Yeah. Um I donno I can see how someone would find some of it to be a "novelty," thats kind of what I think of lots of the S&C versions of albums I'd rather hear at full speed (like Mississippi) but the appeal of S&C to me is way way beyond that - 3 n tha morning pt. 2, as the world turns slow ... that shit is slowed down (sometimes the songs are ONLY available slowed, never released "normal") and thats the way i want it to be - thats not novelty music, its lifestyle music, moreso in houston than elsewhere obv but I love listening to it, lonely drives at night, sitting in cafes, chilling with friends smoking (hah i'm not exactly sipping purple drank). "I'm on that south side, southeast to be exact..." I want to go listen to that right now.
The Screwed & Chopped thread
- Thread starter stelfox
- Start date
holy fuck action
can i just say three words: fuck action 41!
this shit is outstanding. not as wildy eclectic, canon-wrecking or massive as 40 and 40.5 (four discs altogether, wherein ron c screwed and chopped everything from xtina to bb king and ray charles), but it's hosted by faith evans (apparently there's an S&C versh of first lady knocking about) and the edits of her singing true love and mariah carey's (while we're at it, the emancipation of mimi is a corker of a record, too) we belong together are just BEAUTIFUL... there's one point where it sounds like the chorus of the latter has been slashed with a thousand razors and left billowing like streamers in the wind. fabulous stuff...
can i just say three words: fuck action 41!
this shit is outstanding. not as wildy eclectic, canon-wrecking or massive as 40 and 40.5 (four discs altogether, wherein ron c screwed and chopped everything from xtina to bb king and ray charles), but it's hosted by faith evans (apparently there's an S&C versh of first lady knocking about) and the edits of her singing true love and mariah carey's (while we're at it, the emancipation of mimi is a corker of a record, too) we belong together are just BEAUTIFUL... there's one point where it sounds like the chorus of the latter has been slashed with a thousand razors and left billowing like streamers in the wind. fabulous stuff...
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.
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.
geto.blast
snap on rims
gumdrops said:
nah that s thinking too much , it was all about the drugs, the man himself died of a codein OD.
i read screwed beats described as "the stoner rock of hiphop" somewhere.
geto.blast
snap on rims
stelfox said:
wasn t it all about trying to emulate the sound of hiphop on too much codeine? seriously if you think there s more to it than that please elaborate...
C
captain easychord
Guest
well, if you check out the SUC documentary from 2000, screw addresses this issue. he talks about how he just likes the music better when it's slowed down, about how you can hear the details of the production better, and how you can follow the rapping more clearly. which is totally true, all these details that whizz by you at normal speed open up when everything's pitched down. in a baller status interview paul wall described screwed music as kind of storytelling (his exact words) where the DJ takes you through a track, repeating key lines, opening up the 'text' (my words). i mean you can't really deny the importance of copious amounts of drank and week in making this music (screw also talks about how he and his boys would get really fucked up while making tapes) there were motivations IMO other than just replicating the effects of codeine intoxication.
geto.blast
snap on rims
captain easychord said:
Yes yes but: "anyone sceptically thinking that in spite of all the novelty factor, screwed music is actually just a gimmick that quickly loses its appeal and generally fails to be the dirty souths equivalent to dub?"
implies these cats sat down and actually thought about what they were doing etc ... trying to intellectualize something that these guys built from their environment/experiences with the tools they had seems strange.
Now maybe it s hard to repackage for mainstream consumption but it doesn t automatically mean it was just a "gimmick".
i have familiarity with a few similar scenes where odd stuff gets produced for a small circle of people with similar tastes in drugs and music... doesn t make it a "gimmick" , it just means it s not meant for you.
Grievous Angel
Beast of Burden
Any chance of someone doing a mix of this stuff so I can get a taste?
Oh, and anyone else hear an echo of screwed and chopped in Kode 9's stuff? The way he slows down / down-pitches Space Ape's voice...
Oh, and anyone else hear an echo of screwed and chopped in Kode 9's stuff? The way he slows down / down-pitches Space Ape's voice...
geto.blast
snap on rims
2stepfan said:
http://www.screweduprecords.com/index.asp << his homies keep the stuff available for sale here with samples.
<< the man himself in the mix.
also lots and lots of that stuff on soulseek.
huffafc said:
good points... most people forget the "chopped" part of the equation and assume it's just the same exact song slowed down...
i hear when michael watts dj's out, he will use cd decks and do the looping live... seems interesting..
i think the dub comparison has some merit, in the sense that just like how in late 70's non-dub reggae (vocal or dj tracks) you would hear elements of dub at times (drop outs, use of delay on certain lines in a vocal cut) you can hear chopped and screwed elements in normal songs... like in the chorus of "diamonds" by slim thug, it's a chopped and screwed sound...
originaldrum
from start till done
huffafc said:
GN adds another "Bossman" to the lengthy list
viktorvaughn
Well-known member
I have been loving this album called ‘The 12 Disciples of Screw’ Vol. 3. It takes a while to get into the altered tempo. I’m not too keen when it’s all screwing and no chopping though, the little glitches and repeated phrases really keep you on your toes.
What are the real seminal mixes? What was Screw’s original series of mixes? Are people now making hip-hop that is already chopped and screwed or is it still a process done to other tunes? Are there any DJs who really really chop it up?!
What are the real seminal mixes? What was Screw’s original series of mixes? Are people now making hip-hop that is already chopped and screwed or is it still a process done to other tunes? Are there any DJs who really really chop it up?!