Screw died from a lethal combination of codeine and alcohol. Shortly after the death of Screw, screwed and chopped music spread all over the south. Later in 2000, the Memphis based group Three 6 Mafia came out with their song Sippin on Some Syrup as a tribute to Screw.
DJ Screw is a legitimate music legend. He passed more than a decade ago, but is as prevalent in Houston's rap identity as any living person.
