What was your original thoughts on MCHG when you first heard it?
When I first heard it, to be honest with you, I just thought it was a regular Jay Z album. I didn’t think there was a “wow” factor about it. But that’s the kind of reason why you see the way I put the mixtape together. That’s why we did a lot of the blending me and DJ Candlestick did. We put those things in there to bring in the extra-like the old Jay Z and Biggie-some of the older stuff because we wanted to make the mixtape version a “wow” project.
So this was more of an opportunity for you guys to work on some ideas you already had regarding Jay Z’s work?
Correct. Me and my youngster, DJ Candlestick, he has the younger brain that makes our chemistry that much greater-adding new flavor to the old flavor.
You guys are the Batman and Robbin to the mixtape game?
Exactly.
As an OG, please explain the difference between chopped not slopped vs. chopped n screwed.
Definitely. There is a difference. The term chopped not slopped actually started as a joke. I kinda used to make fun of other DJs when they be trying to do what we do, and it just kinda sounded, you know, a little sloppy. When you listen to our mixtapes, you can basically see that there’s no room for error. They’re really tightly knitted from transition to transition, the chops are on time, the blends is real good. It was a clean up of chopped n screwed music. The adaptation was chopped up, not slopped up.
So the perpetrators are the ones doing chopped n screwed?
Exactly. Because they want to be DJ Screw. I’m just trying to uphold the legacy of DJ Screw.
You’re not just imitating. You want to further the culture.
Right.
On the tracklist, I noticed you had a couple “weakstyles” on there. Now I thought of Wu-Tang’s tiger style when I saw that, but I’m sure it means something totally different.
(laughs) If you go back to any of the tapes we did on Swisha, we always have a rapper freestyle. I had to ask a rapper to freestyle and it would take too long. So after going through that so much, I just started doing them myself. And seeing that I’m not a rapper and I knew it would be kind of weak, if I did rap, so I adapted it from a freestyle to a weakstyle. You ain’t got to tell me it sucks. I already know that it sucks. If you don’t like it, it’s cool. It became such a street favor, people started gravitating to it and it became a thing to do. It became kind of a joke and that’s just what we do for most of the stuff-funny, just being funny. It’s my personality.
That has to be the ultimate definition of keeping it real.
Word up.
Growing up in suburban New York, Hip-Hop had a definite sound to me. So when I got older and was exposed to new sounds like chopped not slopped, I was genuinely confused as to who would listen to that kind of music. But now I sense a universal element to it. Can you speak on what that might be?
I definitely agree. As I’ve grown with the culture and helped mold it, and met with a variety of people who have nothing to do with anything negative or drugs, they just like the music. Getting a chance to sit with those people, now I interpret it as this: life is fast so let OG Ron C and the Chopstars slow you down. There’s always been slow jam music. Remember slow jam music? It would always calm you down. Some nice ballad or RnB. It’s really the same except now you get to hear all your favorites basically done to a ballad form. We all like a slow jam. Some of the slowest songs are slower than a chopped n screwed record and they’re at regular speed. It’s not hard to relate to once you take the equation out of, “Oh man, you got to be on some drugs.” Naw, just listen to your favorite songs. What’s your favorite song? Now let me play it for you like this in ballad form. So chopped up not slopped up.
People need to divorce the idea of chopped not slopped from drug usage.
That’s right. I’m glad you asked that question.
Bryan Hahn (@notupstate)
