DJ Screw and Houston Rap History: A Guide to Screwed Up Houston

Houston gave the world chopped and screwed. DJ Screw — born Robert Earl Davis Jr. — developed the technique in Houston's South Park neighborhood in the early 1990s, slowing rap instrumentals and chopping the vocals to match. He recorded hundreds of cassette tapes by hand and sold them out of his home and his Telephone Road store. When he died in November 2000 at age 29, he had already changed how a city listened. This guide covers the history, the key players, and the Houston places where you can still experience that legacy today.

What is chopped and screwed?

Chopped and screwed is a remixing technique developed by DJ Screw in Houston around 1992–1993. He slowed records down using the turntable pitch control, dropping the tempo to roughly 60–70 BPM from original speeds of 80–100, then repeated and scratched individual phrases in the slowed audio. The result sounds underwater: beats stretched out, vocals dropped in pitch, the whole thing pulling you deeper in. DJ Screw presided over live recording sessions — called Screw sessions — with his crew, the Screwed Up Click, freestyling over the altered tracks. The sessions became cassettes. The cassettes became a movement.

The detail most people miss: DJ Screw did not initially sell tapes in stores. He sold them directly out of his house in South Park, hand-wrapped and labeled. They spread through Houston's neighborhoods by word of mouth alone — closer to a zine network than a music label — before he opened a physical store. That's how a sound becomes a city's identity.

DJ Screw: South Park, Screw tapes, and the Screwed Up Click

Robert Earl Davis Jr. grew up in Houston's South Park neighborhood in the southeast part of the city. He developed the slowing technique around 1992 and the tapes spread the old-fashioned way: passed hand to hand, sold directly from his house to fans. He eventually opened Screwed Up Records and Tapes on Telephone Road so people had a physical place to find the music.

The Screwed Up Click was the loose collective of artists who appeared on his sessions: Fat Pat, Big Moe, ESG, Lil Keke, HAWK, Z-Ro, and many others. Several died young — Fat Pat was shot in February 1998, HAWK died in October 2006, Big Moe in October 2007 — giving the catalog a haunted quality in retrospect. DJ Screw himself died on November 16, 2000, at age 29, from a codeine overdose. The store survived him. His family continued running Screwed Up Records and Tapes, and it remains one of Houston's most specific cultural landmarks.

Rap-A-Lot Records and the Geto Boys

While DJ Screw was developing the chopped-and-screwed sound in South Park, James Prince — known as J. Prince — founded Rap-A-Lot Records in Houston in 1986. It is one of the longest-running independent hip-hop labels in the South and home to the Geto Boys: Scarface (Brad Jordan), Willie D (Willie Dennis), and Bushwick Bill (Richard Shaw).

The Geto Boys' 1991 album We Can't Be Stopped and its track Mind Playing Tricks on Me announced to the country that something real was happening in Texas. Scarface's solo work cemented him as one of hip-hop's most respected storytellers. Rap-A-Lot still operates in Houston as an independent label.

UGK: Port Arthur to Houston

Bun B (Bernard Freeman) and Pimp C (Chad Butler) formed UGK in Port Arthur, Texas, about 90 miles east of Houston. Their trunk music — deep bass, Southern drawl, Texas-specific subject matter — belonged to the same world as Houston's South Park sounds. When Jay-Z featured them on the 2000 single Big Pimpin', UGK crossed into mainstream awareness. Pimp C died in December 2007. Bun B has become one of Houston's most active cultural ambassadors, co-founding Trill Burgers and appearing across the city's arts and music life for years since.

The picks: where to experience Houston's rap history

Screwed Up Records and Tapes

South Side, Telephone Road · call ahead to confirm current store hours

The store DJ Screw built is where any pilgrimage starts. The official website at screweduprecords.com sells CDs, apparel, and prints from the original Screw catalog — including double-disc titles going back to his earliest recordings. The physical storefront on Telephone Road has operated since Screw's era, continued by his family. Storefront hours are not published on the official site, so call ahead or check Google Maps before driving.

What to get: An original Screw CD or piece of merch you won't find anywhere else in the city.

Project Row Houses

[Third Ward](/areas/third-ward), 2521 Holman St · open Wed–Fri 12–5 pm, Sat 10 am–5 pm, Sun 12–5 pm · free admission

Project Row Houses is a Third Ward institution that turns a block of small shotgun houses into rotating artist installations and community space. Founded in 1993 — the same years DJ Screw was developing chopped and screwed in South Park — it preserves the cultural fabric of Houston's most historically significant Black inner-city neighborhood. Emancipation Park is one block east. The surrounding streets are part of the experience.

What to do: Walk the houses, see the current installations, check the event calendar at projectrowhouses.org. No reservation needed for a self-guided walk.

Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC)

[Museum District](/areas/museum-district), 4807 Caroline St · open Wed–Sat 11 am–6 pm (Thu until 8 pm) · free admission

The HMAAC documents Houston's African American cultural history through rotating exhibitions, archives, and community programs. Its location in the Third Ward puts it at the center of the culture that produced Houston's music — from the mid-century club era to the present. The Culture Shoppe inside sells work by local artists. Check hmaac.org for what is currently on exhibition before visiting.

What to do: Budget an hour for a self-guided visit. Plan for a Thursday when it stays open until 8 pm.

