Slab (car)

Slab (sometimes in all capital letters) is an acronym for "slow, loud, and bangin'" that describes a custom car, music and surrounding culture that's associated with hip-hop culture that emerged in the Houston area.^[1][2]

Slab music emerged in the 1990s as a form of music that incorporated chopped and screwed music altered in a mass commercial (or radio) friendly way rather than the underground mixtapes released at the time. The music is said to be made to be played in a slab vehicle. The acronym "slow, loud and bangin'" also describes the music as it's tempo is less than the typical hip hop music at the time (slow), the volume is typically high while played in the car (loud), and the beat is typically bassy (bangin'). The lyrics of slab music often depict driving a slab such as in Paul Wall's Sittin' Sidewayz.

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]

In addition to the music and car, the "slow" also refers to the recreational use of lean which has a "slow down effect" and also developed in the culture.^[6]