{{Short description|Music genre and technique of remixing music}} {{about|the technique|the album by MC Breed|Chopped and Screwed (album){{!}}''Chopped and Screwed'' (album)|the song by T-Pain|Chopped 'n' Skrewed|the rapping style|chopper (rap)}} {{multiple issues| {{self-sourcing examples|date=April 2017}} {{more citations needed|date=April 2017}} }} {{use mdy dates|date=January 2022}} {{infobox music genre | name = Chopped and screwed | other_names = * Screwed and chopped * slowed and throwed | cultural_origins = Early 1990s, Houston, Texas, United States | derivatives = {{hlist|Witch house|seapunk|vaporwave|cloud rap|sigilkore|phonk}} | other_topics = Codeine {{hlist|Dirty rap|bounce|Memphis rap|Chopped and screwed|crunk|trap}} | regional_scenes = Houston and Longview, Texas | stylistic_origins = * Southern hip hop * electro * bounce * Memphis rap * sampledelia * codeine effect<ref name="MTV" /> | subgenres = {{hlist|Future screw|Slowed + reverb}} }}
'''Chopped and screwed''' (also called '''screwed and chopped''' or '''slowed and throwed''') is a genre of hip-hop music and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and DJing. It was pioneered by DJ Screw, and became a staple in the Houston hip hop scene in the 1990s. The screwed technique involves slowing the tempo of a song down to 60 and 70 quarter-note beats per minute and applying techniques such as skipping beats, record scratching, stop-time and affecting portions of the original composition to create a "chopped-up" variant of the material.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/news/life-in-the-slow-lane-6562149|title=Life in the Slow Lane|last=Washington|first=Jesse|date=January 18, 2001|website=Houston Press|access-date=April 28, 2020}}</ref>
== Characteristics == In dance or hip hop music sampling, the term "chopping" is the "altering [of] a sampled phrase [or break] by dividing it into smaller segments and reconfiguring them in a different order."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schloss |first=Joseph G. |title=Making beats: the art of sample-based hip-hop |date=2004 |publisher=Wesleyan university press |isbn=978-0-8195-6696-6 |location=Middletown, Conn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pearce |first=Sheldon |date=2017-01-24 |title=From DJ Screw to Moonlight: the unlikely comeback of chopped and screwed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jan/24/chopped-screwed-hip-hop-dj-screw-moonlight |access-date=2025-09-22 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
== History ==
=== Origins === Prior to the late 1990s, most Southern hip hop was upbeat and fast, like Miami bass and Memphis, which was inspired by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force with their groundbreaking track "Planet Rock". Unlike its southern musical counterparts Houston's rap style has consistently remained slower, even in the beginning of Houston hip hop, as can be heard on the earliest Houston based group Geto Boys records from the mid to late 80's. It is unknown when DJ Screw definitively created "screwed and chopped" music. Screw's former manager Charles Washington stated, "Screw mistakenly created the sound while hanging out with friends at an apartment in the late 80s."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-slow-life-and-fast-death-of-dj-screw/|title=The Slow Life and Fast Death of DJ Screw|date=January 21, 2013|website=Texas Monthly|language=en|access-date=April 28, 2020}}</ref> Screw discovered that dramatically reducing the pitch of a record gave a mellow, heavy sound that emphasized lyrics to the point of storytelling. Initially, the slow-paced hip hop genre was referred to as laid-back driving music and was limited to South Houston until it was popularized by DJs such as DJ T-Rent Dinero and DJ Z-Rusty.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Allah |first1=Bilal |date=November 1995 |title=DJ Screw: Givin' It to Ya Slow |url=https://pressrewind.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/screw_nov95.jpg |language=en |magazine=Rap Pages |publisher=Larry Flynt Publications |access-date=December 7, 2020 |page=84 }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=December 2020}}
{{quote box| |text="[DJ Screw] strung together rap singles and vocals from local and other artists, all of which he manipulated and persuaded to slow down the beat to a crawl and the vocals to a torpid drawl. He also chopped up the lyrics to create new meanings, warped and filtered the voices and added his own exhortations to the music's regional audience, mostly just using turntables and a microphone." |width=25em |source=—''The New York Times''{{full citation needed|date=April 2017}} }}
