DJ Screw
A Life in Slow Revolution
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- $29.99
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- $29.99
Publisher Description
DJ Screw, a.k.a. Robert Earl Davis Jr., changed rap and hip-hop forever. In the 1990s, in a spare room of his Houston home, he developed a revolutionary mixing technique known as chopped and screwed. Spinning two copies of a record, Screw would “chop” in new rhythms, bring in local rappers to freestyle over the tracks, and slow the recording down on tape. Soon Houstonians were lining up to buy his cassettes—he could sell thousands in a single day. Fans drove around town blasting his music, a sound that came to define the city’s burgeoning and innovative rap culture. June 27 has become an unofficial city holiday, inspired by a legendary mix Screw made on that date.
Lance Scott Walker has interviewed nearly everyone who knew Screw, from childhood friends to collaborators to aficionados who evangelized Screw’s tapes—millions of which made their way around the globe—as well as the New York rap moguls who honored him. Walker brings these voices together with captivating details of Screw’s craft and his world. More than the story of one man, DJ Screw is a history of the Houston scene as it came of age, full of vibrant moments and characters. But none can top Screw himself, a pioneer whose mystique has only grown in the two decades since his death.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this sensational oral history, hip-hop historian Walker (Houston Rap Tapes) offers a riveting look at why "DJ Screw is the stuff of Texas legend." Born in Smithville, Tex., Robert Earl Davis Jr., aka Screw (1971–2000), was the progenitor of the now-famous "chopped and screwed" technique, which involves slowing down the tempo of a song and spinning the record at different points to create an entirely new remix. Weaving together interviews with family, friends, and collaborators, Walker traces Screw's ascent through the rap ranks: from his teenage years experimenting with turntables and his mother's LPs to the flourishing empire born from his underground cassettes in the '90s. Set against the vivid backdrop of Houston's hip-hop scene, the narrative's greatest appeal is its uncut treatment of Screw and his colossal influence: as rapper Will-Lean recalls, when Screw's 1996 track "Sippin Codeine" was released, "doctors around town started getting loose with prescriptions, and as the tapes gained popularity, so did the drug." (It was also Codeine—an overdose—that led to Screw's death at 29.) Though his life was cut short, Walker's meticulous account underscores the enduring legacy of the rapper's pioneering music and his awe-inspiring ability to capture "the sound of the streets." This engrossing work will fascinate fans.
