who is Dr.Teeth ?
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August 17, 2005 -- John D. Tucker, professionally known as "Dr. Teeth," is still trippin' over the fact that the Mike Jones video, "Still Tippin," which he directed, was recently nominated for the MTV Video Music Award in the MTV 2 category.
So far, 2005 has been a phenomenal year for Dr. Teeth who has become one of the most sought-after video directors in the hip-hop industry. With the Houston market burning up the hip hop charts, and three of his current videos in heavy rotation ("Trina F/ Lil' Wayne -"Don't Trip," Paul Wall - "Sittin' Sideways, " Mike Jones "Still Tippin"). Dr. Teeth's name continues to remain on the tip of industry insider's tongues. Most recently Dr. Teeth just completed directing for new comers Warner Brothers artist Cruna and Tango Redd featuring Lyold from The Inc.
Dr. Teeth formed a partnership with The Filming Company, a boutique motion picture company, which includes executive producers Tracey Hicks and Keith Pashall in association with Phoenix Entertainment.
"There was a need to create an artistic venue for artists such as Dr. Teeth. The Filming Company, which was established in 2001, specializes in creating visuals for music videos, commercials and documentaries, and we pride ourselves in our professionalism and quality work," says Tracey Hicks.
"It takes hard work and a great team to build what we have here. What you see is a combination of many different talents," adds Dr. Teeth. We are tremendously excited about Mike Jones video, receiving a nomination for MTV VMA's.
The upcoming video shoots are very promising for Dr. Teeth. The artist line up for the month of August includes: Slim Thug, Aug. 16-17, Paul Wall Aug. 22. Crime Mob on Aug. 30-31.
About Dr. Teeth:
John Tucker's career extends far beyond the video, film and television commercials mediums. He has worked alongside such world renowned film and video directors as Brett Ratner, director of "Money Talks" "Rush Hour 1&2" (video for the feature film "My Vida Loca"); Bille Woodruff (videos for Toni Braxton, Kelly Price, Brian McKnight and Cash Money Millionaires) and Doug McHenry and the late George Jackson (second unit for "Jason's Lyric" starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Alan Payne). In addition, he has worked on other Houston-based film productions ("Tin Cup" starring Kevin Costner and Cheech Marion) and co-wrote and directed his own film, "21 Crunk Street."
Moreover, Tucker has been affiliated with the CBS and BET networks. During his stint at BET Tucker and his team of producers won the NAACP Image Award for Best Children's Programming for their work on the then hit teen show "Teen Summit." Tucker was also instrumental in redeveloping BET's "Rap City" into "Rap City Tha Bassment," where he worked closely with Music program head Steven Hill and Senior Producer Craig Henry. Tha Bassment, which is the show all rap artists look forward to appearing on, was where Dr. Teeth created the now infamous booth that every hot Emcee in the business has entered. In addition for his phenomenal contributions at BET, Tucker also founded a non-profit organization J.D. Tucker Foundation, which provides scholarship opportunities and advance study in communication at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
So far, 2005 has been a phenomenal year for Dr. Teeth who has become one of the most sought-after video directors in the hip-hop industry. With the Houston market burning up the hip hop charts, and three of his current videos in heavy rotation ("Trina F/ Lil' Wayne -"Don't Trip," Paul Wall - "Sittin' Sideways, " Mike Jones "Still Tippin"). Dr. Teeth's name continues to remain on the tip of industry insider's tongues. Most recently Dr. Teeth just completed directing for new comers Warner Brothers artist Cruna and Tango Redd featuring Lyold from The Inc.
Dr. Teeth formed a partnership with The Filming Company, a boutique motion picture company, which includes executive producers Tracey Hicks and Keith Pashall in association with Phoenix Entertainment.
"There was a need to create an artistic venue for artists such as Dr. Teeth. The Filming Company, which was established in 2001, specializes in creating visuals for music videos, commercials and documentaries, and we pride ourselves in our professionalism and quality work," says Tracey Hicks.
"It takes hard work and a great team to build what we have here. What you see is a combination of many different talents," adds Dr. Teeth. We are tremendously excited about Mike Jones video, receiving a nomination for MTV VMA's.
The upcoming video shoots are very promising for Dr. Teeth. The artist line up for the month of August includes: Slim Thug, Aug. 16-17, Paul Wall Aug. 22. Crime Mob on Aug. 30-31.
About Dr. Teeth:
John Tucker's career extends far beyond the video, film and television commercials mediums. He has worked alongside such world renowned film and video directors as Brett Ratner, director of "Money Talks" "Rush Hour 1&2" (video for the feature film "My Vida Loca"); Bille Woodruff (videos for Toni Braxton, Kelly Price, Brian McKnight and Cash Money Millionaires) and Doug McHenry and the late George Jackson (second unit for "Jason's Lyric" starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Alan Payne). In addition, he has worked on other Houston-based film productions ("Tin Cup" starring Kevin Costner and Cheech Marion) and co-wrote and directed his own film, "21 Crunk Street."
