On the Southside of H-Town

Nick Milazzo

John Cline

AMS 311S

December 9, 2009

On the South Side of H-Town

A true Texas legend, Robert Earl (DJ Screw) Davis Jr. is one of the most influential musical figures to come out of Texas in the past decade. Elevating Houston’s hip-hop scene to new heights, his success stemmed neither from play of traditional instruments nor rapping. Instead, Screw’s influence was achieved through his skill and originality at the turntables. Mixing other artist’s music and raps together in his studio, Screw built his career on an inventive, interesting idea. He began to play around with the pitch control on his turntables and slow the music down, much like taking a 45 record and setting its playback to 33 rpm. Then he recorded it on a cassette tape and sold it out of his home. These “Screw Tapes” quickly began to circulate throughout local neighborhoods and the South at large, granting listeners access to Houston’s hip-hop underground. Screw’s music became so popular that people were known to have regularly drove hundreds of miles to his south Houston home and stood in line for hours to purchase them. The local rappers featured on Screw’s tracks, known collectively as the S.U.C. (Screwed Up Click/ Soldiers United 4 Cash) have all become famous in their own right and owe their successes to Screw. He fostered their talents and provided a vehicle for their recognition. Screw was the embodiment of a modern renaissance man and lived the American dream. He was an artist, entrepreneur, and munificent leader of one of the most vital and important musical scenes in the South. The music he produced and the talent he nurtured drastically changed Houston’s urban culture over the past decade and is still influencing and changing hip-hop not only in Texas, but all over America today.

Born in Bastrop, Texas on July 20, 1971, Robert Earl Davis Jr. could not have known the influence he would have on the hip-hop world. His parents soon divorced and...