THIS YEAR MARKS the 30th anniversary of Chapter 012: June 27th, a near-immortal 35-minute freestyle mixtape featuring some of the most iconic Houston rappers, including DJ Screw, the late and legendary underground artist credited with bringing his signature slow, chopped, and screwed syrupy sound to the city.

The date the mixtape was recorded, June 27, is now a Houston holiday.
What some refer to as DJ Screw Day commemorates the rapper, who died
on November 16, 2000, of a codeine overdose. But many people have some
misconceptions about the day, wrongly assuming the date marks the rapper’s birthday, which falls on July 20.

The real story begins with DeMo Sherman and his 26th birthday. A rapper, DJ, and Houston OG, Sherman is the man who conceived June 27th—who pushed for something more structured than a typical Screw session, who brought Big Moe into the room, and made sure Yungstar was there, too. Without DeMo, there’s no June 27th. So, on a brisk Friday evening in January, I met with him at a local coffee shop to get the story, in his own words. What followed was one of the grandest tales in Houston music history.

This Q&A has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Houstonia: How did you come to know DJ Screw?