Moreover, Tucker has been affiliated with the CBS and BET networks. During his stint at BET Tucker and his team of producers won the NAACP Image Award for Best Children's Programming for their work on the then hit teen show "Teen Summit." Tucker was also instrumental in redeveloping BET's "Rap City" into "Rap City Tha Bassment," where he worked closely with Music program head Steven Hill and Senior Producer Craig Henry. Tha Bassment, which is the show all rap artists look forward to appearing on, was where Dr. Teeth created the now infamous booth that every hot Emcee in the business has entered. In addition for his phenomenal contributions at BET, Tucker also founded a non-profit organization J.D. Tucker Foundation, which provides scholarship opportunities and advance study in communication at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Video Music Producer For 'Still Tippin,' Dr. Teeth, Celebrates Mike Jones MTV VMA Nod
Posted on Wednesday, August 17, 2005
August 17, 2005 -- John D. Tucker, professionally known as "Dr. Teeth," is still trippin' over the fact that the Mike Jones video, "Still Tippin," which he directed, was recently nominated for the MTV Video Music Award in the MTV 2 category.
So far, 2005 has been a phenomenal year for Dr. Teeth who has become one of the most sought-after video directors in the hip-hop industry. With the Houston market burning up the hip hop charts, and three of his current videos in heavy rotation ("Trina F/ Lil' Wayne -"Don't Trip," Paul Wall - "Sittin' Sideways, " Mike Jones "Still Tippin"). Dr. Teeth's name continues to remain on the tip of industry insider's tongues. Most recently Dr. Teeth just completed directing for new comers Warner Brothers artist Cruna and Tango Redd featuring Lyold from The Inc.
Dr. Teeth formed a partnership with The Filming Company, a boutique motion picture company, which includes executive producers Tracey Hicks and Keith Pashall in association with Phoenix Entertainment.
"There was a need to create an artistic venue for artists such as Dr. Teeth. The Filming Company, which was established in 2001, specializes in creating visuals for music videos, commercials and documentaries, and we pride ourselves in our professionalism and quality work," says Tracey Hicks.
"It takes hard work and a great team to build what we have here. What you see is a combination of many different talents," adds Dr. Teeth. We are tremendously excited about Mike Jones video, receiving a nomination for MTV VMA's.
The upcoming video shoots are very promising for Dr. Teeth. The artist line up for the month of August includes: Slim Thug, Aug. 16-17, Paul Wall Aug. 22. Crime Mob on Aug. 30-31.
About Dr. Teeth:
John Tucker's career extends far beyond the video, film and television commercials mediums. He has worked alongside such world renowned film and video directors as Brett Ratner, director of "Money Talks" "Rush Hour 1&2" (video for the feature film "My Vida Loca"); Bille Woodruff (videos for Toni Braxton, Kelly Price, Brian McKnight and Cash Money Millionaires) and Doug McHenry and the late George Jackson (second unit for "Jason's Lyric" starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Alan Payne). In addition, he has worked on other Houston-based film productions ("Tin Cup" starring Kevin Costner and Cheech Marion) and co-wrote and directed his own film, "21 Crunk Street."
Moreover, Tucker has been affiliated with the CBS and BET networks. During his stint at BET Tucker and his team of producers won the NAACP Image Award for Best Children's Programming for their work on the then hit teen show "Teen Summit." Tucker was also instrumental in redeveloping BET's "Rap City" into "Rap City Tha Bassment," where he worked closely with Music program head Steven Hill and Senior Producer Craig Henry. Tha Bassment, which is the show all rap artists look forward to appearing on, was where Dr. Teeth created the now infamous booth that every hot Emcee in the business has entered. In addition for his phenomenal contributions at BET, Tucker also founded a non-profit organization J.D. Tucker Foundation, which provides scholarship opportunities and advance study in communication at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=327829
VIDEO MUSIC PRODUCER FOR "STILL TIPPIN" DR. TEETH CELEBRATES MIKE JONES MTV VMA
John D. Tucker, professionally known as "Dr. Teeth, " is still trippin' over the fact that the Mike Jones video "Still Tippin," which he directed, was recently nominated for the MTV Video Music Award in the MTV 2 category.
So far, 2005 has been a phenomenal year for Dr. Teeth who has become one of the most sought-after video directors in the hip-hop industry. With the Houston market burning up the hip hop charts, and three of his current videos in heavy rotation ("Trina F/ Lil' Wayne -"Don't Trip," Paul Wall - "Sittin' Sideways, " Mike Jones "Still Tippin"). Dr. Teeth's name continues to remain on the tip of industry insider's tongues. Most recently Dr. Teeth just completed directing for new comers Warner Brothers artist Cruna and Tango Redd featuring Lyold from The Inc.
