Drill music
| Drill music | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Early 2010s, Chicago, United States |
| Local scenes | |
Drill music is a style of trap music originating in South Side, Chicago.
The genre is a prominent feature of Chicago hip hop, and is defined by its dark, grim, violent, nihilistic lyrical content and ominous trap-influenced beats.
Drill progressed into the mainstream in mid-2012 following the success of rappers and producers like Young Chop, Chief Keef, Lil Durk, Fredo Santana, SD, & Lil Reese, who had many local fans and a significant Internet presence. Media attention and the signing of drill musicians to major labels followed. Drill musicians were noted for their graphic lyrical content and association with crime in Chicago.
The lyrics of drill rap tend to focus on gritty daily life in Chicago. The Guardian's Lucy Stehlik said "nihilistic drill reflects real life where its squeaky-clean hip-hop counterparts have failed." Drill lyrics strongly contrast with the subject matter of earlier Chicago rappers, which slanted toward conscious hip hop including the earlier music of rappers like Common and Twista, and contemporary mainstream hip hop, which at the time of drill's rise tends to glorify and celebrate a rise to wealth. Drill lyrics typically reflect life on the streets, and tend to be gritty, violent, realistic and nihilistic. 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 drill scene. Though bearing many similarities to trap music, the speed of a drill beat is generally slower with a moderate tempo, having about 60 to 70 beats per minute. Some producers will work at double tempo such as 130 to 140 beats per minute.
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