Drill music

Drill music, also known as drill rap or simply drill, is a subgenre of hip-hop music with sonic origins in trap music and lyrical origins in gangsta rap. It began in Chicago, Illinois in the early

Lyrics#

Drill lyrics tend to be adversarial and aggressive, sometimes with a “combative energy”. Drill lyrics strongly contrast with the subject matter of earlier Chicago rappers and contemporary mainstream hip hop which at the time of drill’s emergence tended to glorify and celebrate a rise to wealth. Drill rappers use a grim, deadpan delivery, often filtered through Auto-Tune, influenced by the “stoned, aimless warbling of Soulja Boy (one of the earliest non-local Keef collaborators) and Lil Wayne before him.” Atlanta-based rappers Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame were important influences on the early drill rappers.

Production#

The BBC states that “Whereas trap, the Atlanta-born rap style that dominated hip-hop for most of the 2000s, is often rhythmically rigid – with a snare falling on the third beat of each bar – drill moves to skippy, syncopated hi-hat patterns echoing the rapid fire of a machine gun”. The sound of trap producer Lex Luger’s music is a major influence on drill, and Young Chop identified Shawty Redd, Drumma Boy, and Zaytoven as important precursors to drill. UK drill production, which is commonly utilized in Brooklyn drill, is characterized by a faster BPM, 808s “slides,” and more syncopated drum rhythms—including the use of a sped-up tresillo rhythm in the hi hat patterns.

Artistry#

Drillers tend to be young; many prominent musicians in the scene started getting attention while still in their teens. One of the genre’s most prominent musicians, Chief Keef, was 16 when he signed a multi-million dollar record contract with Interscope, and in an extreme example, Lil Wayne co-signed the 13-year-old driller Lil Mouse. Critics have noted drill rappers’ lack of concern with metaphor or wordplay. Chief Keef said that his simplistic flow is a conscious stylistic choice: Whet Moser of Chicago Magazine wrote that Keef’s songs are “lyrically, rhythmically, and emotionally diminished, which is why they sound so airless and claustrophobic … It’s not even fatalistic, because that would imply a self-consciousness, a moral consideration, that isn’t there in the lyrics. It just is, over and over again.” A profile on the scene in The New York Times examined the genre’s aggression:

Early drill#

David Drake of Complex said drill is not defined by any particular production style, but “is about the entirety of the culture: the lingo, the dances, the mentality, and the music, much of which originated in ‘Dro City’, a gang-defined territory of city blocks in the Woodlawn neighborhood.” In street slang, “drill” means to fight or retaliate, and “can be used for anything from females getting dolled up to all out war in the streets.” Dro City rapper Pac Man, considered the stylistic originator and forefather of the subgenre, is credited as the first to apply the term to the local hip hop music. Drake described the drill scene as a major vehicle of the early 2010s rise of Chicago hip hop, and described the scene as a grassroots movement that had incubated in a closed, interlocking system: on the streets and through social media in a network of clubs and parties and amongst high schools. In the drill scene, rap conflict and gang conflict overlap, and many of the young rappers come from backgrounds with experience of violence. The Independents Sam Gould wrote that Chief Keef “represents both a scary strain of current hip hop culture and a seriously alienated group within American society.” Around the same time, King Louie, another drill rapper, was given a record deal from Epic Records. Kanye West remixed “I Don’t Like” for the 2012 GOOD Music compilation Cruel Summer as “Don’t Like”, with features from West, Chief Keef, Pusha T, Big Sean and Jadakiss. West cited drill as an influence on his 2013 album Yeezus, and Chief Keef and King Louie had vocals featured on the album. New Jersey DJ Akademiks’s commentary YouTube channel ‘War in Chiraq’ played a significant role in presenting the early Chicago drill scene to a wider audience. It had a quarter million subscribers and 94 million views in its first two years. Akademiks is quoted saying “I’ve done a lot to create narratives and help rappers themselves.” Videographer A Zae Production was of the leading videographers on the early drill scene. Videographer ZackTV also played a significant role in the exposure of Chicago’s early drill scene to a wider audience. The YouTube interviews he conducted includes coverage such as Chief Keef’s first on-camera interview, along with interviews with artists such as L’A Capone and RondoNumbaNine. ZackTV’s work also sparked a media niche of intimate on-scene video journalism of the Chicago gangland culture behind the drill music, which had not been done before at the time. ZackTV was considered a mentor by other gangland reporters in that niche around the country. He was active until his murder in April 2019. Drill’s subject matter strongly contrasts with that of earlier Chicago rappers such as Kid Sister, Lupe Fiasco, Psalm One, Rhymefest, and The Cool Kids. Chief Keef’s debut album, “Finally Rich”, released on Interscope Records in late 2012, was subsequently described as a “classic” album in the genre. Despite the warm critique, “Finally Rich” sold an underwhelming 50,000 units in the first week, which resulted in record labels subsequently overreacting, deeming it a “fad”.