Dr. Teeth formed a partnership with The Filming Company, a boutique motion picture company, which includes executive producers Tracey Hicks and Keith Pashall in association with Phoenix Entertainment. "There was a need to create an artistic venue for artists such as Dr. Teeth. The Filming Company, which was established in 2001, specializes in creating visuals for music videos, commercials and documentaries, and we pride ourselves in our professionalism and quality work," says Tracey Hicks. "It takes hard work and a great team to build what we have here. What you see is a combination of many different talents," adds Dr. Teeth. We are tremendously excited about Mike Jones video, receiving a nomination for MTV VMA's.
The upcoming video shoots are very promising for Dr. Teeth. The artist line up for the month of August includes: Slim Thug, August 16-17, Paul Wall August 22. Crime Mob on August 30-31.
About Dr. Teeth:
John Tucker's career extends far beyond the video, film and television commercials mediums. He has worked alongside such world renowned film and video directors as Brett Ratner, director of "Money Talks" "Rush Hour 1&2" (video for the feature film "My Vida Loca"); Bille Woodruff (videos for Toni Braxton, Kelly Price, Brian McKnight and Cash Money Millionaires) and Doug McHenry and the late George Jackson (second unit for "Jason's Lyric" starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Alan Payne). In addition, he has worked on other Houston-based film productions ("Tin Cup" starring Kevin Costner and Cheech Marion) and co-wrote and directed his own film, "21 Crunk Street."
Moreover, Tucker has been affiliated with the CBS and BET networks. During his stint at BET Tucker and his team of producers won the NAACP Image Award for Best Children's Programming for their work on the then hit teen show "Teen Summit." Tucker was also instrumental in redeveloping BET's "Rap City" into "Rap City Tha Bassment," where he worked closely with Music program head Steven Hill and Senior Producer Craig Henry. Tha Bassment, which is the show all rap artists look forward to appearing on, was where Dr. Teeth created the now infamous booth that every hot Emcee in the business has entered. In addition for his phenomenal contributions at BET, Tucker also founded a non-profit organization J.D. Tucker Foundation, which provides scholarship opportunities and advance study in communication at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
http://www.theindustrycosign.com/site/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1925
Posted on Wednesday, August 17, 2005
August 17, 2005 -- John D. Tucker, professionally known as "Dr. Teeth," is still trippin' over the fact that the Mike Jones video, "Still Tippin," which he directed, was recently nominated for the MTV Video Music Award in the MTV 2 category.
So far, 2005 has been a phenomenal year for Dr. Teeth who has become one of the most sought-after video directors in the hip-hop industry. With the Houston market burning up the hip hop charts, and three of his current videos in heavy rotation ("Trina F/ Lil' Wayne -"Don't Trip," Paul Wall - "Sittin' Sideways, " Mike Jones "Still Tippin"). Dr. Teeth's name continues to remain on the tip of industry insider's tongues. Most recently Dr. Teeth just completed directing for new comers Warner Brothers artist Cruna and Tango Redd featuring Lyold from The Inc.
Dr. Teeth formed a partnership with The Filming Company, a boutique motion picture company, which includes executive producers Tracey Hicks and Keith Pashall in association with Phoenix Entertainment.
"There was a need to create an artistic venue for artists such as Dr. Teeth. The Filming Company, which was established in 2001, specializes in creating visuals for music videos, commercials and documentaries, and we pride ourselves in our professionalism and quality work," says Tracey Hicks.
"It takes hard work and a great team to build what we have here. What you see is a combination of many different talents," adds Dr. Teeth. We are tremendously excited about Mike Jones video, receiving a nomination for MTV VMA's.
The upcoming video shoots are very promising for Dr. Teeth. The artist line up for the month of August includes: Slim Thug, Aug. 16-17, Paul Wall Aug. 22. Crime Mob on Aug. 30-31.
About Dr. Teeth:
John Tucker's career extends far beyond the video, film and television commercials mediums. He has worked alongside such world renowned film and video directors as Brett Ratner, director of "Money Talks" "Rush Hour 1&2" (video for the feature film "My Vida Loca"); Bille Woodruff (videos for Toni Braxton, Kelly Price, Brian McKnight and Cash Money Millionaires) and Doug McHenry and the late George Jackson (second unit for "Jason's Lyric" starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Alan Payne). In addition, he has worked on other Houston-based film productions ("Tin Cup" starring Kevin Costner and Cheech Marion) and co-wrote and directed his own film, "21 Crunk Street."
Moreover, Tucker has been affiliated with the CBS and BET networks. During his stint at BET Tucker and his team of producers won the NAACP Image Award for Best Children's Programming for their work on the then hit teen show "Teen Summit." Tucker was also instrumental in redeveloping BET's "Rap City" into "Rap City Tha Bassment," where he worked closely with Music program head Steven Hill and Senior Producer Craig Henry. Tha Bassment, which is the show all rap artists look forward to appearing on, was where Dr. Teeth created the now infamous booth that every hot Emcee in the business has entered. In addition for his phenomenal contributions at BET, Tucker also founded a non-profit organization J.D. Tucker Foundation, which provides scholarship opportunities and advance study in communication at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=327829
VIDEO MUSIC PRODUCER FOR "STILL TIPPIN" DR. TEETH CELEBRATES MIKE JONES MTV VMA
John D. Tucker, professionally known as "Dr. Teeth, " is still trippin' over the fact that the Mike Jones video "Still Tippin," which he directed, was recently nominated for the MTV Video Music Award in the MTV 2 category.
