Dear Music Journos,
I know it’s tempting to use the 10th anniversary of DJ Screw’s death to write puff pieces about Witch-House/Drag/whatever music. Please resist the urge. If you’re going to big up Screw, by all means, go ahead and do so: find the rappers he worked with, examine his releases, hell postulate on his impact on rap music which is increasingly reliant on a variety of vocal effects for impact. You can even talk to Drake for all I care. But DON’T use the man’s death as an excuse to write about a bunch of tangentially-related, Sparks-sipping carpetbaggers who downloaded a torrent of his stuff after stumbling across a remixed Lil Wayne mixtape in 2007. It’s a lazy angle and a reductive one.
Screwed music is about more than pitching down record: there’s technique involved and a community based around the music which is far more interesting than a time stretched Bieber or heroin addicted ironists. They won’t be around next year anyway (remember Chillwave? yeah), so save yourselves from looking stupid by concentrating on what really matters, instead of coming off like desperate Johnny-come-latelies sprinting to catch the hype train.
Sincerely.
Sach O aka Son Raw aka Goldman Sach aka Dub McKenzie.
Download:
MP3: DJ Screw – 3 N Da Morning Double CD (left click)
MP3: E.S.G – Sailin the South (DJ Screw Remix)
MP3: Trae – Screw done already warned me
