Archive | Michael 5000 Watts RSS feed for this section

THE DROP: Houston’s OG Ron C takes Drake’s debut album on a chopped and screwed Fifth Ward journey

8 Jul
 
In 2004, the entire rap universe stopped what they were doing (which was stepping out of their shiny suits and getting “Tipsy” with J-Kwon and starting to realize the underrated genius of Kanye West) and dialed “281-330-8004” to get in touch with the Swishahouse, purple drink and codeine drank inspired chopped and screwed production style that fueled the success of rapper Mike Jones’ debut solo album Who Is Mike Jones?. The screw music culture had been around for over a decade prior to that, fueling the creative juices of a plethora of stars including but not limited to underground mixtape king Chamillionaire and the man who ALWAYS has the “internet goin’ nuts,” Paul Wall.
Post 2005, Houston hip hop’s time in the extreme mainstream sun had come and gone, and chopped and screwed music faded once again into obscurity. The amazing thing is though, is that the quality of the style since then has improved, as the brethren and students of the legendary DJ Screw have taken the style to brand new heights. OG Ron C, famous for the 50-plus volume “F Action” series, has assembled the “Chopstars” crew of himself, Michael “5000” Watts, and DJs Lil Steve, Candlestick, Hollygrove and Chose to carry the unique style into the next generation. 
If you check OG Ron C’s chopnotslop.com website, you’ll see the crew has remained plenty busy. However, when taking Drake’s melodramatic debut Thank Me Later down to the Fifth Ward and back again, it’s a special situation for sure. Drizzy’s an avowed fan of Bun B and always checks his Houston roots as much as possible, so with that in mind, OG Ron C really takes things to the next level on this mixtape. Do take a listen, and be impressed at just how well the sonically unique laconic style of screw music really amplify’s the message of Drake’s debut.
Enjoy!

HARD JAMS: Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, 50/50 Twin and Lew Hawk – Before the Kappa 2K1 (Freestyle) (2001)

11 Feb
 
“Before the Kappa 2K1” could possibly be the the hardest, greatest and most unheralded Houston hip hop track of all time. Yes, it’s a freestyle, but five of the hottest MCs in Texas but also mainstream hip hop history lay down some of the most crime riddled and misogynistic rhymes ever recorded.
Continuing in the giant footsteps of the 80s and early 90s legacy of southern independent label Rap-a-Lot Records, who loosed the legendary Geto Boys upon the universe, Swisha House Records, started by DJs Michael “5000” Watts and OG Ron C was primarily meant to be a vehicle for the duo’s chopped and screwed records. The Texas based “screw music” movement took tracks and halved their BPMs, (screwing) and at the same time creating awkward breaks over the “screwed” rhythms (chopping). The movement has as much to do with innovation as it has to do with the popularity of “lean” in the Texas hip hop culture, codeine flavored drinks that slow the system down considerably, allowing the user to want to sit in their tricked out Cadillac and cruise the streets leaning to the side in a most comfortable condition. The label grew however, and by 2001 boasted one of the deepest and heaviest rosters of talent alongside two exemplary producers.
The Kappa Beach Party is merely a more depraved version of the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) dominated, Atlanta hosted Freaknik parties of the mid 90s, parties that featured streets filled with hot cars, trashed coeds, suggestive music and wild behavior. Sex and fighting were the norms, and by the late 90s, the party had moved to Daytona Beach, FL. The spirit of the party though moved to Galveston, Texas by 2000, and with an influx of Houston locals (it’s the largest city near Galveston), the Kappa Beach Party became a legendary weeklong affair featuing again, sex, fighting and considerable drug use. Youthful libidos fueled by those additives are cause for ridiculous behavior, and since the parties of 2001 mentioned in the track, like Freaknik, the curbing of lascivious and dangerous behavior has occurred. But let’s take a look back to the party at its craziest.

http://www.youtube.com/v/hCmR64STJaA&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01
Michael “5000” Watts creates one of the chunkiest and funkiest and most hard, bass heavy tracks in the history of the chopped and screwed genre on this celebratory track. And in screwing the vocals of the five emcees as well, every flow sounds powerful, harsh, real and filled with impact, and makes each emcee appear iconic on the track. To that end, we’ll highlight bars from the braggadocio laden ridiculousness regarding Kappa Beach Party antics that spills out over these bars over a vastly entertaining ten worthwhile (yes, ten!) minutes.
Slim Thug – “we don’t want no pu**y we wanna f**k some face/run trains on yo brain/we throwed in the game/let me see your tongue ring/don’t show no shame”  “Put that ho under the sheets/and watch her eat my meat!”
Chamillionaire – “I see more legs, breasts and thighs than a plate with three chickens.” “I’m up in the Comfort Inn with twins/wearing nothing but comfortable skin.”
Paul Wall – “Don’t wear a thong unless you plan to get molested.”
50/50 Twin – In his rhymes he claims to have both sold crack to George Bush and gotten a collect call from Suge Knight
Lew Hawk – “I was riding to Baltimore with four keys (ed. note – ostensibly of cocaine. He’s not opening doors here) under my bumper.” “Sendin’ shouts out to my dawgs in the Texas prison system.” “I sell powder, fuck hoes and write hot checks/tote glocks, chop work and keep Galveston wet.
Houston goes hard.
HARD FACTS: The only artist that still remains on Swisha House is Paul Wall. For visual proof of all of the activities mentioned in “Before the Kappa 2K1,” search Youtube for Kappa Beach Party. You’ll get MORE than an eyeful.