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How to chop and screw a song
Gazillion Industries ·
On Houston's South Side in the early 1990s, DJ Screw was selling
gray cassette tapes out of his house, and the music on them sounded like somebody had
poured syrup into the tape deck. Those screw tapes turned into a whole city's sound, and
more than two decades after his death in 2000, rap still borrows it.
To chop and screw a song, "screw" it by slowing it down so the pitch drops heavily with
the tempo, then "chop" it by repeating and stuttering words, beats and phrases, originally
done by cutting between two copies of the same record. In a DAW: slow the track with
varispeed, duplicate it, and cut between the copies to repeat lines and create stutters,
with a few quick backspins and slowdowns as transitions.
The short version
- Screw
- slow it down with varispeed; pitch drops with it
- Chop
- repeat and stutter words, beats and phrases
- Origin
- DJ Screw, Houston, early 1990s
- Old method
- two copies of a record, cut between them
- DAW method
- two copies of the track, cut and repeat on the grid
- Feel
- heavy, slow, hypnotic, never rushed
Where it comes from
DJ Screw (Robert Earl Davis Jr.) built the style mixing records on turntables with the
speed turned way down, recording hours-long mixes onto tapes that spread across Houston and
through his crew, the Screwed Up Click. On the North Side, Michael "5000" Watts and OG Ron C
took the idea in their own direction, and chopped-and-screwed remixes became a standard way
to hear Southern rap. The sound is patient on purpose: you're meant to ride with it, slowly.
Screwing: the slowdown
The slowdown has to move the pitch with it, which is why it's done with speed, not
time stretching. Voices drop into a heavy, dragging register, 808s turn to rolling thunder,
and the song feels like it's melting. How slow is a feel decision; go until the vocal is deep
and heavy but the words still come through. The mechanics are in what is varispeed.
Chopping: the repeats
Chopping is the performance. With two copies of the same record a beat apart, a DJ
flips between them to repeat a word or a line, stutter a beat, or double a phrase for
emphasis. The repeats land on the lyrics that matter, so chopping is also editing: it tells
you which lines to listen to.
SKRUU's
PITCH moves speed and pitch together, with DRAG for a hand-on-the-platter slowdown.
How to chop and screw a song in a DAW
- Import the track and slow it with varispeed or repitch until the vocal is deep and heavy.
- Set your project tempo to match the slowed track.
- Duplicate the track onto a second channel.
- Pick the lines you want to emphasize.
- Cut a word, beat or line from one copy and repeat it on the grid before the original continues.
- Add short stutters by repeating single beats two or three times.
- Use quick slowdowns or a backspin at section changes.
- Keep the edits musical and on the beat; the groove never rushes.
Keep it heavy
A slowed track loses energy in the top end and can turn muddy. A little low-mid cleanup
and some saturation on the drums and 808 keep the weight from turning to sludge; see how to make 808s hit harder. For the
reverb-heavy internet cousin of the style, see how to make slowed and reverb.
Questions people ask
How is chopped and screwed music made?
By slowing a song down so the pitch drops heavily ("screwing"), then repeating and
stuttering parts of it ("chopping"), originally by mixing between two copies of the same
record on turntables.
Who invented chopped and screwed?
DJ Screw, from Houston, developed the style in the early 1990s through his screw tapes.
Michael "5000" Watts and OG Ron C helped spread chopped-and-screwed remixes further.
What's the difference between chopped and screwed and slowed and reverb?
Chopped and screwed slows the song and adds DJ-style repeats and stutters. Slowed and
reverb slows the song and adds a long, heavy reverb, usually without the chopping.
What SKRUU does
SKRUU is our varispeed pitch and time stretch plugin. PITCH runs from
−20% to +10%, moving speed and pitch together and reading out in semitones.
DRAG sets how long a new speed takes to arrive: at the floor it's instant,
turned up it's a hand on the platter. TIME moves the length on its own, and
ELASTIC springs a move back along one of sixteen shapes, including DRUNK,
LURCH and CREEP.
The gray tapes are collector's items now. The syrup never stopped pouring.
Keep reading
SKRUU — varispeed pitch and time stretch for Mac and Windows. Pitch and
time move independently, with sixteen elastic return shapes.
Hear it — $29