S. Samuel
With rappers like Drake and A$AP Rocky crediting Houston for influencing their sound, SOHH recently reached out to DJ Michael "5000" Watts for his take.
Watts credits artists like Drizzy and Rocky for keeping the Houston sound alive and thriving.
“I think it’s a beautiful thing to have people from outside Houston and embrace everything we’ve done. I don’t take it as an insult. People like Drake, A$AP Rocky and others pay homage to the whole chopped and screwed sound and Houston movement,” Watts told SOHH. “It really keeps Houston alive and helps make sure what we’re doing is brought to the forefront.” (SOHH)
The music producer also briefly reflected on his Swisha House putting on homegrown rappers like Paul Wall, Slim Thug and Mike Jones.
“What’s funny is I’ve never really looked back at the success of the Swisha House brand until somebody like you asked me to think about it,” Watts added. “When it gets boiled down, I never did this stuff for the money, fame or publicity or anything like that. Personally, my mindframe is still the same. I love music, I love the whole Houston music sound and the Southern culture.” (SOHH)
Recently, A$AP Rocky opened up on his love for the Houston scene.
“Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s, Houston had a huge influence on hip-hop around 2005. I was fascinated with the culture [down] there. I just wanted to embrace it in my music. Scarface and everybody else influenced me heavily, “Minds Playing Tricks on me.” That wasn’t really the [DJ] Screw era though. It [90s Houston hip-hop] did have an influence on me but it really wasn’t my main influence. I’m talking about the screw era and even the UGK era, guys like Devin the Dude, Lil Keke and Z-Ro. (DJ Booth)
Earlier this month, Houston’s Marcus Manchild gave his take on rappers like Rocky showing love for his hometown.
“I feel that it’s cool if you’re inspired by Houston, that’s what’s up. But you always gotta show that respect to the people that came up with the styles and sounds, you know what I mean? So that’s all there is to it, if you hear it and you feel inspired, that’s all love,” Manchild told SOHH. “I don’t really see that respect. I feel him when he says he embraced [Houston] but it’s gotta be more than that … I don’t hear no shout-outs or none of that, that’s all I’m saying. You gotta pay respect to the people that made up what you’re talkin’ about. I can’t go somewhere and talk about something I don’t know and then not respect the people that are from there. (SOHH)
