DJ Screw

 

There would be no exhibit without this man, and many you see featured here wouldn't even be artists were it not for the encouragement and generosity of Robert Earl Davis, Jr. The Smithville native moved to Houston in his teens already knowing his way around the turntables, and in the early 1990s he began to develop the techniques that he would turn into a genre, turning the Houston hip-hop lexicon on its head, and slowing everything way down -- "Screwing The World." DJ Screw passed away on November 16, 2000.

-- Lance Scott Walker, author of Houston Rap Tapes: An Oral History of Bayou City Hip-Hop (University of Texas Press, October 2018)

 

 

Originally from Smithville, Texas, DJ Screw was a Houston-based DJ who invented a new genre of hip hop known as "chopped and screwed." Using special production techniques, DJ Screw recorded mixtapes which featured repeated words and phrases, and music slowed down to a crawl. Local rappers from the Southside of Houston freestyled over some of the tracks on the mixtapes. These tapes were extremely popular in the Gulf Coast region during DJ Screw's life; in the years since his death in 2000 they have influenced recordings by popular artists such as Drake and Beyoncé.

 

DJ Screw, "Facin Time" mixtape commissioned for Mark

This is an original mixtape created by DJ Screw, also known as a screw tape or gray tape. DJ Screw primarily recorded on 100 minute gray Maxell tapes, and he wrote his name, his beeper number, the title of the tape, and the word "fool" on the label by hand. Gray tapes did not come with track listings.

 

Screw tape list for Lil' Keke

Gift of Robert E. Davis, Sr.

This is a handwritten list for one of the underground mixtapes recorded by DJ Screw. He would take a small commission to create a mixtape for an individual featuring particular songs, and then dub copies of that original tape to sell to the public.

 

 

DJ Screw, June 27th CD, Screwed Up Records & Tapes

June 27th is the best known of DJ Screw's mixtapes, recorded for DeMo's birthday and featuring a 35-minute freestyle by multiple S.U.C. members over the beat for "Da Streets Ain't Right" by Kris Kross.

DJ Screw originally sold his mixtapes directly from his home. In 1998, he opened Screwed Up Records and Tapes to sell his recordings. The store is still in operation in its second location at 3538 W. Fuqua.

 

Handwritten lyrics by DJ Screw for the C-Note song "Screwed Up Click"

Gift of Robert E. Davis, Sr.

Although primarily a DJ, Screw also rapped on both screw tapes and albums. In this small notepad, he worked out the lyrics for his verse on the song "Screwed Up Click," which appeared on the album "Third Coast Born" by C-Note. His lyrics refer directly to things going on at his house -- the 1996 raid by Houston's Gang Task Force who mistakenly thought that the traffic to his home was for drugs, the "shady" behavior of some hangers-on as he became increasingly famous, and the effect of regularly sipping codeine promethazine or "drank."

 

Photograph of DJ Screw at Samplified Digital Recording Studio during the recording of 3 'N the Mornin'

Gift of DeMo

DJ Screw recorded a series of "above ground" albums for the local label BigTyme Recordz, owned by Russell Washington. They were recorded and mixed by Maestro at Samplified Digital Recording Studio in Missouri City. The popular "3 'N the Mornin'" was released as two records, "Part One" and "Part Two," and sold approximately 200,000 copies.

 

DJ Screw, "3 'N the Mornin': Part Two" 12", Bigtyme Recordz

DJ Screw's personal copy, Gift of Robert E. Davis, Sr.

DJ Screw was mainly known for his underground mixtapes, but he also recorded several "above ground" albums, the best known being 3 ‘N the Mornin’ (Part Two) on Bigtyme Recordz. The album featured music by Houston artists, chopped and screwed by DJ Screw.

 

 

DJ Screw passed away on November 16, 2000. His death was attributed to an overdose of codeine promethazine cough syrup and other drugs. His life and his talent continue to inspire fans and musicians around the world.