The works of the chopped and screwed luminaries are preserved for posterity.

For the uninitiated, Houston’s Swishahouse, founded by Michael ‘5000’ Watts and OG Ron C, is an instrumental part of the chopped and screwed movement. The label was responsible for jumpstarting the careers of Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Mike Jones, and Paul Wall, among others.

Rice University (also in Houston) will archive the label’s materials in its Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning (CERCL), part of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. These materials “chronicle the origin and achievements of Swishahouse for future generations of scholars, artists and other interested parties.”

Among the materials archived are the label’s early music, vintage pictures and posters, items from their community outreach work, and a platinum record for Wall’s 2005 hit ‘The People’s Champion.’ These materials are also now part of the Houston Hip-Hop Archives Network, a partnership developed by CERCL and the University of Houston Libraries.

“We are delighted to be able to initiate this effort with the materials brought to us by Swishahouse,” said CERCL founding director Anthony Pinn. “You can’t think about hip-hop without giving attention to the brothers (G Dash and Michael “5000” Watts) who’ve made this happen (through Swishahouse).”

Rice made headlines last year when Southern legend Bun B began co-teaching a religion and hip-hop course there. The NSFW video for Swishahouse hit ‘Still Tippin’ by Mike Jones is below. [via AllHipHop]