
New York Drill has been on a upward climax since the late Pop Smoke created a hot buzz around Brooklyn in 2019, with songs such as 'welcome to the party' and 'Dior'. Watchful eyes from all over the globe anticipated the potential emergence of new rappers from Brooklyn. The captivating and raw genre of drill derives from the sinister south side Chicago with chicago legends such as King Louie and Chief Keef being the pioneers for the genre. This realistic and surreal genre flowed within many cities but most notable Chicago, London and New york. Many cities tried and failed in the sense that they were not capable of creating enough of a buzz to be notable enough for me to mention.
This sub genre within HipHop created a safe space for people that were genuinely out in some of roughest atmospheres of the first world. Drill allowed so many young individuals the creative control to hop on rapid devilish beats which closely resembled trap, yet so many anticipated the decline in the genre after Drill came to London.
The anticipation came from a place of uncertainty around a new genre, which is granted but I always saw the vision of it reaching mainsteam success. Mainstream audiencies bring a sense of inauthenticity as Drill is probably the easiest subgenre to excel in and with many people now coming from good homes to rap about things they haven't lived means Drill begins to stray away from the initial message created in Chicago.
Despite this, HipHop has always focused on talent , prescence and relatability, so Drill will always prosper. Uncertainity also prospired from the fear that London would not be able to adapt as well to Chicgao Drill beats. In my opinion London did outstandingly well with their attempts as they had created a whole new sound for Drill.
This factor is why I deem Drill to be one of the most versatile and adaptable genres we have right now. London came with a darker, grittier vibe to the music with producers such as CarnsHill, AXL, Ghosty and 808 Melo who eventually ended up creating beats for New york native Pop Smoke.
Following the death of Pop Smoke in early 2020 the Bronx started creating some noise with Artists such as Dthang, SugarHillKeem and Kay Flock who are considered the pioneers of the bronx drill movement. What the Bronx did differently is utilise the use of samples.
Now personally this is why I prefer New York Drill. I love the established familiarity you already have with a sample, along with an added influence of drums, Hi-hats and 808s. London made Drill darker and much more sinister whereas New york added a nostalgic familiar essence that I am forever grateful for. With Artists such as B-Lovee appearing hot onto the scene with songs such as'IYKYK' which samples 'No Letting Go' by Wayne Wonder produced by the infamous ChrisSaves.
Artists from New York have taken several pages out of the bronx artist's books that has consequently evolved the genre as a whole. Producers such as WAR, CashCobain, Riotusa and many more are allowing voices from violent livelihoods the space to speak brutal besides a pleasant upbeat instrumental, which is incredibly conflicting but one of the reaosns I love it so much.
You can choose to be an active listener and really hear what's being said, or choose to resemble the people with the power to change things for young black men and be ignorant and continue to bop your head to the beat. My stance is a lot of people as Andre 3000 said "Yall don't wanna hear me you just wanna dance". Many people have the privilege to tune out the honest truths being spat on a track and to just listen blindly. But as an active listener I appreciate the kindered relationship between rappers and producers.
In the last year several artists from New york have crossed my radar and I am anticipating huge success from them. Similarly to the UK, New york artists have also faced the threat of censorship around drill music. Which stems from the idea that Drill music "encites violence" which is absurd to me considering the violence would still exist outside of the music. The music is a platform used to speak about the real trauma many black men face, in the streets unattended by those who should be protecting them.
The idea that Drill music glorifies crime is an idea I fail to empathise with as music is and always will be a form of expression and art, if "you feel" it "glorifies crime that is more telling in itself. Granted music does contribute heaviliy to how a person feels, to say every single crime commited came from the hands of someone listening to drill is ignorant and minimising to the music.
Both parties involved in street "beef" should be the the only ones angered by the expression displayed on drill and even then my point is further solidified because without the music they would still have issues and still would be partaking in violent lifestyles. New York Drill has come so far that you now have many female artitsts excelling in the genre such as Lola Brooke, Ice Spice, Jenn Carter and a couple other few women. Barriers are being knocked by aspiring talent coming in the form of female rage.
I love to hear voices from people who not only look like me but most likely have the same experiences as me. Women bring a new fresh perspective of vulnerability, anger and justified annoyance that I am completely here for. Lola Brookes currently has 13M views on her Hit song 'Don't Play with It' which originally dropped last year in may which implies it has been a steady journey to gaining the status as viral sensation.
Judging off face value Lola Brookes seems to be petite and sweet but her larger than life precence is completely felt through the music and her stage presence. Her energy and determination to prosper is incredibly enticing and makes her one to watch. With her destinctive flow and bold booming voice it is hard to ignore her and the message she intends for you to hear. Jenn Carter is within the Drill group 41 and despite the group being predominently male she stands out extremely not only because she is a masculine presenting woman but because her energy is insanely contagious. When Jenn Carter hops on a track you truly listen, it seems as though it comes easy to her and that this is all playground activties for her.
The 41 Cypher with Kyle Richh, Tata and Jenn carter released in May last year has recently gained a lot of exposure on tiktok. The Cypher has been remixed several times with different songs as the instrumental. For example I saw one which was 'Poetic Justice' by Kendrick Lamar as the backing Track and somehow Jenn bodied the whole thing despite the cypher originally having a drill beat. We are seeing in real time exactly what I meant when I said Drill is extremly adaptable, the statement was not excluisve to just production. Flows used within drill are also interchangeable on other tempos and beat styles.
Artists such as Jenn are incredibly talented so much so they can hold their weight on any beat and still excell better than most. To be able to stand out despite having two other male counterparts in a group creating male dominiated music is something I commend Jenn and any woman in the drill scene for. Jenn delivers in a fiery self assured way alongside usually a very jumpy Jersey style drill beat which is currently the trending wave currently.
Funniest thing about Jersey Beats is I always saw the vision because there isn't a massive difference between drill and jersey style beats. Another female artist who has utilised the use of Jersey beats alongside her producer is Ice Spice. Ice spice burst into the scene with her viral song 'Munch' which originally was clowned and many people found so many faults with the song.
But to this day I have yet to see a bad song from her. Recently she released 'In Ha Mood' which samples Drake's 'In my Feelings' alongside a jersey x drill beat. The execution from Riotusa was flawless and Ice introduced a new effortless flow and takes shots at the people who doubted her, one of the people being Drake hence the use of the sample.
Women within HipHop are still heavily underated and disrespected due to the fact they are women. Understandably with music you will always have different opinions but the critiscm towards women is a lot more pronounced. I support the movement behind more women attempting the genre because I have yet to see a bad artist.