So far, 2005 has been a phenomenal year for Dr. Teeth who has become one of the most sought-after video directors in the hip-hop industry. With the Houston market burning up the hip hop charts, and three of his current videos in heavy rotation ("Trina F/ Lil' Wayne -"Don't Trip," Paul Wall - "Sittin' Sideways, " Mike Jones "Still Tippin"). Dr. Teeth's name continues to remain on the tip of industry insider's tongues. Most recently Dr. Teeth just completed directing for new comers Warner Brothers artist Cruna and Tango Redd featuring Lyold from The Inc.
Dr. Teeth formed a partnership with The Filming Company, a boutique motion picture company, which includes executive producers Tracey Hicks and Keith Pashall in association with Phoenix Entertainment. "There was a need to create an artistic venue for artists such as Dr. Teeth. The Filming Company, which was established in 2001, specializes in creating visuals for music videos, commercials and documentaries, and we pride ourselves in our professionalism and quality work," says Tracey Hicks. "It takes hard work and a great team to build what we have here. What you see is a combination of many different talents," adds Dr. Teeth. We are tremendously excited about Mike Jones video, receiving a nomination for MTV VMA's.
The upcoming video shoots are very promising for Dr. Teeth. The artist line up for the month of August includes: Slim Thug, August 16-17, Paul Wall August 22. Crime Mob on August 30-31.
About Dr. Teeth:
John Tucker's career extends far beyond the video, film and television commercials mediums. He has worked alongside such world renowned film and video directors as Brett Ratner, director of "Money Talks" "Rush Hour 1&2" (video for the feature film "My Vida Loca"); Bille Woodruff (videos for Toni Braxton, Kelly Price, Brian McKnight and Cash Money Millionaires) and Doug McHenry and the late George Jackson (second unit for "Jason's Lyric" starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Alan Payne). In addition, he has worked on other Houston-based film productions ("Tin Cup" starring Kevin Costner and Cheech Marion) and co-wrote and directed his own film, "21 Crunk Street."
Moreover, Tucker has been affiliated with the CBS and BET networks. During his stint at BET Tucker and his team of producers won the NAACP Image Award for Best Children's Programming for their work on the then hit teen show "Teen Summit." Tucker was also instrumental in redeveloping BET's "Rap City" into "Rap City Tha Bassment," where he worked closely with Music program head Steven Hill and Senior Producer Craig Henry. Tha Bassment, which is the show all rap artists look forward to appearing on, was where Dr. Teeth created the now infamous booth that every hot Emcee in the business has entered. In addition for his phenomenal contributions at BET, Tucker also founded a non-profit organization J.D. Tucker Foundation, which provides scholarship opportunities and advance study in communication at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
http://www.theindustrycosign.com/site/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1925
Screwballs
Forget the Bronx or Compton -- the hottest sounds in hip-hop are coming straight outta Houston
By GAVIN EDWARDS
Mike Jones, Houston's most successful rapper right now, can pinpoint the moment -- just a few months ago -- when he knew that his hometown scene had spread beyond city limits. "I started doing shows in Alaska," he says.
In Alaska, "screwed and chopped" would be instructions to a lumberjack or maybe a short-order cook. But in Houston, it's the bedrock of a unique brand of hip-hop, a more soulful Dirty South sound that's now going national, with albums from Jones and Slim Thug reaching the Billboard Top Five. A screwed-and-chopped remix slows down the beats of a familiar track until they're thunderclaps and the vocals until they're the rumble of a brontosaurus herd. Its woozy, sedated sound is the perfect backdrop for slowly cruising around a sprawling, overheated city.
"It's not enough to say that Houston is hip-hop's Seattle," says Todd Moscowitz, president of Asylum Records, which in recent months has signed up literally dozens of artists in Houston, many in partnership with the local label Swishahouse, home to Jones, remixer Michael "5000" Watts and Houston's token white rapper, DJ Paul Wall. "The music culture is so deep. It's a whole lifestyle -- the car culture, the way they dress, the jewelry in the mouth -- that's part of what captivates people."
Moscowitz observes that the rest of the country is getting a crash course in Houston's greatest hits: "People are now taking old classic Houston records, flipping them and taking the hooks." He laughs at this summer's feeding frenzy, the laugh of somebody who has already placed a winning bet. "Houston's hot! Let's run to catch the train!"
There was rap in Houston before screw music, most notably the Geto Boys, who first hit in 1991 with the paranoid classic "Mind Playin' Tricks on Me," and that group's leader, Scarface, who has had a long solo career. But in the mid-Nineties, DJ Screw released hundreds of home-brewed mix tapes, turning gangsta rap into something much trippier -- and inventing a genre. Screw (born Robert Earl Davis Jr.) promoted his tapes as the sonic equivalent of drinking prescription cough syrup; he died, by most accounts, of a syrup overdose himself in 2000. But a screwed-and-chopped remix is still mandatory locally: Mike Jones' hit album Who Is Mike Jones? has one, as does Slim Thug's recent smash Already Platinum.
