“I said, ‘ DJ Screw, what kind of a name is that?’ But he made it, and I was so proud of him.” The deejay’s rap- music buddies from Houston, where he died, spoke too. “I was one of the first people he told he was going to be named DJ Screw,” said his first cousin Donald Davis. Some of them talked about the name by which several million people knew him as an adult.
Members of his family, who called him Robert Earl, talked about his childhood in Smithville. Next to the deejay’s gunmetal-gray coffin at Mount Pilgrim church was a large sign that looked remarkably like a giant $1 million bill, with a picture of the deceased in the center.Ī dozen people got up and spoke.
Most of them, I thought as I watched them shyly look for places to squeeze into, had never been to Smithville before they probably didn’t spend much time in church either. They didn’t sing along much with the hymns. Some had tattoos on their legs, forearms, and necks. Jammed along the walls and in the corners was a much larger crowd of younger people wearing leather jackets, gold chains, new basketball shoes, and extra-large T-shirts. Most of the singing came from his family and the older folks, dressed in their Sunday best and sitting in the center of the packed church, one of those small, tidy, weathered white buildings you see in the country. Happy birthday, DeMo.At the deejay’s funeral in Smithville, they sang gospel songs. “June 27th to me means Big DeMo birthday. It’s one of those things that will always feel like ‘home’ no matter where you are in the world.”īigg Bubb, DJ Screw’s first cousin, owner of Screwed Up Records Tapes “‘June 27th’ is one of this city’s national anthems. It was undeniable, even if you didn’t care for the sound, you now knew who and what Screw (music) was.”ĭonnie Houston, DJ/host, “The Donnie Houston Podcast” “‘June 27th’ was the moment Screw crossed into new territory. (Screwed Up Click collective) that day and is allowed to rap, no matter how terrible they are!” Everyone in Houston is an honorary member of the S.U.C. “June 27th is the day in Houston where everyone shows love to DJ Screw and the culture he created. Nobody planned to go in there that night and record a 35-minute freestyle, but it made sense to them in the moment, and because Screw just didn’t stop the beat! It was like him saying to them all, ‘Stay with this.’” “‘June 27th’ to me is an epic illustration of the kinetic energy around Screw and how he directed things, even as he celebrated the freedom of expression happening into the microphone he sent around the room. Lance Scott Walker, author, “Houston Rap Tapes” and the upcoming “DJ Screw” With all this happening, the Chronicle asked several people in Houston’s hip-hop community one question: What does June 27th - either the day or the freestyle - mean to you? The 25th Anniversary of June 27 SUC Bash & Comedy Jam featuring Big Pokeyĭetails: $40-$105 88 /houston Since this year marks the 25th anniversary of that freestyle, House of Blues will be hosting a celebratory bash, featuring performances from Screwed Up Click MCs (including Pokey), local comedian Blame the Comic and singer Ronetta Spencer, who sang the hook for Big Moe’s “Barre Baby” when she was a kid. “The song has since become the stuff of legends in Houston,” Gino Sorcinelli wrote in his “Micro-Chop” Substack newsletter last year, “while the ‘June 27th’ mixtape remains one of the highest-selling entries in Screw’s seemingly endless catalog.” Located on Screw’s “Diary of the Originator: Chapter 12 - June 27th” mixtape from 1996, this 35-minute session had the late, great creator of the screwed-and-chopped sound passing the mic around with a number of MCs, including Big Pokey, Big DeMo, Big Moe and Yungstar, while Screw was cutting up and slowing down the Kris Kross song “Da Streets Ain’t Right.” But, for many fans of Houston hip-hop, that’s the day to celebrate the life and music of DJ Screw and one of his most revered works, the “June 27” freestyle. ( Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle ) Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle He opened up Screwed Up Records and Tapes, in the late 1990s. Robert Earl Davis aka DJ Screw did only a few interviews during his short lifetime, he died in 2000, and also wasn't often photographed. Poster of DJ Screw for sale at Screwed Up Records and Tapes, at 3538 W Fuqua, Saturday, Jan.