The Craze of Screwed & Chopped

I've always felt that no matter what kind of music you listen to, as long as you put it in to context, and take it for what it is, you can enjoy it. All it takes is just letting yourself go for a while, and enjoying some music that you find entertaining. Even if it's the most disposable piece of trash music, you still find it amusing, that's all well and good. The main thing is, and the most important as I've already stated, is putting it into context.

This is somewhat the explanation for the severe decline in Hip Hop music commercially. An audience that is easily amused by non-talented artists is worse than the actual artist milking them for their last dollar. If you actually believe (insert-disposable-artist-name-her) is a good, talented, inspiring, incredible muscian, that's where things go down hill. These couple paragraphs might seem like I am repeating myself, but I just wanted to get it out there before I went on about the new screwed & chopped craze that seems to be hitting pretty hard.

Born in the south, the hot-bed of hip hop at the moment, screwed & chopped music is probably unlike anything you've heard before. They take an artist, slow the music to a crawl, and then proceed to "chop" up the lyrics, repeating some lines three at a time. Sometimes this practice can be annoying, alot of other times it's fun to listen to. All depends on who is doing the screwing and chopping, and picking what lines to work with.

Pioneered by Michael "5000" Watts, Screwed & Chopped has made it's way to the big scene by the commercial explosion of artists like Slim Thug, Mike Jones, and Paul Wall. Bringing forth a new way of listening to some of your favorite hip hop songs from now, and some from the past (see Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: Greatest Hits - Chopped & Screwed).

For the most part, it's good popcorn movie style fun for the ears. Their is no point in listening to this shit for the lyrics, because if you wanted to do that, you'd listen to the original. This is mood music, chilling around the house, driving in your car, whatever it is you might be doing.

With the explosion of this new sound of music, you'll probably be seeing more and more stores carrying a wide range of artists albums remixed with the "Screwed & Chopped" stamp on them. This is extending it's way past just southern acts, and on forward to different artists from completely different reasons. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Nas chopped and screwed album of sorts soon (just an eerie feeling I have). Seeing as though he has jumped ship from Columbia and on to Def Jam records. Those record companies have to make that money, you know they have to put food on the table for their families! With a greatest hits collection from NaS probably coming in the waning months (part of his new contract agreement with Def Jam was that Columbia could release a GH collection from Nas), you'll probably see a limited release of a C&S version. How it sounds just depends on who is behind the boards. But some things are better left alone, you don't need to clash a bunch of shit together because it's the flavor of the moment.

A surprise I saw in Best Buy was the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Greatest Hits - Chopped & Screwed, now I've never been much of a Bone fan. They were a little before my time, but I decided to pick up both the regular and C&S version. Both are great starters for any new BTNH fans. Each has it's own charm about them. Probably the fast, tongue twisting ways of the originals, and the slowed down to a slug's pace of the remixes.

Like I started this little article off with, knowing what you are listening to, and taking it for what it's worth is very important with the way music is now. I have different expectations for different genre's and artists. But with this new found exposure to the Chopped & Screwed style, it's a very entertaining one. Showing signs of atleast a little originality, in a genre that has been lacking some for a while. Hopefully this is just a small step of other things to come, maybe not in the remix world, but in hip hop alone.

Until those changes are made though, pull out your meat cleavers and drivers, and keep chopping and screwing away.