Out-of-towners who have gotten screwed include Lil Jon, the Game and even the Transplants, the speedy punk side project from Rancid's Tim Armstrong and Blink-182's Travis Barker. DJ Paul Wall says, "A lot of artists do it to gain Houston fans, but what they're really doing is promoting screwed-and-chopped music."
Wall, born Paul Slayton twenty-four years ago, is driving his silver Mercedes through the University of Houston campus. Slouching back in the seat, wearing a white football jersey and jeans shorts, he looks like he could still be an undergraduate. But he has become a local favorite, both as a rapper and a remixer; more than one local fan was impressed by Wall's skills on the radio and then went to a live show, only to be surprised that it was a white guy rapping. His album The People's Champ (out September 13th) is expected to vault him to the same echelon of stardom as the other two rappers on "Still Tippin'," Jones and Slim. "Tippin'," a regional hit in 2004, has slowly burned its way across the country.
"Technically," Wall says, "if DJ Screw didn't do it, it's not screwed. It's just slowed down." He continues, "Growing up, I never understood why they played everything so fast on the radio. I always thought of screw as another flavor, like lemonade or Diet Coke."
Wall goes on: "Screw music is more of a religion. DJ Screw fans -- we call them screwheads. If you tell them you don't like the music, they will fight you and you might get shot at."
That religion's sacrament has been illegally obtained cough syrup (or "sizzyrup"). We're not talking Robitussin but the codeine-laced variety intended for patients with lung cancer. Wall says that screw music evokes the feeling of being stoned on syrup, the same way a pot smoker might get a buzz off a regular cigarette. If you're a "drink man," you go to the syrup dealer, who delivers it in prescription bottles or mini baby bottles. "People mix it with Snapple or Hawaiian Punch," Wall says. "Whatever you prefer. We use Sprite, but I started trying root beer for something different. Or Sunkist. We don't like the new Sprite ReMix, the Aruba Jam."
Forget the Bronx or Compton -- the hottest sounds in hip-hop are coming straight outta Houston
By GAVIN EDWARDS
Mike Jones, Houston's most successful rapper right now, can pinpoint the moment -- just a few months ago -- when he knew that his hometown scene had spread beyond city limits. "I started doing shows in Alaska," he says.
In Alaska, "screwed and chopped" would be instructions to a lumberjack or maybe a short-order cook. But in Houston, it's the bedrock of a unique brand of hip-hop, a more soulful Dirty South sound that's now going national, with albums from Jones and Slim Thug reaching the Billboard Top Five. A screwed-and-chopped remix slows down the beats of a familiar track until they're thunderclaps and the vocals until they're the rumble of a brontosaurus herd. Its woozy, sedated sound is the perfect backdrop for slowly cruising around a sprawling, overheated city.
"It's not enough to say that Houston is hip-hop's Seattle," says Todd Moscowitz, president of Asylum Records, which in recent months has signed up literally dozens of artists in Houston, many in partnership with the local label Swishahouse, home to Jones, remixer Michael "5000" Watts and Houston's token white rapper, DJ Paul Wall. "The music culture is so deep. It's a whole lifestyle -- the car culture, the way they dress, the jewelry in the mouth -- that's part of what captivates people."
Moscowitz observes that the rest of the country is getting a crash course in Houston's greatest hits: "People are now taking old classic Houston records, flipping them and taking the hooks." He laughs at this summer's feeding frenzy, the laugh of somebody who has already placed a winning bet. "Houston's hot! Let's run to catch the train!"
There was rap in Houston before screw music, most notably the Geto Boys, who first hit in 1991 with the paranoid classic "Mind Playin' Tricks on Me," and that group's leader, Scarface, who has had a long solo career. But in the mid-Nineties, DJ Screw released hundreds of home-brewed mix tapes, turning gangsta rap into something much trippier -- and inventing a genre. Screw (born Robert Earl Davis Jr.) promoted his tapes as the sonic equivalent of drinking prescription cough syrup; he died, by most accounts, of a syrup overdose himself in 2000. But a screwed-and-chopped remix is still mandatory locally: Mike Jones' hit album Who Is Mike Jones? has one, as does Slim Thug's recent smash Already Platinum.
Out-of-towners who have gotten screwed include Lil Jon, the Game and even the Transplants, the speedy punk side project from Rancid's Tim Armstrong and Blink-182's Travis Barker. DJ Paul Wall says, "A lot of artists do it to gain Houston fans, but what they're really doing is promoting screwed-and-chopped music."
