Artists and bandsDJ Screw
Houston DJ associated with the slowed and chopped sound and the Screwed Up Click.
A birthday tape at a slower speed
On 27 June 1996, DJ Screw made a birthday tape for his friend, rapper Big DeMo. It became known by the date: “June 27th”. A long freestyle brings several rappers together over music drawn from Kris Kross’s “Da Streets Ain’t Right”.
Screw’s Houston tapes made slowed-down records and interrupted, repeated beats part of a distinctive listening experience. He gathered local voices around his turntables and recorded the results; the group of rappers associated with him became known as the Screwed Up Click.
The University of Houston’s library now preserves records from his collection and identifies some of the material used on the birthday tape. The date remains a way to remember both Big DeMo’s birthday and the music made around Screw in Houston.
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