Robert Earl Davis Jr- DJ Screw

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Robert Earl Davis, Jr.; better known as DJ Screw; was a southern hip-hop pioneer. DJ Screw was said to have been the originator of the "chopped and screwed" musical style that sweep the hip-hop world during the 90's. Just as he was about to break into national stardom in the hip hop industry, DJ Screw was found dead in the bathroom of his recording studio on November 16, 2000 at the age of 29. "The Harris County medical examiner confirmed suspicion that (DJ) Screw had overdosed on a combination of codeine and other drugs" (Sarig, 2007, p. 320). In an autopsy released a few months following his death, it was revealed that DJ Screw not only had toxic levels of codeine in his system but also Valium and PCP. A close friend of DJ Screw stated in a interview that he (DJ Screw) had in fact used the same drug everyday for the past decade (Hall, 2001). He was also known to be an advent smoker of marijuana. Those who did not want to believe his death was due to an overdose claimed he died of a heart condition, and although he did have an enlarged heart the autopsy showed no signs of heart disease. DJ Screw's former manager, Charles Washington, was on one of the only people to openly admit that it was in fact the codeine mixed drink called Syrup, along with other drugs that ultimately caused his death. The signs of drug abuse were visible shortly before his death. In an interview shot for a documentary about his life called Soldiers United for Cash; DJ Screw is seen smoking damp cigarettes that were laced with some type of liquid. The producer of the documentary; TJ Watford, claimed he feared DJ Screw was about to overdose. "Screw didn't seem to have any direction," Watford said. "He was talking in circles. I thought I saw a dead man wa...

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...., Agnich, L. E., Stogner, J., & Miller, B. L. (2014). ‘Me and my drank:’ Exploring the relationship between musical preferences and purple drank experimentation. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(1), 172-186. doi:10.1007/s12103-013-9213-7
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Sarig, R. (2007). Third coast: OutKast, Timbaland, and how hip-hop became a southern thing. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.
Serwer, J. (2010, ). Film & music: From cough syrup to full-blown fever. The Guardian. Retrieved May 23, 2014 from http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/nov/11/dj-screw-drake-fever-ray

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