Wall, born Paul Slayton twenty-four years ago, is driving his silver Mercedes through the University of Houston campus. Slouching back in the seat, wearing a white football jersey and jeans shorts, he looks like he could still be an undergraduate. But he has become a local favorite, both as a rapper and a remixer; more than one local fan was impressed by Wall's skills on the radio and then went to a live show, only to be surprised that it was a white guy rapping. His album The People's Champ (out September 13th) is expected to vault him to the same echelon of stardom as the other two rappers on "Still Tippin'," Jones and Slim. "Tippin'," a regional hit in 2004, has slowly burned its way across the country.
"Technically," Wall says, "if DJ Screw didn't do it, it's not screwed. It's just slowed down." He continues, "Growing up, I never understood why they played everything so fast on the radio. I always thought of screw as another flavor, like lemonade or Diet Coke."
Wall goes on: "Screw music is more of a religion. DJ Screw fans -- we call them screwheads. If you tell them you don't like the music, they will fight you and you might get shot at."
That religion's sacrament has been illegally obtained cough syrup (or "sizzyrup"). We're not talking Robitussin but the codeine-laced variety intended for patients with lung cancer. Wall says that screw music evokes the feeling of being stoned on syrup, the same way a pot smoker might get a buzz off a regular cigarette. If you're a "drink man," you go to the syrup dealer, who delivers it in prescription bottles or mini baby bottles. "People mix it with Snapple or Hawaiian Punch," Wall says. "Whatever you prefer. We use Sprite, but I started trying root beer for something different. Or Sunkist. We don't like the new Sprite ReMix, the Aruba Jam."
cont...
We pass by some anonymous student housing; Wall identifies it as the location of the video for "Still Tippin'," the Mike Jones single that featured Wall and Slim Thug. The track, built around a haunting violin lick, is soaked in Houston's car culture. It's not screwed, but it has the languid pace of screw music. The chorus "Still tippin' on four-fours," sampled from an old Slim Thug freestyle, means "still driving with '84 Cadillac rims." The prized rims sell for three or four thousand a set, but Wall warns, "You wear them the wrong place, they'll put a gun to your head and steal them. You usually see them on the cars of fearless young kids or OGs."
Perfectly styled Houston cars are "draped up and dripped out": They sometimes feature a trunk left ajar, showing off interior neon lights. About ten years ago, when there was a lot of bad blood in Houston -- people think it began when Northsiders started stealing Southsiders' cars -- the North rolled in blue cars, the South in red. These days, the color war is over and people trick out their cars in whatever candy color they want.
We drive north, into the Rosewood district. Wall grew up in a middle-class northern suburb (although he says times were often hard for him, because his biological father was a "dope fiend"). For a long time, Houston's hip-hop scene was based on the south side of town, where the Screwed-Up Click did business. If you wanted to buy a screw tape or see a show, you'd have to come south. It's all decentralized now, and part of the reason is that Michael Watts founded Swishahouse Records on the Northside and signed up all the talent in his part of town.
"As you can see, there's a lot of drug addicts around here," Wall says conversationally as we drive down Homestead Road. Outside a check-cashing place stands an emaciated man with his shirt off. The city's unzoned sprawl includes some rough sections: Houston's murder rate is double the national average. Wall steers through some narrow back roads, crowded with small single-story houses, and points out the Swishahouse, which looks the same as every other house on the block. A neighbor comes over to say hello; he has a teardrop tattooed next to his eye.
Wall cruises over to the Sharpstown Center mall; just inside the main entrance is his jewelry store, TV Jewelry. The shop still has the black-and-white tiles that reveal its previous tenant, an Auntie Anne's Pretzels. The stock includes iced-out pendants of Jesus where diamonds festoon his hair, beard and crown of thorns. But the house specialty is another Houston favorite: grilles.
Only three or four years ago, if you wanted to flash gold and diamonds when you smiled, you'd have to knock out some incisors or file down some teeth to glue on the caps. (There were also temporary caps that you could bend over your teeth, but they were prone to coming off if you chewed gum.) The latest models of grilles, though, are essentially high-end retainers that slip over your teeth. They're doing well all over the South, but they're especially popular in Houston. Wall got into the business because he wanted to be able to afford his own grille; he did so well as a salesman, he ended up going into a partnership with jeweler Johnny Dang. It's an American success story: a white kid immersed in black culture, teamed up with a Vietnamese immigrant. They used to do all the molds by hand together, but now they have a backroom operation with state-of-the-art kilns and thirty-two employees capable of turning out 400 to 500 grilles a day. Master P and Chingy have bought grilles from Wall -- Lil Jon dropped $50,000 on two at once.
"At this point, I'm rapping to promote the jewelry store," Wall admits. "I like to make music, but I don't like to rap. I like to DJ." Wall describes himself as a tireless proponent of Houston hip-hop -- the guy who owned 150 screw tapes and was always willing to hand out fliers for shows or peddle mix tapes. That work ethic has made him friends all around town; some people jokingly call him "the mayor."