In Houston, between 1991 and 1992, there was a notable increase in the use of lean (also known as purple drank and sizzurp) which, as Patel Joseph from MTV News believes, contributed to the allure of screw music.<ref name="MTV">{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/chopped_screwed/index2.jhtml|title=Chopped And Screwed: A History|last=Patel|first=Joseph|website=MTVNews.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311071048/http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/chopped_screwed/index2.jhtml|archive-date=March 11, 2007|access-date=March 2, 2019|quote=Of course, it wasn't just the slower pace of Southern life that was simpatico with chopped and screwed music. It was also the drug culture springing up in Houston at the time—specifically, the one centering on the consumption of the prescription cough syrup Promethazine, which includes codeine. The elixir goes by a number of names—syrup, drank, Texas tea—and its depressant qualities were the catalyst to an illicit subculture built around its abuse and the lethargic beats of chopped and screwed.}}</ref> The drug beverage has been considered a major influence on the making and listening of chopped and screwed music due to its perceived effect of slowing the brain down, and giving the slow, mellow music its appeal. In an interview for the documentary film ''Soldiers United For Cash'', DJ Screw denounced the claim that one has to use lean to enjoy screwed and chopped music, saying, "People think just to listen to my tapes you gotta be high or dranked out. That ain't true. There's kids getting my tapes, moms and dads getting my tapes, don't smoke or drink or nothing."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/DJ-Screw-Soldiers-United-Cash/dp/B077K8WC4J|title=DJ Screw Soldier's United For cash Documentary|website=amazon.com|access-date=April 28, 2020}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2020}}
In the mid-1990s, chopped and screwed music started to move to the north side of Houston by way of DJ Michael "5000" Watts, and later OG Ron C.<ref name="MTV" /> A rivalry between north and south Houston over the true originators of chopped and screwed began to arise.<ref>{{Citation|title=Sauce Walka reflects on North Houston vs South Houston beef| date=July 2, 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfkSLGz6oBo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/WfkSLGz6oBo |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=April 28, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2020}} Michael "5000" Watts always gave credit to DJ Screw as the originator of chopped and screwed music, although Watts has been a proponent of the slogan "screwed and chopped" instead of "chopped and screwed". In the late 1990s, with the help of P2P networks such as Napster, chopped and screwed music spread to a much wider audience.
On November 16, 2000, DJ Screw was found dead in the bathroom of his music studio. The autopsy report later revealed that Screw died from a combination of codeine, Valium, and PCP.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Allah |first=Sha Be |date=2021-11-16 |title=Today In Hip Hop History: Houston Legend DJ Screw Passed Away 21 Years Ago - The Source |url=https://thesource.com/2021/11/16/today-in-hip-hop-history-houston-legend-dj-screw-passed-away-21-years-ago/,%20https://thesource.com/2021/11/16/today-in-hip-hop-history-houston-legend-dj-screw-passed-away-21-years-ago/ |access-date=2023-12-12 |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== 2000s–2010s ===
Following the death of DJ Screw, his influence spread all over the southern US hip hop scene.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://unodriftwood.com/3448/city/behind-the-scenes-of-chopped-and-screwed-music/|title=Behind the scenes of chopped and screwed music|publisher=Driftwood|date=March 31, 2019|first=Dylan|last=Mininger|access-date=July 4, 2019|archive-date=June 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624181759/https://unodriftwood.com/3448/city/behind-the-scenes-of-chopped-and-screwed-music/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The 2007 documentary film ''Screwed in Houston'' details the history of the Houston rap scene and the influence of the chopped and screwed subculture on Houston hip hop. In 2011, University of Houston Libraries acquired over 1,000 albums owned by DJ Screw. Some of the albums were part of an exhibit in early 2012 and, along with the rest, went available for research in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.29-95.com/music/story/dj-screw-vinyl-headed-u-h |title=Archived copy |access-date=September 29, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407065843/http://www.29-95.com/music/story/dj-screw-vinyl-headed-u-h |archive-date=April 7, 2012 }}</ref>
To date, the chopped and screwed music genre has been added to all forms of streaming services, including iTunes and Spotify; the genre has crossed over to receive mass mainstream appeal.<ref>{{Citation|title=Mixtape #1 (Verses) [Screwed & Chopped] by The Network & Pollie Pop|date=September 26, 2017|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/mixtape-1-verses-screwed-chopped/1292025990|language=en-us|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=December 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217002850/https://music.apple.com/us/album/mixtape-1-verses-screwed-chopped/1292025990|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2020}}
The Chopstars created by Swishahouse Records co-founder OG Ron C, they began calling their remixes ChopNotSlop due to all the “sloppy” remixes that came out after the passing of DJ Screw. Since 2001, they have dedicated their cause to the legacy of DJ Screw. The Chopstars have become the prominent source for chopped up music. With official releases with Brent Faiyaz, Don Toliver and Little Dragon [https://www.adultswim.com/music/little-dragon/ (Nabuma Purple Rubberband)] they have made a niche in the sub genre. They currently have a radio show called ChopNotSlopShow on Sound 42 which is Drake’s radio station on SiriusXM. Notable members include DJ Ryan Wolf, official DJ of the Cleveland Browns; DJ Candlestick; DJ Hollygrove; Mike G, formerly of Odd Future; and Oscar Award winning director Barry Jenkins as a creative collaborator.
