Slab (car)

Last updated

Slab (sometimes in all capital letters) is an acronym for "slow, loud, and bangin'" or for "hitting the slab," as in driving on concrete roads. [1] [2]

Contents

It is a slang term for a car with bright candy paint and large chrome wheels, among other customizations. [1] [3] [4] Slabs emerged in the 1980s Houston and saw the most popularity in the 1990s and 2000s, [1] but have faded in popularity. Slabs are synonymous with Texas rap culture, and the drivers of Slabs would usually play loud rap music and drive slowly thus the "Slab" (slow, loud, and bangin') term. [1] Another view is that the term "slab" refers to the slabs of concrete that make up the street, as in taking out a custom car on the concrete slab of a Houston freeway." [5] [2]

Elements

Slabs have bright "candy" paint in colorful hues, contrasting many modern grey, black, and white cars. [4] They often feature gold and whitewall tires on chrome wire wheels which may protrude like a cone horizontally, colloquially called "Swangas" or "elbows." [3] [4] They may also feature "cartoonish" central poker protruding centers, the longest being 24 in (61 cm). [5] A simulated Continental kit that include a fiberglass spare wheel and marching "elbow" are often added to the rear. [2]

The customized cars are typically American brands like Cadillac, Chevrolet, Lincoln, and Buick. Many are retro cars like the Cadillac DeVille or old Chevrolet Impalas. Slabs may have lowered suspension from hydraulics. [1] [3] Some Slabs have constantly open or "popped" trunks that contain neon signs, amplifiers, and speakers. The high-powered sound systems with massive subwoofers can shatter plate glass store windows. [2] Owners also put custom messages under the trunk lid. [2]

Slabs are similar to Californian lowrider cars, with retro American cars, bright colors, low suspension, and association with hip-hop. However, the large wheels, occasional usage of more modern cars, and trunk "popping" makes Slabs distinct from lowriders. [1] The design of Slab cars borrows inspiration from cars driven by pimps and gangsters in the 1970s "Blaxploitation" films. [4] [1]

In hip-hop culture

Slabs are a part of Texas rap culture, named after how Slab drivers played rap in the car. They were frequently mentioned in and played in 2000s and 1990s Texas rap songs. Rappers like Chamillionaire, Pimp C, Bun B, Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Big Pokey, Z-Ro, and Mike Jones would mention Slabs in their songs. [3] [4] Additionally, the chopped and screwed style of Southern rap, which involved slowing rap songs and then repeating or skipping beats, popularized by DJ Screw and DJ Mike Watts, made Slabs more popular as part of Slab culture is slow driving, which fit the style of low tempo chopped and screwed songs. [1] [4]

Related Research Articles

Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida—often titled “The Big 5,” five states which constitute the "Southern Network" in rap music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art car</span> Vehicle decorated with art

An art car is a vehicle that has had its appearance modified as an act of personal artistic expression. Art cars are often driven and owned by their creators, who are sometimes referred to as "Cartists".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowrider</span> Customized car with a lowered body

A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body that emerged among Mexican American youth in the 1940s. Lowrider also refers to the driver of the car and their participation in lowrider car clubs, which remain a part of Chicano culture and have since expanded internationally. These customized vehicles are also artworks, generally being painted with intricate, colorful designs, unique aesthetic features, and rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires.

<i>Pimp My Ride</i> American television series and franchise

Pimp My Ride is an American television series produced by MTV and hosted by rapper Xzibit, which ran for six seasons on MTV from 2004 to 2007. In each episode, a car in poor condition is both restored and customized. The work on the show was done by West Coast Customs until season 5 and was done by Galpin Auto Sports thereafter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bun B</span> American rapper

Bernard James Freeman, known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK, a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with UGK, Bun B has released five solo albums, including 2010's Trill OG, which received the rare 5-mic rating from The Source.

Mark Machado, better known as Mr. Cartoon or more commonly just Cartoon or Toon, is an American tattoo artist and graffiti artist based in Los Angeles, California. Growing up in the Harbor area of Los Angeles County, young Cartoon began doing illustrations and graffiti then going on to airbrushing clothing and lowrider custom cars. Machado then moved on to working in the music industry doing album covers, tour merchandise, and later tattooing recording artists and other celebrities.

Chopped and screwed is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and DJing. It was developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s by DJ Screw. The screwed technique involves slowing the tempo of a song down to 60 and 70 quarter-note beats per minute and applying techniques such as skipping beats, record scratching, stop-time and affecting portions of the original composition to create a "chopped-up" version of the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Custom car</span> Passenger vehicle that has been substantially altered in its appearance

A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been altered to either improve its performance, change its aesthetics, or a combination of both. Some automotive enthusiasts in the United States want to push "styling and performance a step beyond the showroom floor - to truly craft an automobile of one's own." A custom car in British according to Collins English Dictionary is built to the buyer's own specifications.

