Many believe that June 27th is the birthday of Robert Earl Davis Jr. The infamous date is synonymous with the legacy of DJ Screw because it was and still is the most popular tape he ever made. The 35-minute freestyle session recorded on that summer night in 1996 was actually to celebrate the birth of Screw’s friend and Screwed Up Click member, DeMo. Today, July 20th would have been Screw’s 51st birthday. 22 years after his physical departure, Screw is still living in spirit. His DJ style is still popular and influenced a few new genres generations later, and his friends are all legendary rappers that made Houston, Texas overall, a mainstay in mainstream Hip-Hop.
Unfortunately, the legend seems too much like a myth. Screw sold his mixtapes from his house before opening his record store; he was more focused on the instant reactions from the people in Houston than anywhere else. He didn’t do many interviews and wasn’t concerned about signing to a major label for his music to travel far. Fun Fact: DJ Screw only took one flight in his life. In 1999, he went to New York City for the first time to attend Justo’s Mixtape Awards and be honored for his contributions to the mixtape community.
Instead of posting some of my favorite Screwed Up songs, I decided to share two documentaries about the underground legend. S/O to author Lance Scott Walker and his recent book, DJ Screw: A Life In Slow Revolution. Hopefully, Frontier Airlines gets their ish together, finds my nephew’s bag, and I can finish my copy of the biography. All love to the family and friends of Robert Earl Davis Jr., may his legacy live on longer than a Screw tape.