== Related genres ==
=== Future screw and lean house ===
In the mid-2010s, producers on SoundCloud began experimenting with fusing chopped and screwed music and EDM. It has since developed into subgenres such as "future screw" and "lean house". DJ Slim K got a rising name and DJ Drobitussin, also known as BMF in the EDM world, or Brett Finn who is an award winner for his beats and DJ & Production skills<ref name="Future Screw">{{cite web |last1=Figlerski |first1=Ross |date=March 3, 2015 |title=Future Screw: The Internet's Version of Houston's Chopped and Screwed |url=http://greenlabel.com/future-screw-the-internets-version-of-houstons-chopped-and-screwed/ |access-date=July 11, 2020 |website=Green Label}}</ref>
=== Slowed and reverb ===
{{infobox music genre | cultural_origins = Late 2010s, online | name = Slowed and reverb | other_names = {{hlist|Slowed + reverb|daycore}} | stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Chopped and screwed|vaporwave}} }}
'''Slowed and reverb''' (stylized as "slowed + reverb") is a technique of remixing and a subgenre, derived from chopped and screwed hip-hop<ref name="okp">{{cite web |last1=Watson |first1=Elijah C. |title=Lo-Fi Hip-Hop Has Become One Of The Internet's Most Popular Subgenres; Is Slowed & Reverb Next? |url=https://www.okayplayer.com/music/slowed-and-reverb-videos-lo-fi-hip-hop.html |website=Okayplayer |access-date=December 7, 2020 |date=November 2020}}</ref> and vaporwave,<ref name=wecb>{{cite web |author=WECB GM |title=What's Up with 'Slowed + Reverb' Music?|url=https://www.wecb.fm/milkcrate/slowed-reverb-music |website=WECB (Emerson College)|access-date=July 26, 2023|date=March 14, 2020}}</ref> which involves slowing down and adding reverb to a previously existing song, often created by using digital audio editors such as Audacity. The technique originated in 2006 when the Lebanese one-man Black Metal band Kafan re-released its only demo ''Injecting Evil In Thy Veins''<ref>{{Citation |title=Kafan - Injecting Evil In Thy Veins |date=2006-04-30 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/1537604-Kafan-Injecting-Evil-In-Thy-Veins |access-date=2025-03-21 |language=en}}</ref> on cult American label Full Moon Productions in CD format. The release presents one of the earliest known examples of intentionally slowed down and reverb drenched music outside of hip-hop, predating modern slowed + reverb trends.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kafan - Topic |url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQOcia1BL9yFnbms44enfDg |access-date=2025-03-21 |via=YouTube |language=en}}</ref> This method, while commonplace in modern internet music culture, was never seen in extreme metal at the time. The effect creates an unsettling, almost ritualistic soundscape, deepening the record's oppressive and hypnotic qualities. The eerie, ghostly effect of slowed + reverb tracks that define modern vaporwave and remix culture can be heard here, years before it became a recognized trend. Despite its historical significance, the slowed-down Kafan remixes remain largely unknown outside of niche black metal and experimental music circles. Unlike what happened in 2017, when Houston-based producer Jarylun Moore (known online as slater!), having been inspired by DJ Screw, began uploading remixes of popular songs using the technique to YouTube. The first of these{{em dash}}a remix of Lil Uzi Vert's song "20 Min"{{em dash}}earned over one million views on the platform in under two months, eventually earning over four million views before being taken down. The style became especially popular on YouTube, where it became common to play remixes over looping clips from retrofuturistic anime scenes.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last1=Cush |first1=Andy |title=How Slowed + Reverb Remixes Became the Melancholy Heart of Music YouTube |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-slowed-reverb-remixes-became-the-melancholy-heart-of-music-youtube/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=December 7, 2020 |language=en-us |date=April 7, 2020}}</ref> Other notable producers in this sub-genre include {{proper name|wretchshop}} (also known as ''ciki 8k''), rum world, Aestheticg, imlonely, Chovies, slerb as well as streliz.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
Slowed and reverb remixes were also uploaded to Spotify using the service's podcast feature.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gogarty |first1=Josiah |title=There's a Reason Spotify Is Filled With Fake Podcasts of Bootleg Songs |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/spotify-fake-podcasts-bootleg-songs-piracy/ |website=Vice |access-date=December 7, 2020 |language=en |date=March 18, 2020}}</ref> For Okayplayer, Elijah C. Watson dubbed slowed and reverb remixes "the soundtrack for Generation Z", comparing the style to lo-fi hip hop.<ref name="okp"/> Remixes using the technique also became popular on the video-sharing service TikTok.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Elfakir |first1=Sami |title=Slowed + reverb, remix à pleurer |url=https://next.liberation.fr/musique/2020/10/30/slowed-reverb-remix-a-pleurer_1804026 |website=Libération |access-date=December 7, 2020 |language=fr |date=October 30, 2020}}</ref>
Slowed and reverb remixes became controversial on social media in mid-2020 after a viral video posted to TikTok failed to attribute the creation of slowed and reverb to chopped and screwed, causing users to brand slowed and reverb a "gentrified" version of chopped and screwed.<ref name="rootslowed">{{cite web |last1=Jefferson |first1=J'na |title=DJ Screw's Legacy Is Being Celebrated After TikTok Teens Tried Gentrifying His 'Chopped and Screwed' Style |url=https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/dj-screws-legacy-is-being-celebrated-after-tiktok-teens-1844726412 |website=The Root |access-date=December 7, 2020 |language=en-us |date=August 14, 2020}}</ref> For the ''Houston Chronicle'', Shelby Stewart wrote, "Give DJ Screw his flowers. Slowed + reverb is a poor imitation of what chopped and screwed music is."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Shelby |title='Slowed + Reverb' is just chopped & screwed gentrified |url=https://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Slowed-Reverb-is-just-chopped-screwed-15482351.php |website=Houston Chronicle |access-date=December 7, 2020 |language=en |date=August 13, 2020}}</ref> Moore had mixed feelings about the phenomenon, saying, "I always felt that I shouldn't touch chopped and screwed music. One, it's not really screwed if it's not by Screw. Two, the chops are sacred to the culture, and not everybody can imitate it. So I would never want to even try to. I'm just glad I'm able to bring it to a wider audience."<ref name=":1" />
Other responses to the subgenre's popularity were more positive. Despite the backlash from DJ Screw fans, other creators such as Isaac Sigala uploaded slowed and reverb remixes to honor the chopped and screwed genre through nostalgia. Sigala said of the popularity of his remixes, "I knew it was gonna happen. I see the kind of emotions that were brought out in me when I first started getting into [slowed music]. I could see how others would express their emotions too."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=MacColl |first=Margaux |date=August 1, 2020 |title=The Reverb Remix community is YouTube's sensitive, supportive refuge |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/youtube-reverb-remix-community/ |access-date=June 17, 2024 |website=Digital Trends}}</ref>
The YouTube comments sections of slowed and reverb videos are often used as a safe haven for users, which Digital Trends described as "a sensitive reprieve from the toxicity often found on the platform." Users commonly share stories of heartbreak and loss, which are given support by the slowed and reverb content creators. YouTuber Rayen Hemden said that he feels protective of his commenters and will act as a moderator to keep discussion compassionate. He further stated, "I make sure there are no hate comments towards the people who share their stories because it takes bravery. Someone has to be courageous to actually share their story."<ref name=":0" />
=== Doomer wave === {{See also|Doomer#Internet meme}}
'''Doomer wave''' (also known as '''doomerwave, doomer music''' or simply '''doomer''') is an online music microgenre coined by anonymous users on 4chan in 2018 to describe an offshoot of the Wojak meme known as "doomer wojak".<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Zhang |first=Cat |date=2020-06-25 |title=How Belarusian Post-Punks Molchat Doma Became a TikTok Meme |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-belarusian-post-punks-molchat-doma-became-a-tiktok-meme/ |access-date=2025-10-19 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |date=2021-07-20 |title='Thom Yorke made a doomerwave version of his own f***ing song!' |url=https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/doomerwave-vapourwave-thom-yorke-creep-b1885403.html |access-date=2025-10-19 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> The style was originally associated with slowed down versions of depressive tracks as inspired by the vaporwave microgenre.<ref name=":8" /> ''Pitchfork'' described the "doomer" as "a nihilistic, 20-something male whose despair about the world causes him to retreat from traditional society".<ref name=":7" /> The term later expanded to encompass the "doomer girl" archetype.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tiffany |first=Kaitlyn |date=2020-02-03 |title=The Misogynistic Joke That Became a Goth-Meme Fairy Tale |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/02/doomer-girl-meme-4chan-tumblr-wojak-history/605764/ |access-date=2025-10-19 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> In 2020, Belarusian post-punk band Molchat Doma garnered internet virality through online memes and playlists which referred to them as "Russian doomer music" or "doomer wave".<ref name=":7" />
== See also == * Sampling (music) * Mashup (music)
== References ==
{{reflist}}{{subgenres and fusion genres of hip hop music}}{{DJing}}{{electronica}}{{appropriation in the arts}}
Category:20th-century music genres Category:1990s in music Category:21st-century music genres Category:2000s in music Category:2010s in music Category:DJing Category:Hip-hop genres Category:Southern hip-hop Category:Unofficial adaptations