Wall heads to the Sound Check music complex, a grungy rehearsal space with a framed copy of Born to Run in the bathroom. Behind a door labeled seattle is Wall's studio, filled with a dozen producers and friends, including his guest Slim Thug, a.k.a. Boss Hogg but born Stayve Thomas. Slim, six-foot-six, lounges on a couch with one arm around his beautiful girlfriend, LeToya Luckett (an original member of Destiny's Child -- who also come from Houston). He's passing on some music-industry wisdom to Wall: "You gotta do the radio shit, man."
Slim and Wall trade stories about Mike Jones, and how for a time he called himself "Sache" (pronounced like Versace). "He got that tattooed," Wall says, "but it looked like a jailhouse tattoo. He did it himself."
"When I first knew Mike Jones," Slim says, "he used to hook me up with phones. He always had the two-ways and the new Sprint phones."
Slim has had a ten-year career in Houston. Still only twenty-four, he's just made his national debut with a much-delayed album that has many tracks produced by the Neptunes; it's a high-gloss, L.A. version of the Houston sound. "Man, I've been messing with Pharrell," Slim says. "They want to be in L.A. or Miami; they don't want to come to Houston. They got to do the fly spots." Today, however, during a brief interlude before he goes back on the road, Slim too is concerned with his nonmusical business. For Slim, it's real estate: He owns two record stores and is discussing an expansion into shoe stores.
"Everybody says I'm money-hungry," Slim says a little sheepishly. "It might be true. When I see money, it's like Christmas."
Working in another studio on the other side of town is Bun B, half of the legendary Houston rap duo UGK, finishing up a solo record. (His UGK partner, producer Pimp C, is serving time for an assault conviction but is up for parole in December.) Bun B, a Houston veteran at age thirty-one, born Bernard Freeman, has an easy charm and enough business savvy to offer a nuanced history of the local distribution system. (In short: The collapse of a major distributor a few years back forced local artists and labels to build up their own distribution channels, which made them more astute when the major labels came back around.) Today, however, he is working on tracks for his forthcoming album, Trill, and planning a video with John Tucker, who under the name Dr. Teeth has directed most of the Houston hip-hop videos.
Bun says he always wanted to do a video where he would arrive for a gig via helicopter, but his record company's response was "Can't you get in a Cadillac and ride through the hood?" He shakes his head. "Man, I'm tired of the hood. I want to see choppers and ladders!"
The treatment on Tucker's laptop, however, reads, "Bun B hops into a low rider old school Cadillac drop top . . . "
The conversation turns to cough syrup. Bun has been trying to figure out whether it was responsible for his recent gain of about forty pounds in six months. "I was sipping, but it was sociable," he says. "But then I started buying . . . " After further thought, he decides that mixing the syrup with soda was behind the weight gain, although the codeine-laced syrup has other nasty side effects; in Bun's case, it was screwing up his kidneys.
Asked if screw music's success was based on the popularity of syrup, Bun says no. "The music caught on a lot faster than the syrup," he says. "I could go to Wal-Mart and pop a screw tape in the stereo, but I couldn't go to a bar and ask for syrup." He says that screw music reflects the local vibe, which is laid-back: "You gotta have that cutthroat mentality in New York. But the average life of a Texan is not that intense. He can look at life slowly. He doesn't want to expend that much energy listening to a record at night."
(Posted Aug 11, 2005)
http://www.rollingstone.com/
We pass by some anonymous student housing; Wall identifies it as the location of the video for "Still Tippin'," the Mike Jones single that featured Wall and Slim Thug. The track, built around a haunting violin lick, is soaked in Houston's car culture. It's not screwed, but it has the languid pace of screw music. The chorus "Still tippin' on four-fours," sampled from an old Slim Thug freestyle, means "still driving with '84 Cadillac rims." The prized rims sell for three or four thousand a set, but Wall warns, "You wear them the wrong place, they'll put a gun to your head and steal them. You usually see them on the cars of fearless young kids or OGs."
Perfectly styled Houston cars are "draped up and dripped out": They sometimes feature a trunk left ajar, showing off interior neon lights. About ten years ago, when there was a lot of bad blood in Houston -- people think it began when Northsiders started stealing Southsiders' cars -- the North rolled in blue cars, the South in red. These days, the color war is over and people trick out their cars in whatever candy color they want.
We drive north, into the Rosewood district. Wall grew up in a middle-class northern suburb (although he says times were often hard for him, because his biological father was a "dope fiend"). For a long time, Houston's hip-hop scene was based on the south side of town, where the Screwed-Up Click did business. If you wanted to buy a screw tape or see a show, you'd have to come south. It's all decentralized now, and part of the reason is that Michael Watts founded Swishahouse Records on the Northside and signed up all the talent in his part of town.
"As you can see, there's a lot of drug addicts around here," Wall says conversationally as we drive down Homestead Road. Outside a check-cashing place stands an emaciated man with his shirt off. The city's unzoned sprawl includes some rough sections: Houston's murder rate is double the national average. Wall steers through some narrow back roads, crowded with small single-story houses, and points out the Swishahouse, which looks the same as every other house on the block. A neighbor comes over to say hello; he has a teardrop tattooed next to his eye.