The spinner on automobile wheels historically refers to knock-off hub nuts or center caps. They may be the actual, or intended to simulate, the design used on antique vehicles or vintage sports cars. A "spinner wheel" in contemporary usage is a type of hubcap or inner wheel ornament, that spins independently inside of a wheel itself when the vehicle is in motion and continues to spin once the vehicle has come to a stop.

A pimpmobile is a large luxury vehicle, usually a 1960s, 1970s or 1980s-model Lincoln, Cadillac, Buick or Chrysler vehicle, that has been customized in a garish, extravagant and kitsch or campy style. The style is largely an American phenomenon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowrider bicycle</span> Customized bicycle

A lowrider bicycle is a highly customized bicycle with styling inspired by lowrider cars. These bikes often feature a long, curved banana seat with a sissy bar and very tall upward-swept ape hanger handlebars. A lot of chrome, velvet, and overspoked wheels are common accessories to these custom bicycles.

Houston is a multicultural city with a thriving international community supported by the third largest concentration of consular offices in the United States, representing 86 nations. In addition to historical Southeast Texas culture, Houston became the fourth-most populous city in the United States. Officially, Houston is nicknamed the "Space City" as it is home to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, where Mission Control Center is located. "Houston" was the first word spoken on the Moon. Many locals refer to Houston as "Bayou City." Other nicknames include "H-Town", "Clutch City", and "Magnolia City".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lean (drug)</span> Recreational drug beverage

Lean or purple drank is a polysubstance drink used as a recreational drug. It is prepared by mixing prescription-grade cough or cold syrup containing an opioid drug and an anti-histamine drug with a soft drink and sometimes hard candy. The beverage originated in Houston as early as the 1960s and is popular in hip hop culture, especially within the Southern United States. Codeine/promethazine syrup is usually used to make lean, but other syrups are also used.

A scraper is an informal term to describe a modified American-made luxury/family car, usually a General Motors model from the 1980s to current vehicles, typically enhanced with after-market rims. Scrapers are popular in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California, usually associated with the hyphy music and lifestyle movement. An example of hyphy is shown in the E-40 lyrics "sittin' in my scraper watching Oakland gone wild". A scraper is a general description and can refer to a number of different model cars. Popular models include the Buick Regal and LeSabre, Pontiac Bonneville, Buick Century, Oldsmobile Delta 88, Buick Riviera, Buick Reatta, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, Pontiac Grand Prix, Lexus SC, Chevrolet Caprice Classic, and Chevrolet Impalas, as well as full size conversion vans such as the GMC Vandura. Supercharged automobiles are particularly sought after due to their high performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental tire</span> Externally-mounted spare tire behind an automobiles trunk

A continental tire or a continental kit is used in the United States for an upright externally-mounted spare tire behind an automobile's trunk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kustom (cars)</span>

Kustoms are modified cars from the 1930s to the early 1960s, done in the customizing styles of that time period. The usage of a "K" for "Kustom" rather than a "C", is believed to have originated with George Barris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hi-riser</span> Customized automobile with large wheels

Hi-risers are a type of heavily-customized automobile, typically a full-size, body-on-frame, rear-wheel drive American sedan modified by significantly increasing the vehicle's ground clearance and adding large-diameter wheels with low-profile tires. Depending on the model, year and bodystyle, cars customized in this style can be labeled "donk", "box" or "bubble". Many within the community refer to this style of car as simply a "big rim" or "big wheel" car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Screw</span> American hip hop DJ (1971–2000)

Robert Earl Davis Jr., 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 central and influential figure in the Houston hip hop community and was the leader of Houston's Screwed Up Click.

Mixtape Messiah is a series of mixtapes by Houston rapper Chamillionaire. The Mixtape Messiah was his first in the series, which was released on February 15, 2004. Featuring 61 tracks over three CDs, this triple mixtape is the longest and most bought mixtape in Texas history. Mixtape Messiah 7 was released on August 4, 2009, and was officially confirmed to be the final mixtape in the series.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gessner, Daniel. "The history behind 'slabs,' the custom cars with an important place in Houston's hip-hop community". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Baruth, Jack; Mehta, Sajeev (2021-12-01). "Elbows Out: Houston birthed the slabs, a car culture of its own". Hagerty. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Perez, Samara (2020-05-25). "Made in Texas: How Slabs became a symbol of Houston's hip hop culture". KPRC. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McLaughlin, Eliott C. (2016-11-02). "Candy paint and elbows: Swangin' through Houston's slab scene". CNN. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  5. 1 2 Horncastle, Rowan (2022-08-18). "All you need to know about SLAB car culture". Top Gear. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.