The ticketed Aug. 8 event is separate from the annual June 27 observance inspired by DJ Screw’s landmark “June 27 Freestyle.” The downtown gathering will feature performances by Houston rappers Z-Ro and Paul Wall, along with art and cultural programming honoring DJ Screw, born Robert Earl Davis Jr.
Fans observe DJ Screw Day each June 27 in honor of his influential “June 27 Freestyle,” recorded in 1996 and featuring several Screwed Up Click members, including Big Pokey, Yungstar and Big Moe.
More than a month later, Screwed Up Records and Tapes is working with several organizations to host Saturday’s event at the convention center.
Organizers have held larger DJ Screw celebrations at the convention center in previous years, typically after the annual June 27 observance.
General admission tickets were listed Tuesday at $19.32 before taxes and fees.
Robert Earl Davis Jr., who would later become known as DJ Screw, was born on July 20, 1971, in Smithville. He began DJing and making mixtapes as a teenager in south Houston.
He became known for experimenting with turntables and pitch control and, by the early 1990s, had developed what became known as the chopped-and-screwed sound. The technique slows songs and repeats selected lyrics and beats, creating a style that came to define Houston hip-hop.
From the 1990s until his death in 2000, he produced more than 300 original mixtapes, famously called Screw Tapes, which he sold from his southside Houston home and later from his store, Screwed Up Records and Tapes.
DJ Screw died on Nov. 16, 2000, at age 29 of a codeine overdose.
Since his death, his music has influenced artists such as Drake and A$AP Rocky and has appeared in films such as the Academy Award-winning “Moonlight.”
The University of Houston also has preserved archival collections featuring his personal papers, photographs and sound recordings.