"R.I.P. Screw" is a song by American rapper and singer

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

featuring fellow American rapper and singer

Swae Lee Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown (born June 7, 1993), known professionally as Swae Lee, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Known for his wide vocal range and genre-bending, Lee first saw mainstream recognition as one half of the Mississ ...

. It was released through Cactus Jack,

Grand Hustle Grand Hustle Records (formerly Grand Hustle Entertainment), also known as Hustle Gang Music, is an American hip hop record label, founded in 2003, by American rapper and record executive T.I. and his manager Jason Geter. The label was distribut ...

, and

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

on August 3, 2018 as the fourth track from the former's third studio album '' Astroworld''. The song was written by the artists alongside Blair Lavigne,

FKi 1st Trocon Markous Robert Jr. (born November 20, 1989), better known by his stage name FKi 1st, $1T or 1st Down, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. He first became known as one half of the Atlanta-based production d ...

, and Mike Dean, the latter two producing it with Scott. The song serves as a tribute to American disc jockey

DJ Screw Robert Earl Davis Jr. (July 20, 1971 – November 16, 2000), better known by his stage name DJ Screw, was an American hip hop DJ based in Houston, Texas, and best known as the creator of the chopped and screwed DJ technique. He was a centra ...

, who was from Scott's hometown of Houston, Texas and died from a

codeine Codeine is an opiate and prodrug of morphine mainly used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea. It is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It is found naturally in the sap of the opium poppy, ''Papaver somniferum''. It is typically use ...

overdose in 2000.

Composition

"R.I.P. Screw" serves as an honor to the late DJ Screw that also sees Scott pay tribute to the city of Houston, where he was born and raised, and talk about drug usage. He name-drops DJ Screw, as well as fellow Houston rapper

Pimp C Chad Lamont Butler (December 29, 1973 – December 4, 2007), better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as one half of the hip-hop duo Underground Kingz (UGK). ...

and the Houston-based

Screwed Up Click The Screwed Up Click (or S.U.C.) is an American hip hop collective based in Houston, Texas, that was led by DJ Screw. Its most notable members include DJ Screw, Big Hawk, Big Mello, Big Moe, Big Pokey, the Botany Boyz, E.S.G., Fat Pat, L ...

collective that DJ Screw was a part of. The song includes "an aggressively angelic mix of Swae Lee's coos and candy-sweet keys". It contains a "dreamlike, codeine-paced beat" and Scott also references pouring four ounces of promethazine, a drug that DJ Screw was known for using.

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Larry Fitzmaurice of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' simply described it as "lovely". Writing for '' XXL'', Scott Glaysher felt that "Swae Lee provides soothing vocals on the somber homage cut". Andrew Barker of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described the song as "meditative" and felt that it "is an appropriately molasses-paced tribute to Houston's chopped-and-screwed innovator DJ Screw". Aaron Williams of

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

summarized: "Equal parts haunting and body-rocking, 'R.I.P. Screw' redeems some of the complaints about Swae Lee's '' Swaecation'' while establishing that Travis' chemistry with the

Rae Sremmurd Rae Sremmurd ( ; "Ear Drummers" Anadrome, spelled backwards) is an American hip-hop duo composed of brothers Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi, both of whom originate from Tupelo, Mississippi. They signed with record producer Mike Will Made It's label Mike ...

crooner is perhaps the best of any of his repeat collaborators".

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Swae Lee 2018 songs Travis Scott songs Swae Lee songs Song recordings produced by Travis Scott Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by Travis Scott Songs written by Swae Lee Songs written by FKi 1st Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer)