CHiEF KEEF lil durk Drill music was created on the Southside of Chicago in 2010, a grassroots movement that incubated in a closed, interlocking system on the streets and social media. It came out of the Southside neighborhood Woodlawn, with stars such as Chief Keef, Lil Durk, Young Chop, Fredo Santana, G. Herbo, Lil Bibby, and Lil Reese. It exploded amongst escalating violence and a staggering, homicide rate that drew national headlines. The lyrics and visuals are nihilistic, realistic, gritty, violent, and reflect a desperation that is felt inside some of America’s forgotten neighborhoods.
THE SET UP In 2012, this genre of music moved across the pond to the UK, mainly in the Brixton neighborhood. Again, showcasing storytelling of violence and rivalries that grabbed the attention of UK Police. Notable pioneers include crews: 150, Silwood Nation, Block 6, Harlem Spartans, 808 Melo, and AXL Beats, which heavily influenced Stormzy, the global superstar, who now has hit the global mainstream. In 2017 and heading into 2020, Brooklyn Drill music has taken over the cultural zeitgeist in New York City. Pop Smoke, Sheff G, 22Gz, Fivio Foreign, Sleepy Hallow, Curly Savv, Corey Finesse, Max the Demon, and Blixky Boyz have created movements inside the insular neighborhoods of Brooklyn. This movement has captured the attention of youth culture. It also has sparked the interest of the NYPD and the Feds. Brooklyn Drill has become intertwined with the growing neighborhood-based gangs that control Canarsie, Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, and Canarsie. This volatile mix has resulted in an increased microscope by federal law enforcement and record labels, who see massive interest on Social Media, YouTube and Spotify playlists. These areas of Brooklyn have traditionally been immigrant based with heavy Trinidadian, Jamaican, and Haitian influences that have flavored the music and culture of the scene and youth.
documentaryTHE
SHEFF G
series & podcast
With a cultural movement of this caliber, there are many storylines and larger implications of Drill music hitting the epicenter of the global, creative arts scene. With the violence and involvement of law enforcement, the stakes have risen, and these new, young voices are merely communicators of the despair and misery which surround them. As real estate prices hit new highs and gentrification takes hold, there are still pockets in the city, where gang and gun violence are on the rise. The music videos created for distribution on YouTube and other streaming outlets, give the viewer a small peek into a burgeoning scene that has co-opted Hip-Hop music, with a voice of the voiceless communicating tales of modern gang DRILL,warfare.the four-part documentary series, will closely examine this new, musical movement as it hits the ten-year anniversary mark. Told from inside the culture, DRILL will also link two, major on-going criminal cases that tie into the Brooklyn Drill scene, which shows the larger, cultural, and societal implications of the music.
In Part One, we travel to Chicago to understand the birth of Drill. Then, we go inside the gang hierarchy and rivalries of the complex, street politics that birthed a movement. This musical style would end up inside the most dangerous neighborhoods in the U.K. and Brooklyn. In a timeframe that saw Chicago homicides outnumber U.S. troops’ killings, the Chicago Drill Scene exploded when then sixteenyear-old Chief Keef recorded a series of videos at his grandmother’s house, where he was under house arrest for an earlier shooting. His music exploded on YouTube, and the song, “I Don’t Like,” was remixed by Kanye West and Pusha T. Chief Keef signed a six-million-dollar record deal with Interscope, and Drill was born in a big way.
Part 1
The Origins of Drill: Chiraq, Chief Keef, Murder by the Numbers
Rohan was caught in the middle of a gang war, as different sets of the Folk Nation Street Gang were at odds. Two gangs, Street Rich Kartel and Newkirk Folk, were involved in a number of retaliations.
Rohan Levy was caught in this crossfire. As the Brooklyn D.A., NYPD, and an elite, firearms unit were tracking these gangs, Brooklyn Drill music exploded on the scene. Pop Smoke, Sheff G, 22Gz, Fivio Foreign, and Blixky Boyz would be the pioneers within Brooklyn. The music was heavily street influenced, but were these artists merely reporting on what they were seeing inside the neighborhoods, or were the cliques directly affiliated with different neighborhood sets? We investigate the murder of Rohan Levy, to find out if there was a connection to the music, or was this a random accident?
Art Imitates Life or The Story of a Killing LEVY POP SMOKE
Part 1I ROHAN
In February of 2017, a fifteen-year-old boy named Rohan Levy was shot dead on E. 55th Street near Lennox Road in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Rohan was mistaken for a gang member, when one of his friends wore red pants and a black jacket.
22Gz Blixky Boyz
Fivio Foreign
The Feds are Watching: GS9 Bobby Smurda & Police Indictment Part 1II
With any movement within Hip-Hop music and culture, when there is popularity, there also is the microscope of federal law enforcement. Two major cases have defined federal law enforcements’ involvement inside Brooklyn Hip-Hop and now Brooklyn Drill. The first is the major indictment of Bobby Smurda’s GS9 Gang. The 101-count indictment alleged that Bobby Smurda was the leader of the GS9 Gang or G-Stone Crips, based out of East Flatbush. Members of his crew were charged with conspiracy, racketeering, and murder. Bobby, on the eve of his trial, took a deal where he plead guilty to conspiracy and weapons possession that gave him seven years. He was at the height of his music career, leaving millions on the table after his record label abandoned him. GS9 would be a lesson for up-and-coming Brooklyn rappers. It seems as if the Brooklyn Drill scene, doubled down on nihilism. Artists flaunted AK-47s firearms and a disregard for the growing police presence in an around East New York. In July of 2019, it would be the Folk Nation Street gang and the twenty-one members, who were the targets yet again of a huge, gang sweep in Brooklyn. The murder of Rohan Levy would be included in this sweeping, law enforcement action. As Brooklyn Drill explodes on the airwaves, will the music be able to outrun the newfound interest of the NYPD and Gang Unit Investigators? In a culture where a mere association to a gangster can get you in trouble, how will this play out?
Looking at the London Drill scene in a historical context will help us understand the global context of this music. Because of the way UK drill is networked via Social Media, leading some listeners to believe that they are the subjects of the taunting lyrics. There are valid worries Drill is not just reflecting criminality but driving it. In a new report, Birmingham-based academics, Craig Pinkney and Shona Robinson-Edwards, state that drill music is potentially dangerous, since its “music videos are a platform, which can provide the gang and/or gang members with a sense of power and authority. Individuals can essentially say and do what they want.” A music scene started on the Southside of Chicago. Then, in 2017 it ended up on the streets of Brooklyn. It took a global, pit stop in between by storming the UK; in Brixton it became the voice of the new generation. But there also were signs of rising tensions between the police and roving gangs of youth. How did this violent genre end up in the U.K.? Traditionally, it was a place where gun violence was rare, and disputes were handled much more civilly. Drill Music Goes Global KO 67 crew
The problems of the inner city are not going away. This is just another evolution of Hip-Hop music and culture. Will Drill be able to withstand the onslaught of what will be police scrutiny of the lyrics and social media presence?
Part 1V HEADIE ONE
This is coupled with: The constant narrative of will you do what you say in your raps, puts victims in a position where their credibility and livelihood are at stake. “In other words, when rappers make a threat on a track or in a video, they can very easily be taken at their words. Then, they have to prove those claims or make good on their threats, thus catalyzing actual harm.
The popularity of this kind of rap to middle-class audiences is often down to tales of violence, drugdealing, and other assorted criminality being escapist. But as Pinkney and Robinson-Edwards reveal, for those making the music, the shadow of violence can be very real. What is the future of this music genre across the world?
By Alphonse Pierre Aug 3 2017, 2:15pm
You'reNot Paying Attention to NewYork's Most Exciting NewRapScene
Bobby Shmurda's imprisonment left a hole, but his influence is being felt more than ever in the music of new artists like Sheff G and Blixky Boys.
SHEFF G E COREY FINESSE NEL VIDEO DI "NO SUBURBAN REMIX" VIA YOUTUBE N ew York has been clamoring for a new rap scene. Three years ago, Bobby Shmurda and his GS9 crew lit up the city's streets with a rare kind of buzz, representing a rarely seen side of Brooklyn. It was a scene where Haitians, Jamaicans and West Indians as a whole were embraced,
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Watch: Bobby Shmurda Teaches Us How to Shmoney Dance
where the teenagers who were creating this movement had little care about anything in the world other than making money by any means necessary and dancing while doing it. The city that birthed hip hop was back at the center of discussion. And then, in less than six months, it was over, halted by a now infamous police raid. Most people assumed the momentum Bobby Shmurda and GS9 had created in their neighborhood would wither away, and that seemed even more likely after the long prison sentences everyone in the group received. But the dent Bobby Shmurda made before his imprisonment was enough to in uence an entire culture.
Read More: Chief Keef Changed the Way Rap Videos Look Forever
A few standout artists have begun to emerge, such as Curly Savv & Dah Dah, 22Gz, Sheff G, KJ Balla, and Blixky Boyz. Musically, the clearest in uences are Chicago drill (speci cally the work of G Herbo and Lil Bibby), Meek Mill, and Bobby Shmurda; the production is the direct offspring of artists like DJ L and Jahlil Beats. Yet although some of the inspiration has come from outside of New York, what makes this movement special is how it has embraced the city.
In the years following Bobby Shmurda's rise, New York artists like A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Young M.A, and most recently Cardi B have been able to make names for themselves. But each has come up mostly as a selfcontained presence, and there is no one sound or scene that ties them together. Meanwhile, the previous generation of artists loosely de ned as those under the Beast Coast umbrella that contained A$AP Mob, Pro Era, Flatbush Zombies, and The Underachievers have transitioned into adulthood and carved out successful touring niches. The new scene in Brooklyn, based primarily in and around Flatbush, is fresh, as well as thematically and sonically united, with its own ecosystem of artists and media driving it. YouTube channels like Flowtastic TV, So Dope Entertainment, and WeTheMovement have been giving platforms to younger artists, posting often gritty videos usually lmed in a single location such as a park or outside of the projects.
These artists have a certain cockiness and attitude that only come from growing up in a New York culture that has charisma unlike anywhere else in the United States. The ruthlessness, the careless behavior, the dance moves, and slang (speci cally "Gltttttt," a phrase meant to mimic the sound of gunshots and uttered in nearly every song) has made a movement that some have unfairly dismissed as a drill rebirth something entirely its own. The energy is similar to when The Diplomats rst exploded onto the New York scene; they weren't doing something that hadn't been done before, but they blended elements of culture's outside of New York while maintaining the intangibles of a New York artist that made them special. The challenge for the budding scene is that it's suffering from quarrels within and an inability on the part of some of the artists to stay out of prison. It is heavily intertwined with gang culture, and with that comes the chance that the whole movement is one major crisis away from falling apart like GS9 before it. This also differentiates it from much of the New York rap scene, which is older, more mature, and mostly beyond the stage of their life where consequences are an afterthought. Yet with the right approach and the right luck, the artists in this new movement have a chance to be much more than a niche; they could have the whole country belting "Gltttt." The following are ve of the key songs de ning the scene.
22Gz –"Suburban"
The current anthem of both New York and the central Brooklyn movement is the remix of Sheff G's track "No Suburban, " which features former GS9 rapper Corey Finesse. Initially a response to 22Gz's "Suburban," it has since taken on a life of its own, thanks to Sheff G's deep voice, which many have mistaken for a British accent, and natural charisma, which has made him the breakout gure in the scene. The Corey Finesse feature for the remix is also key, as he has become a popular face for the Brooklyn scene, making multiple appearances on New York radio and repping hard for Haitian
SheffG andCoreyFinesse –"No Suburban Remix"
At the center of everything is 22Gz, whose breakout song "Suburban" delivers puns and threats in a rapid re ow that blends both the styles of Meek Mill and G Herbo while bringing his own unique cadence to it. Unsurprisingly, 22Gz once said the rapper he wants to most work with is Meek Mill. "Suburban" was produced by AXL Beats, who has become one of the scene's go to producers through posting "DJ L, G Herbo, and Meek Mill type beats" on YouTube and Soundcloud. His is a name to get used to, and 22Gz's could be, too if the rapper can shake the recent legal troubles that have landed him in prison.
CurlySavvandDah
culture despite the fact that he himself is Jamaican. In a twist of irony given its backstory, the song is also an AXL Beats production, containing his signature drum kicks and church bells.
