Brooklyn drill is a regionalsubgenre ofdrill music, which is a subgenre oftrap music. It centered inBrooklyn,New York, that began as derivative of the drill music scene inChicago and later became derivative ofUK drill with its 808 percussion and sliding notes by producers from the UK drill scene.[1][2][3] Brooklyn drill emerged around 2014 with the single "Hot Nigga" from the rapperBobby Shmurda.[4][5] Other early contributors wereRowdy Rebel, Envy Caine, Jezz Gasoline, Bam Bino, Money Millz, Dah Dah and Curly Savv.[6]
In 2019, the subgenre was repopularized in the mainstream by American rapperPop Smoke.[7][8][9] With the success of his mixtapes, particularly the songs "Dior" and "Welcome to the Party", Pop Smoke introduced Brooklyn drill into the mainstream music industry.[10][11][12]
Brooklyn drill music first gained attention with the 2014 single "Hot Nigga" from the rapperBobby Shmurda.[4][5] Other early pioneers were rappers Bam Bino, Dah Dah and Curly Savv.[6] The genre is agreed to have been driven by22Gz andSheff G, largely scaling the potential of the movement.[13] The music became more popular and associated withUK drill production (from producers such as808Melo, AXL Beats, and Ghosty) with the releases of 22Gz's "Suburban" in 2016 and Sheff G's "No Suburban" in 2017. Both songs went viral and were credited for the rise of Brooklyn drill.[14][15]
The Brooklyn drill sound is a combination oftrap,Chicago drill andUK drill (the latter of which brings production influences fromgrime andUK garage).[31] Characteristic features of Brooklyn drill production include distorted 808 percussions with vocal sampling from other popular tracks.[32][33] Brooklyn drill lyrics tend to be dark, violent, and street-oriented, often discussing gang-related topics.
In 2022, some drew connections between the glorification of gun violence in the genre to real-worldgun violence on the streets of New York that had resulted in the deaths of a number of young drill artists, mostly those with origins of Brooklyn and the Bronx.[34][35][36][37][38]
The same year, several prominent New York DJs said they would stop playinggang/diss records in response to the deaths of a growing number of young people involved in the drill scene.[39][40][41]
In February 2022, NYC mayorEric Adams directed some venue promoters not to allow drill music to be performed at festivals in the city following the killing of 18-year-old rapper C-HII Wvttz.[42] Adams met with musicians for a conversation on how to approach concerns about drill culture's connections, if any, to gun violence. Artists at the meeting includedMaino,Fivio Foreign,B-Lovee, CEO Slow, Bucksy Luciano and Bleezy.[43]
Bronx drill[44] is a subgenre of Brooklyn drill music, which usesuncleared samples of older records instead ofsynthesizers like in Brooklyn drill.[45]
Bronx drill originated during the early 2020s in New York (most prominently, in The Bronx), where producers such asCash Cobain, EPondabeat,[44] WAR,[44] Elvis Beatz, Yozora and others, started re-using olderfunk andsoul, andpop music songs to create a modern yet nostalgic sound. A number of rappers subsequently joined the scene, most prominently,Kay Flock,B-Lovee,Ron Suno, DThang Gz, Jay5ive and others.[45]
The easily recognizable samples in Bronx drill are also said to increase its viral potential. Songs, such as B-Lovee's "My Everything" (sampling "Everything" byMary J. Blige)[44] gained over 400,000 uses onTikTok and produced two remixes, featuringA Boogie wit da Hoodie andG Herbo. Another earlyTikTok viral Bronx drill hit was "Deep End Freestyle" (sampling Fousheé's "Deep End") by Brooklyn nativeSleepy Hallow. Despite playing a huge role in genre's spread, Cash Cobain refused to acknowledge that Bronx drill musicians mostly do songs for TikTok.[45] EPondabeat, another producer involved in the scene, claimed that sampling in used for marketing purpose to invoke listener's relatability.[44]
Bronx drill rappers employ a variety of lyrical delivery styles, with those in the Bronx drill scene using a particularly aggressive style. "These little kids from the Bronx are wild. They on demon time. They're angrier with their shit," one producer said.[45]
Samples for Bronx drill come from a variety of sources and these sources may differ depending on producer. Bronx-based Cash Cobain mainly uses round-the-centurycontemporary R&B andhip hop music sources;[44][46] meanwhile, EPondabeat, EvilGiane prefer to usesoul music andfunk recordings for sampling; other producers, such as WAR, do not limit themselves among sampling sources.[44]
Most Bronx drill songs are not granted clearance to sample other works until they've already gained popularity, with some artists saying they don't care to clear their samples at all.[45][46]
The Bronx producer Cash Cobain has been described byComplex Music as inventing sexy drill which tones down the violent nature of drill, while still drawing on the sampling techniques. Cobain said, "I think everybody wants to feel good, party, and just feel sexy". Complex wrote that Cobain is "changing the sound of New York".[47]
