On March 28, 2012, the University of Houston Libraries, African American Studies, and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at UH played host to a group of scholars, rappers, DJs, and other members of Houston’s hip hop community for the event “A Screwed Up History.” This day-long affair featured a series of short presentations and in-depth panel discussions on topics related to the late DJ Screw and the history of Houston hip hop. Over 300 guests attended, including students, faculty, community members, and visitors from other cities and states. It was part of the larger Awready! The Houston Hip Hop Conference, which was held in conjunction with the HERE Project at Rice University.
ESG freestyling
ESG, a member of DJ Screw’s rap collective the Screwed Up Click, started the day off with a freestyle, spontaneously rapping about people in the audience and the posters of fallen rappers and DJs behind him.
The opening panel kicked off with a presentation on The Origins of Houston Hip Hop by Texas Southern University history graduate student Maco L. Faniel. Panelists K-Rino, Willie D of Geto Boys, groundbreaking club DJ Steve Fournier, and Ricky Royal of Royal Flush discussed the emerging hip hop scene of the 1980s, and the national influence of Houston’s battle rappers.
Willie D, Ricky Royal, and Maco Faniel
The second panel featured a presentation on DJ Screw and the Rise of the Screwed Up Click by journalist Lance Scott Walker. This was followed by a lively conversation about DJ Screw and the genesis of the Screwed Up Click held by Meshah Hawkins (wife of the late SUC member HAWK), rappers Lil’ Keke, ESG, and Big Pokey of the SUC, and DJ Screw’s childhood friend Shorty Mac.
Meshah Hawkins, Lil' Keke, Lance Scott Walker, Shorty Mac, and ESG
Over lunch, attendees were treated to a DJ set of H-town favorites by SUC member Lil’ Randy and DJ Screw’s longtime friend DJ Chill.
Lil' Randy
After lunch the focus changed to the culture around Houston hip hop. Langston Collin Wilkins, a graduate student in Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University, spoke about slabs, or customized cars that became popular on the streets of Houston, and Dr. Ronald J. Peters, Associate Professor at the School of Public Health of the University of Texas Health Science Center, spoke about “syrup”, or codeine promethazine cough syrup sipped recreationally. Panelists Lil’ Randy, ESG, and (for the slabs segment) Eddie Kennedy of Third Coast Customs shared their experiences.
Langston Collin Wilkins, Eddie Kennedy, ESG, and Lil' Randy
The final panel of the day was led by Matt Sonzala of SXSW, and featured rappers Chingo Bling, Paul Wall, and Bun B, along with DJ and Swishahouse co-founder OG Ron C. The varied group discussed The Legacy of DJ Screw, and how his music and his approach influenced them in their careers.
The event closed with remarks from Dr. Anthony B. Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University, and founder of the HERE Project. Pinn discussed the launch of the collaborative Houston Hip Hop Archives Network, a partnership developed by the HERE Project and the University of Houston Libraries for preserving the artifacts of Houston hip hop.
For more accounts, please see the Houston Chronicle‘s article “City’s hip-hop pioneers get props” and the Houston Press‘s informative piece “10 Things We Learned at the Awready! Houston Hip Hop Conference.“
Special Collection’s new exhibit, DJ Screw and the Rise of Houston Hip Hop, is now open to the public in the MD Anderson Library on the University of Houston campus.
This exhibit tells the story of DJ Screw, the originator of the “chopped and screwed” genre of production, and the collective of rappers and friends known as the Screwed Up Click. While telling this story, the exhibit looks at the larger context of theindependent, entrepreneurial, and rough-edged Houston hip hop music scene.
A handful of the items in this exhibit can be viewed online in the DJ Screw Photographs & Memorabilia collection, but if you live in Houston or will be in Houston between now and September 21, a visit to see the entire exhibit is in order!
This exhibit is presented in conjunction with this week’s related conference, AWREADY! The Houston Hip Hop Conference. Even if you didn’t register for Wednesday’s panels, you can still attend two related events. The first is the Graffiti, B-Boy & B-Girl Exhibition opening reception Tuesday, and the other is the 2012 College DJ Battle Wednesday. For information about these events and the rest of the conference, visit the conference web site
If yesterday’s dose of hip hop coverage wasn’t enough, take a look (and listen) to these two interviews about the conference and exhibit.
Interview: Julie Grob, Abcdr Du Son. This interview in a French webzine contains great information about the materials in the hip hop collections, and the motivation for collecting them.
UH Moment: DJ Screw. If you missed this on the radio yesterday morning, you can listen here and read more details.
If you’d like to attend the conference next week, be sure to register today!
Two recent stories have been published about the DJ and Houston Hip Hop exhibit and upcoming conference, so take a look!
Universities explore local hip-hop culture, The Daily Cougar
Awready!: U Of H Examines Houston Rap’s Legacy, Houston Press
Friday is your last day to register for the conference, so don’t delay!
Watch this blog for more information about the exhibit next week.
Interested in the history of Houston Hip Hop? UH Libraries is happy to be co-sponsoring “Awready!: The Houston Hip Hop Conference” March 27-28. This conference includes a number of events and presentations related to DJ Screw and the evolution of Houston hip hop.
The two-day event will kick off with Opening reception and Grafitti, B-Boy and B-Girl Exhibition at Betz Gallery on March 27. The following day will be filled with presentations and panels about DJ Screw and Houston Hip Hop at UH and the 2012 College DJ Battle at Rice University.
Special guests include Paul Wall, Chingo Bling, Willie D, and others.
The conference is presented by UH Libraries, the HERE Project at Rice, UH African American Studies, and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at UH. It also introduces to the public the Houston Hip Hop Archives Network, a partnership developed by the HERE Project and the UH Libraries for preserving the artifacts of Houston hip hop.
Registration is free and open to the public, so sign up today!