Atlantic Records, Inc.

Drill is a subgenre of hip hop that emerged on Chicago’s South Side in the early 2010s. It is defined by stark, menacing production; booming 808 sub‑bass with frequent pitch slides; skittering hi‑hats; and sparse, minor‑key melodies built from pianos, synth pads, strings, bells, or eerie soundscapes. Vocals are typically deadpan or urgent, with ad‑libs punctuating lines. Lyrically, drill foregrounds raw street reportage—survival, trauma, crews, and contested territory—often delivered with bleak realism. Tempos in original Chicago drill tend to sit around 60–75 BPM (often felt in double‑time), while later UK and New York scenes adopt 130–145 BPM grids with off‑kilter snare placement and distinctive sliding 808 patterns. The overall aesthetic prioritizes weighty low end, rhythmic tension, and an uncompromising mood.

Hip hop is a cultural and musical movement that emerged from Black, Latino, and Caribbean communities, centering around rapping (MCing), DJing/turntablism, sampling-based production, and rhythmic speech over beats. It prioritizes groove, wordplay, and storytelling, often reflecting the social realities of urban life. Musically, hip hop is built on drum-centric rhythms (from breakbeats to 808 patterns), looped samples, and bass-forward mixes. Lyrically, it ranges from party anthems and braggadocio to political commentary and intricate poetic forms, with flow, cadence, and rhyme density as core expressive tools. Beyond music, hip hop encompasses a broader culture, historically intertwined with graffiti, b-boying/b-girling (breakdance), fashion, and street entrepreneurship, making it both an art form and a global social language.

Brooklyn drill is a regional subgenre of drill and trap-centered hip‑hop that took shape in Brooklyn, New York, in the mid‑2010s. It pairs gritty, street‑level lyricism with the sliding 808 bass lines, gliding notes, and skeletal, syncopated drum programming popularized by UK drill. The scene initially drew from Chicago drill’s menacing tone but rapidly aligned with UK drill sonics thanks to UK producers collaborating with New York rappers. The result is a colder, more percussive sound marked by minor‑key motifs, clipped ad‑libs, and chant‑ready hooks tailored for block anthems and dance trends like the Woo Walk. Bobby Shmurda’s “Hot Nigga” (2014) is often cited as an early spark, while the late 2010s wave led by Pop Smoke, Fivio Foreign, Sheff G, Sleepy Hallow, and 22Gz pushed the style into mainstream visibility.