Search - Lil Jon & East Side Boyz :: Crunk Juice: Chopped & Screwed

Review from Synthesis

Synthesis_jason | Chico, CA | 09/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is about to be the most incredible experience you have ever felt in your f*@$ing life!" yells Lil Jon on the Crunk Juice intro. The statement really rings true on the Chopped and Screwed version of the album. TVT released it alongside a similarly remixed Ying Yang Twins' United States of Atlanta, offering wholly different sounds from their predecessors.

Houston's DJ Screw (R.I.P.) founded the style of slowing down records (screwing), and took liberties with them on mix tapes (chopping). Remember when a walkman died and the music slowed down? Or when a discman skipped? Such Frankensteinian changes abound on these albums. Michael "5000" Watts of Swishahouse Records is credited with mainstreaming the sound; he mixes the two discs. The metamorphosis is profound, in ways good and bad. Still attention-getting when played at high volume, the sound is less musical but more...intriguing? It's hard to get crunk with Lil Jon sounding like he's on Promethazine; slowed down, E-40 sounds like just another E-40 imitator; and 8-Ball really does sound "high as a giraffe." The Twins sound more like monsters than rappers; their women offering sexual advice sound like transvestites and Busta Rhymes isn't recognizable.

On the other hand, the repetitious cutting of the records reinforces favorite lines, like Usher's heartfelt moans on Lil Jon's "Lovers and Friends" and Ying Yang's straightforward misogyny on "I Hate Hoes." Incredible audio experiences, but certainly not for everyone."