Talk of ‘war’ or threatening of shooting anyone who comes to their block is clearly hyperbolic, belying the reality of the UK, and lyrics such as “the opps got away.that was a glitch” or “chest shot, head shot” reveal a disassociated, game-like approach to serious violence Thus, as we witness its growing popularity, the movement as a whole candidly reveals a lot about the values of the urban male working class demographic, especially in their formative years. This is in contrast to Grime which always featured female MCs. As I grew more familiar with the genre through social media two things struck me: how young the artists were and the fact that they were all male. I am an unashamed huge fan of the genre, fascinated by the creativity, energy and authenticity of the culture that these British youth champion. The fluidity of the genre of the moment means that characterising the genre as ‘UK Drill’ is problematic, something which will stick until a more appropriate name comes along. The instrumentals adopt a 2 step feel reminiscent of grime and accentuate the threatening feel of its American forefather by heavily relying on ominous piano riffs. Despite an early reliance on American instrumentals, slang and style, ‘UK Drill’ has since matured into its own unique art form.įrom the visual tropes displayed in YouTube videos – the all black tracksuit dress code so characteristic of British urban youth and an excessive usage of balaclavas – to the music itself, the slang more allusive and poetic, the delivery more plosive and abrupt primed by the British-Caribbean-African infused dialect of London, we see a genre very comfortable amongst British musical tradition. One of those places ended up being housing estates in high crime areas of London. Through the medium of social media, the phenomenon had a profound impact on youth around the world, settling in places with comparable inner-city lifestyles, those driven by poverty, territorial gang rivalries and hyper masculine bravado. Drill music, what can be simply described as a very dark, aggressive and nihilistic descendant of trap music emerged in Chicago in early 2010 in the midst of a murder crisis in the city, revealing the realities of a seriously alienated group within American society.
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