Dah –"Double BodyBag"
KJBalla–"Cookin'Up"
KJ Balla's "Cookin Up" is an example of this scene's versatility, showing that the sound can quickly transition from violent songs structured around threats to charismatic and exuberant dance songs. KJ Balla's ow is more traditionally New York than either 22Gz's or Sheff G's, and his strong verse is notable for a song aiming to creating a dance phenomenon. It may be just the key, though, for this track to reach an audience outside of the boroughs.
BreezyBlixky, NickBlixky, andNasBlixky–"DifferentType ofTime"
Curly Savv and Dah Dah are two of the spearheads of the Brooklyn movement, with many people crediting Dah Dah's "Gang Gang Gang" for igniting the whole thing. Curly Savv and Dah Dah bounce off of each other over production by A Jay Beats with a chemistry like that of G Herbo and Lil Bibby at their best. They t into the New York lineage, too, though, with strong enunciation reminiscent of Fabolous. Plus, 50 Cent has said he wants to work with them.
The Blixky Boyz these three are just a few of the whole group are af liated with 22Gz, and they have been creating a ton of buzz in their own right. The video is a look into Brooklyn featuring tons of signature style and dance moves straight out of the Rowdy Rebel handbook. Again produced by AXL Beats, the track features ows like G Herbo's or Meek Mill's—or not unlike 22Gz's. In the wake of 22Gz's imprisonment, the remaining Blixky
More like this NormaniDeservestoBeaStar DEASIA PAIGE Here'stheNewSongFromTheNational'sMatt BerningerandPhoebeBridgers JOSH TERRY TAGGED: MUSIC, HIP-HOP, BROOKLYN, NOISEY, RAP, NEW YORK, NEW YORK RAP, BOBBY SHMURDA, GS9, FLATBUSH, BREEZY BLIXKY, COREY FINESSE, BLIXKY BOYS, 22GZ, DAH DAH, CURLY SAVV, NO SUBURBAN, SHEFF G, NAS BLIXKY, KJ BALLA Subscribe to the VICE newsletter. Your email Subscribe Boyz have become extremely popular, and this track has potential to be the next major song of the movement. Alphonse Pierre is a Staten Island-based writer, and, no, he's not af liated with the Wu Tang Clan. Follow him on Twitter.
Contribute Books Music TV & radio Art & design Film Games Classical Stage More IsUKdrillmusic reallybehindLondon'swave ofviolent crime? It’samenacing strain of hip hop with apowerfulpresence on social media,but doesdrillreflect or drive crime? BenBeaumont Thomas @ben bt Mon 9 Apr 2018 18.09 BST 336 W hether it’s the running battles between mods and rockers in 1960s British seaside towns, or the “parental advisory” panic over the lyrical content of 90s gangsta rap, music has long been the focus of moral panic and the latest is over UK drill, a tough, often lyrically violent subset of British rap. News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle Music Sign in
The style filtered over to the UK, and was picked up by a young generation MCs keen to define themselves away from the grime of an older generation.
“Murders and stabbings plaguing London and other cities are directly linked to an ultra-violent new form of music sweeping Britain”, began a report in the Sunday Times, going on to detail a series of incidents in which gang violence was supposedly catalysed by drill music – MCs taunted each other in lyrical spats that, after being shared on social media, spilled over into reallife violence.
It’s a conundrum as old as entertainment itself: does music reflect your environment, or shape it? Like violent films or video games, can people distinguish fact from fantasy, or do they let it influence their behaviour?
The drill MCs mentioned in recent news reports have had little crossover success, but more high-profile names, played regularly on BBC radio and with millions of streams, also fill their tracks with violent lyrics. Fast-rising MC Abra Cadabra, 20, talks of machetes and a “rambizzy” – slang for Rambo, itself slang for a large blade – on his biggest track, Robbery, but he dismisses the accusation that he glorifies actual violence. “Beef has always been part of rap music,” he says. “Whether it’s a Tupac song or a Giggs song, challenging the competition comes with the territory. I think anyone listening to my music understands this.”
Chief Keef, who helped pioneer the US drill Photograph:sound. Michael Knapp
Born in Chicago, a city whose working-class black population, like London’s, has arguably been left to fend for itself and descended into violence, drill was initially a cold, bombastic style of gangsta rap. Its biggest breakout star was arguably Chief Keef, famous for his 2012 track I Don’t Like.
Responding to a question on the BBC’s Today programme about a violent lyric referring to knife crime, drill DJ Bempah argued: “if that’s what you see in your environment, as an artist, that’s what you portray in your lyrics.” He added that the music: “can glamorise [violent crime], but it can’t force your hand to commit thoseNonetheless,actions.”because of the way that UK drill is networked via social media, leading some listeners to believe that they are the subjects of the taunting lyrics, there are valid worries that drill is not just reflecting criminality, but driving it.
While other corners of black British music have explored African pop and dancehall, resulting in the lascivious and relatively carefree “afro-swing” and “afro-trap” styles, drill has looked to the US, and the tales of violence that have been a feature of rap there since the 90s.
But even Giggs, one of the most successful British MCs whose last two albums have reached the UK Top 3, refers to drive-by shootings when guesting on Let’s Lurk by drill crew 67: “Man just rolled up, pepper then doughnut / Two 45s then severed man’s plates.” His success means it’s unlikely he would be dragged into such a violent scenario, but his long career and widely beloved hits means he can get away with this inauthenticity. Less prominent MCs, however, don’t have that luxury. In a new report, Birmingham based academics Craig Pinkney and Shona Robinson-Edwards state that drill music is potentially dangerous, since its “music videos are a platform which can provide the gang and/or gang members with a sense of power and authority. Individuals can essentially say and do what they want.” This is coupled with: “the constant narrative of ‘will you do what you say in your raps?’ puts the victim in a position where their credibility and livelihood are at stake.”
In other words, when a rapper makes a threat on a track or in a video, they can very easily be taken at their word, and then has prove those claims or 67 ft
Giggs Lets Lurk [Music Video] | @O cial6ix7 @O c Copy link
make good on their threats, thus catalysing actual harm. The popularity of this kind of rap to middle class audiences is often down to tales of violence, drug dealing and other assorted criminality being escapist but as Pinkney and Robinson Edwards show, for those making the music, the shadow of violence can be very real. In one chilling example, rapper M Trap, aka Junior Simpson, penned lyrics about knife attacks, before he, along with three others, stabbed 15-year-old Jermaine Goupall to death; giving him a life sentence, judge Anthony Leonard QC told Simpson: “You suggested [the lyrics] were just for show but I do not believe that, and I suspect you were waiting for the right opportunity for an attack.” Goupall’s father has since described drill music as having “a demonic mindset”. In many ways, the panic over drill is just the latest example of how music is singled out among the complex social factors that add up to crime in UK cities, just as grime was blamed last year for the use of the extra strong cannabis strain skunk. “Targeting musicians is a distraction,” argues Abra. “The cuts that affect schools, youth clubs, social housing, benefits, are making life harder for the average person living on or below the poverty line in this city. There are people doing mad tings, not because they want to, but because the situation has forced them to.” It’s also often social media postings that generate violent disputes rather than the music itself.
Signupforthe SleeveNotesemail: musicnews,bold reviewsand unexpectedextras Readmore Abra Cadabra ft. Krept & Konan Robbery Remix [Music V… Copy link
Some may be alarmed by how drill crews such as 67 dress, flirting with gang imagery with matching black sportswear and masks, but this is as innocuous as similarly tribal dressing by white indie bands with their uniform of skinny jeans and leather jackets. The performative violence of drill rappers’ lyrics isn’t necessarily harmful either, and is arguably a document of their environment: “Our art is imitating our life, not the other way round,” argues MAbra.usic remains a valuable means of self expression, and, perhaps, financial reward, for black Londoners who are among the poorest ethnic groups in the city, with 35% classed as low paid. “When the youth see man at Wireless festival, hear man on the radio, and see man making money out of this, it inspires them,” Abra adds.
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Even so, Abra Cadabra and others perhaps underestimate the emotive charge that music has, and its power to amplify, dramatise and spread what would otherwise be innocuous verbal sparring. Coupled with macho posturing, jealousy, and a lack of direction and opportunity in deprived cities, drill can in its most wretched moments be where violence is given a voice.This article was amended on 9 April 2018 to remove a picture which had been wrongly credited as depicting Abra Cadabra.
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