Is Chopped & Screwed Getting Gentrified?
Houston legend DJ Screw is the originator of chopped & screwed. Chopped & reverb is simply the whitewashed version.
According to pitchfork, the “originator of the “slowed + reverb” phenomenon, a simple DIY remixing style that has thrived on YouTube in recent years.” The originator happens to be a teen from Houston, the origin of chopped & screwed music.
Slater, the “originator,” does not credit DJ Screw for the birth of chopped & screw in his TikTok videos, which caused a backlash from the Houston community last night.
Many Houstonians argued the language around slowed + reverb was an erasure of chopped & screwed music. To add insult to injury, another Tiktok star created a video saying slowed + reverb was a new concept:
yo dev @Meami_Ami pic.twitter.com/mmuMaduF0t
— Gab (@gabrielabiraad) August 12, 2020
Houstonians and DJ Screw fans alike took to Twitter to voice their frustration.
https://twitter.com/notreailysure/status/1294034428763807745
As a native Houstonian, I do not have a problem with people making chopped & screwed songs; however, I do have a problem with the disrespect of Houston culture. Whether it be chopped & screwed or chopped & slopped songs, the music originated by Black Houston artists. Let’s not disregard the chopped and screwed king’s legacy.
RIP DJ Screw! Check out one of his screwtape below: