If you listen to rap music from Texas, then chances are you know exactly who DJ Screw is. You've likely heard him name-dropped by countless rappers; both those who actually knew and kicked it with him, and those merely seeking to strengthen their Lone Star State credibility reference the man himself and his infamous mixtapes in their songs. Hell, you've probably listened to a handful of "Screw tapes," known to second and third-generation Screw fans as the Diary of the Originator series; those infamous grey cassettes that DJ Screw used to sell through the gate at his house (FOOL!). Modern Houston aesthetics are covered in DJ Screw's syrup-soaked fingerprints; the crawling, concrete-crumbling instrumentals favored by nationally-known TX artists such as Paul Wall, the Color Changin' Click, Boss Hogg Outlawz, and the Dirty South Rydaz, among others, owe everything to Screw. From the way tempo crawls, to the way the bass rumbles, to the slowed & chopped vocal samples, everything leads back to the man born Robert Earl Davis, Jr. and his 100-minute Maxells.
Though the "Grey Tapes" (definitely spelled with a capital "G" and a capital "T") helped define the sound of an entire music scene, that was not necessarily DJ Screw's intention. Screw was, first and foremost, a mixtape DJ. He created countless tapes for friends, family, and before long, the entire community. Remember that story in ego trip's Book of Rap Lists about Kid Capri's legendary 10/9/89 mixtape? You couldn't come within whole city blocks of 125th Street without hearing Stephanie Mills seranade her man over the Honey Drippers' infamous "Impeach the President" break. People still talk about it to this day. It's legend shit. Well, the same thing goes for DJ Screw's mixes and the folks on Houston's Southside. Screw created nothing short of a regional phenomenon with his mixes; his signature style of mixing local classics, national hits, and 20-minute-long freestyles by local rappers (mostly Screw's friends) had people foaming at the mouth. If you peek into the dusty corners of the internet, you can find blog posts and news articles detailing how the height of Screw's popularity, the line in front of his house was hundreds deep. How you can still hear Screw tapes with names like Dancing Candy, 2-2 Liters '96 and Wineberry Over Gold pumping out of Texas folks' cars. It's 10/9/89 times 10 and the reason why Screw tapes (albeit in the 2-CD Diary of the Originator format) still enjoy a healthy trade in 2012.
As legendary as the tapes themselves are, that's not what I'm going to talk about. Enough has been written about Screw's legendary mixes to literally fill a book - maybe two. How Screw did this, Screw did that, pitch control, Michael 5000 Watts and OG Ron C trying to pick up where he left off, et cetera. Nothing more needs to be said. What, or more accurately who doesn't get enough shine, in my humble opinion, are the legion of rappers that call themselves the Screwed Up Click. These are the dudes whose raps occupy up to 40 minutes of those 100-minute tapes; cats that Screw was friends with or worked very closely with - often one and the same. Some of the best freestylers you have literally ever heard. These are the folks that have worked so hard to preserve Screw's legacy; keeping the name alive through reunion concerts and tribute songs, shouting out "Soldiers United for Cash!" on their albums. Folks with names you might recognize (Big Moe, Fat Pat, Lil' Flip, Z-Ro) and some you might not unless you're from Texas (Wood, Al-D, the Botany Boyz). The entire roster is literally too long to post but a mostly comprehensive list exists here.
This thread is dedicated to the purpose of bringing a little shine to the SUC's output from 1994 to 2002 or so. There's a lot of material to digest and a lot that's high-quality, so I suggest refraining from shotgun-blasting a list of 20 links to SUC-related ephemera. I'll start with this album: Big Pokey's 1999 debut Hardest Pit in the Litter.
ENJOY.1. Intro
2. Hardest Pit
3. Range Rover (featuring Big Steve)
4. Trippin Me Out (featuring Snow)
5. Y.S.P. (featuring Mr. Sweets & Lil' Chris)
6. Ballin' Parlay (featuring Big Moe, Mr. 3-2 & Lil' Keke)
7. Who Dat Talkin Down (featuring Big Steve & Big E)
8. Repatation
9. It's Like That (June 27 remix, featuring Lil' Keke)
10. Freestyle Pro
11. Leave Us Alone (featuring R.W.O.)
12. Gage Play (featuring Mr. 3-2 & Big Rue)
13. Shady Game (featuring Lil' O, Lil' Chris & Big Moe)
14. Heavy Weighters (featuring Big Hawk)
15. All In
16. Dog Proof (featuring C-Note & Will-Lean)
17. Hands Up (featuring Big Hawk & Chris Ward)
This is a good album. Pretty uneven in points but the high points are really great. It's not the most essential solo out the SUC camp, but a solid record nontheless. Pokey has a real cool style. Most of the songs are typical gangsta rap fare about chopping bricks, flashing diamonds, and coming down on those with plex. The beats are all done by SUC/Wreckshop in-house dudes and are, again, fairly standard gangsta fare but some of them really knock. Guests are limited to SUC fam and they all fit the vibe of the record really well. In some ways, these SUC solos are an extension of the grey tape flows and as a result the chemistry between Pokey and his guests is great. Big Steve of Woss Ness rips all of his verses on this joint.
Here are some stand-out tracks:
That is, fans who dig Texas hip-hop, Screw and southern hip-hop in general, but are mostly unfamiliar "beyond canonical stuff," as he said.
you guys are killing it, thank you. I recognize some of the names here from random songs I've come across over the years, but I've never really explored it systematically.