I would agree both that C&S has certain limitations and that much of it is pretty legitimately incredible. Comparing the C&S movement to dub is an interesting, but perhaps unfair one. Certainly, musicians in both genres have discovered alternative emotional, structural, and narcotic possibilities lying hidden in previously recorded music. However, looking at dub with the benefit of 30+ years of hindsight you see a genre that has expanded and diversified immensely and has effected almost every rock and electronic genre that exists. In contrast C&S is barely ten years old and has only relatively recently expanded beyond the borders of the state of Texas.
That being said there are several things that DJ Screw and his compatriots and followers have done that well exceeds slowing records down. Most importantly because many of the tracks are freestyles that between the fucked-with beat and the new lyrics are essentially entirely new tracks. But beyond that, the sound, with its reverb, catatonic scratching, and freestyles that can sound like they were recorded by some half-asleep rhymer talking into a tape recorder, has a lot more to it than slow tempo. Secondly, Screw’s tracks are very often much longer than the originals not just because they are slower, but because he often loops parts of the songs over and over again. The increased length creates a listening experience that has more in common with the endless throb of Basic Channel than the change-happy beats of Timbaland, or Kanye West. Finally, there is a kind of freestyling that is made possible by these hip-hop drones that is almost unique to Screw and co.’s mixtapes. Rappers like Big Moe and Lil Keke will flow on and on in violent, dreamy descriptions of life in Houston that can last for literally 9-10 minutes.
Also, anyone interested in Screw etc. should check out the current post at
Government Names . It’s not necessarily a blow by blow history so much as a stream of consciousness reverie about the world of Screw, but it contains an incredible amount of interesting biographical detail. And he discusses a lot of the stuff I have mentioned above.