DJ Screw’s Houston Legacy Takes Center Stage With Paul Wall and Z-Ro

Houston is preparing to put DJ Screw’s legacy back at center stage with an August 8 celebration featuring Paul Wall, Z-Ro and cultural programming devoted to the chopped-and-screwed sound.

The ticketed event will take place at the George R. Brown Convention Center. According to the Houston Chronicle, Screwed Up Records and Tapes is working with several organizations to present performances, art and other programming honoring DJ Screw, born Robert Earl Davis Jr.

The gathering is separate from Houston’s annual June 27 observance, which takes its date from the influential “June 27 Freestyle.” That distinction matters: the August event is not replacing the city’s established memorial tradition. It expands the public space available for listeners, artists and institutions to engage with Screw’s catalog and cultural reach.

Paul Wall and Z-Ro are natural choices for the performance lineup. Both artists helped carry Houston rap to wider audiences while remaining connected to the regional sound and community that Screw shaped. Their presence keeps the program grounded in the city rather than turning the celebration into a generic nostalgia show.

DJ Screw developed his signature approach by slowing records, manipulating pitch and repeating selected sections until familiar music entered a new atmosphere. Across more than 300 Screw Tapes, that process became its own musical language—one that influenced generations of Southern rap and eventually traveled into mainstream Hip-Hop, R&B and film.

His archive also lives beyond the stage. The University of Houston preserves materials including papers, photographs and sound recordings, giving scholars and future artists a formal route into the history. Saturday’s celebration adds the communal side: the music experienced collectively, in the city that created it.