House of Blues Houston

[Downtown](/areas/downtown), 1204 Caroline St · show-night hours · ticket prices vary by show

House of Blues Houston has three spaces: the main Music Hall, The Bronze Peacock room, and the Foundation Room. The Bronze Peacock room is named for the historic Third Ward nightclub that anchored Black Houston entertainment in the mid-20th century — one of the few venues in segregation-era Texas where Black artists and audiences could gather. The smaller room here carries the name as a direct acknowledgment of that history.

What to do: Check houston.houseofblues.com for upcoming hip-hop and R&B shows. Target The Bronze Peacock room specifically for Houston acts.

Warehouse Live Midtown

[Midtown](/areas/midtown-houston), 2600 Travis St · show-night hours · ticket prices vary by show

Warehouse Live is an independent Houston music venue now at its Midtown location on Travis Street. It hosts hip-hop, rock, Latin, and tribute acts in a raw room sized for 400 to 800 people — the right scale for established local artists and mid-size touring acts. Midtown is dense with bars and restaurants, easy to turn into a full evening.

What to do: Check warehouselivemidtown.com for upcoming shows.

White Oak Music Hall

[The Heights](/areas/the-heights), 2915 N Main St · show-night hours · ticket prices vary by show

White Oak Music Hall has three stages across five acres — an indoor upstairs, a larger indoor downstairs, and an outdoor lawn — and runs shows from emerging Houston acts to national headliners. Hip-hop lands across all three stages. The lawn is open-air and the right setting for a warm Houston night. The Heights has bars worth hitting before a show.

What to do: Check whiteoakmusichall.com. For a bigger act, the downstairs room has good sight lines from nearly everywhere.

Trill Burgers

Multiple Houston locations including 7616 Westheimer Rd · typically open daily 10:30 am–10 pm

Bun B co-founded Trill Burgers, and the Houston locations have become a cultural institution alongside the burgers. The name matters: the word trill was coined and spread by UGK as a portmanteau of true and real, and it became one of Houston hip-hop's defining words. Eating here is a direct engagement with the vocabulary UGK gave the city.

What to order: The Trill Burger. Full rundown at Trill Burgers Houston.

Toyota Center

[Downtown](/areas/downtown), 1510 Polk St · show-night hours · ticket prices vary by show

Toyota Center is where Houston hip-hop's biggest moments happen today. Major national hip-hop tours stop here regularly, and artists with Houston roots have played to sold-out crowds. The arena sits near Daikin Park and Shell Energy Stadium, making downtown walkable for a full night out.

What to do: Check toyotacenter.com for upcoming hip-hop tours; parking maps and bag policy details are on the venue website.

How we chose

We picked places where a visitor or local can experience Houston's rap history in a direct, physical way: the original store, the neighborhoods, the cultural institutions that document the context, and the active venues where Houston rap still performs. Each entry carries direct historical significance to the chopped-and-screwed or Rap-A-Lot era, or is a currently operating venue where that music continues. Screwed Up Records and Tapes is included but flagged: the physical store's current hours couldn't be confirmed from the official website alone. Call ahead before making the drive.

Save this: Screwed Up Houston checklist

• Visit screweduprecords.com or call ahead to confirm the Telephone Road storefront is open before driving.
• Spend an hour at Project Row Houses in the Third Ward, then walk east one block to Emancipation Park.
• Check hmaac.org and plan a Thursday visit — free admission, open until 8 pm.
• Look up a show at House of Blues Houston specifically in The Bronze Peacock room for Houston acts.
• Order the Trill Burger at one of Bun B's locations and explain the word trill to whoever you're with.
• Find a Houston rap show at White Oak Music Hall or Warehouse Live Midtown and book it before the tour comes through.

More Houston music

Houston's music history runs deep. The Houston blues and jazz guide covers the Third Ward clubs that shaped the city's Black cultural life for decades before chopped and screwed arrived. The Houston concert venues guide breaks down every room in the city by size and neighborhood.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What did DJ Screw invent?

DJ Screw invented chopped and screwed, a hip-hop remixing technique developed in Houston's South Park neighborhood around 1992–1993. It slows recordings to roughly 60–70 BPM and repeats chopped phrases, creating a hypnotic, slowed-down sound that became Houston's signature style.

Is Screwed Up Records and Tapes still open?

Screwed Up Records and Tapes on Telephone Road in Houston has been operated by DJ Screw's family since his death in 2000. The official website at screweduprecords.com sells merchandise and CDs online. Physical store hours are not listed on the site — call ahead or check Google Maps before visiting in person.

When did DJ Screw die?

DJ Screw (Robert Earl Davis Jr.) died on November 16, 2000, in Houston, from a codeine overdose. He was 29.

What is the Screwed Up Click?

The Screwed Up Click was the collective of Houston artists who recorded with DJ Screw during his Screw sessions. Members included Fat Pat, Big Moe, ESG, Lil Keke, HAWK, and Z-Ro, among many others.

Who founded Rap-A-Lot Records?

Rap-A-Lot Records was founded by James Prince (J. Prince) in Houston in 1986. It is one of the longest-running independent hip-hop labels in the South and is home to the Geto Boys and Scarface.

Is UGK from Houston?

UGK (Bun B and Pimp C) were from Port Arthur, Texas, about 90 miles east of Houston, not from Houston itself. Their career and sound were closely tied to the Houston rap scene, and Bun B has been a Houston cultural figure for decades.