UK drill#

While Chicago drill rap saw a decline in mainstream popularity after 2012, a new scene was emerging in the UK and by the late-2010s was gaining mainstream popularity, spreading across Europe, influencing the creation of drill scenes around the continent. UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Brixton from 2012 onwards. Borrowing heavily from the style of Chicago drill music, UK drill artists often rap about violent and hedonistic criminal lifestyles. Musically, UK drill often exhibits violent language and provocative lyrics. with LD – a member of 67 – being named as the godfather of UK drill.

Brooklyn drill#

The mid-2010s saw the emergence of Chicago-influenced Brooklyn drill artists such as Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel, while the late 2010s saw the emergence of new prominent drill artists from Brooklyn such as the late Pop Smoke, as well as Sheff G, Fivio Foreign, Sleepy Hallow and 22Gz. Later Brooklyn drill production is heavily influenced by UK drill (the latter of which brings production influences from grime and UK garage) with artists such as Fivio Foreign, Sheff G, Smoove’L, Bizzy Banks, 22Gz, and Pop Smoke collaborating with UK drill producers such as 808Melo, Yamaica Productions, Yoz Beats, Tommyprime and AXL Beats. Pop Smoke’s 2019 single “Welcome to the Party”, produced by 808Melo, was a prominent release that year and saw remixes from Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill and British MC Skepta. Sheff G’s 2017 song “No Suburban” and 22Gz’s 2016 song “Suburban” have been credited for bringing attention to later Brooklyn drill.

Controversy and debate#

Brooklyn and Bronx drill artists who were victims of violence include TDott Woo, Pop Smoke, 14-year old Notti Osama, 17-year old Jordany Aracena, Nick Blixky, Lil Tjay, and Nas Blixky (the latter two surviving the shootings against them). Brooklyn and Bronx drill rappers charged with violent and gang related crimes include Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow, C Blu, Kay Flock, and Sha EK. The 2020s spate of gang violence and the rise of drill rap in New York City led some authorities, including New York City mayor Eric Adams, officers with the New York City Police Department, Brandon Terry, an associate professor of social sciences at Harvard University, commented that “Elected officials like Mayor Eric Adams in New York have described drill music as a kind of devilish bargain, where music industry executives and social media companies accelerate and commodify gang violence for profit”. Jonathan Ilan, senior lecturer of sociology at London’s City University, argued against censuring UK drill, writing in The British Journal of Criminology that drill rappers exaggerate and fabricate violence in their lyrics. He wrote that “This is not to deny that crime and violence take place involving drillers as either victims or perpetrators – rather, it emphasises not to view the violence as directly related to, caused by or evidenced by the music”. He further stated that efforts to criminalise drill marginalised communities, “ultimately exacerbating the conditions which lead to urban violence in the first place”. American professor of sociology at Stanford, Forrest Stuart, made similar remarks, cautioning that “villainizing drill music gives the carceral system ammunition against young Black men”, such as authorities issuing additional criminal charges against rappers for having replica guns in a video. In response to deaths and crime arising out of the Brooklyn and Bronx drill scene, in early 2022 a number of prominent New York DJs and music influencers, including DJ Drewski at Hot 97, Joe Budden, Ebro Darden of “Ebro in the Morning” on Hot 97, D-Teck, and Power 105.1’s DJ Gabe P either vowed to stop playing drill and diss records or re-iterated their refusal to play such content. Some mothers of victims dissed in drill songs have publicly commented about feeling frustration and pain after hearing their sons being disrespected in drill songs, and some have called for an end to the violence and justice for their sons. These include the mother of Shondale “Tooka” Gregory, a Chicago teen and alleged member of the Gangster Disciples who was killed in 2011, and was subsequently mocked in the music of rappers Chief Keef, Lil Durk, and King Von. Gregory’s mother said, “Why? That’s all I have to ask them. What has my son done to y’all to make y’all disrespect him like this? Every song they make has got, ‘We smokin’ on Tooka’ … You know how long my son has been gone? Since 2011. This is 2022 and he’s still a trending topic”. Some French drill artists such as Freeze Corleone have been in trouble (concerts cancelled, restricted distribution ) due to their positions towards slavery, Jews, geopolitical conflicts, terrorism, pedophiles, conspiracy theories, sexism and politics.

In popular culture#

The 2023 We TV drama series Kold x Windy revolves around two women, played by Sh’Kia Augustin and Nijah Brenea, trying to make it in the violent world of drill music.