Wall cruises over to the Sharpstown Center mall; just inside the main entrance is his jewelry store, TV Jewelry. The shop still has the black-and-white tiles that reveal its previous tenant, an Auntie Anne's Pretzels. The stock includes iced-out pendants of Jesus where diamonds festoon his hair, beard and crown of thorns. But the house specialty is another Houston favorite: grilles.
Only three or four years ago, if you wanted to flash gold and diamonds when you smiled, you'd have to knock out some incisors or file down some teeth to glue on the caps. (There were also temporary caps that you could bend over your teeth, but they were prone to coming off if you chewed gum.) The latest models of grilles, though, are essentially high-end retainers that slip over your teeth. They're doing well all over the South, but they're especially popular in Houston. Wall got into the business because he wanted to be able to afford his own grille; he did so well as a salesman, he ended up going into a partnership with jeweler Johnny Dang. It's an American success story: a white kid immersed in black culture, teamed up with a Vietnamese immigrant. They used to do all the molds by hand together, but now they have a backroom operation with state-of-the-art kilns and thirty-two employees capable of turning out 400 to 500 grilles a day. Master P and Chingy have bought grilles from Wall -- Lil Jon dropped $50,000 on two at once.
"At this point, I'm rapping to promote the jewelry store," Wall admits. "I like to make music, but I don't like to rap. I like to DJ." Wall describes himself as a tireless proponent of Houston hip-hop -- the guy who owned 150 screw tapes and was always willing to hand out fliers for shows or peddle mix tapes. That work ethic has made him friends all around town; some people jokingly call him "the mayor."
Wall heads to the Sound Check music complex, a grungy rehearsal space with a framed copy of Born to Run in the bathroom. Behind a door labeled seattle is Wall's studio, filled with a dozen producers and friends, including his guest Slim Thug, a.k.a. Boss Hogg but born Stayve Thomas. Slim, six-foot-six, lounges on a couch with one arm around his beautiful girlfriend, LeToya Luckett (an original member of Destiny's Child -- who also come from Houston). He's passing on some music-industry wisdom to Wall: "You gotta do the radio shit, man."
Slim and Wall trade stories about Mike Jones, and how for a time he called himself "Sache" (pronounced like Versace). "He got that tattooed," Wall says, "but it looked like a jailhouse tattoo. He did it himself."
"When I first knew Mike Jones," Slim says, "he used to hook me up with phones. He always had the two-ways and the new Sprint phones."
Slim has had a ten-year career in Houston. Still only twenty-four, he's just made his national debut with a much-delayed album that has many tracks produced by the Neptunes; it's a high-gloss, L.A. version of the Houston sound. "Man, I've been messing with Pharrell," Slim says. "They want to be in L.A. or Miami; they don't want to come to Houston. They got to do the fly spots." Today, however, during a brief interlude before he goes back on the road, Slim too is concerned with his nonmusical business. For Slim, it's real estate: He owns two record stores and is discussing an expansion into shoe stores.
"Everybody says I'm money-hungry," Slim says a little sheepishly. "It might be true. When I see money, it's like Christmas."
Working in another studio on the other side of town is Bun B, half of the legendary Houston rap duo UGK, finishing up a solo record. (His UGK partner, producer Pimp C, is serving time for an assault conviction but is up for parole in December.) Bun B, a Houston veteran at age thirty-one, born Bernard Freeman, has an easy charm and enough business savvy to offer a nuanced history of the local distribution system. (In short: The collapse of a major distributor a few years back forced local artists and labels to build up their own distribution channels, which made them more astute when the major labels came back around.) Today, however, he is working on tracks for his forthcoming album, Trill, and planning a video with John Tucker, who under the name Dr. Teeth has directed most of the Houston hip-hop videos.
Bun says he always wanted to do a video where he would arrive for a gig via helicopter, but his record company's response was "Can't you get in a Cadillac and ride through the hood?" He shakes his head. "Man, I'm tired of the hood. I want to see choppers and ladders!"
The treatment on Tucker's laptop, however, reads, "Bun B hops into a low rider old school Cadillac drop top . . . "
The conversation turns to cough syrup. Bun has been trying to figure out whether it was responsible for his recent gain of about forty pounds in six months. "I was sipping, but it was sociable," he says. "But then I started buying . . . " After further thought, he decides that mixing the syrup with soda was behind the weight gain, although the codeine-laced syrup has other nasty side effects; in Bun's case, it was screwing up his kidneys.
Asked if screw music's success was based on the popularity of syrup, Bun says no. "The music caught on a lot faster than the syrup," he says. "I could go to Wal-Mart and pop a screw tape in the stereo, but I couldn't go to a bar and ask for syrup." He says that screw music reflects the local vibe, which is laid-back: "You gotta have that cutthroat mentality in New York. But the average life of a Texan is not that intense. He can look at life slowly. He doesn't want to expend that much energy listening to a record at night."
(Posted Aug 11, 2005)
http://www.rollingstone.com/