THE EVOLUTION OF DRILL IS JUST GETTING STARTED

Drill music has been the topic of conversation for quite some time. After Pop Smoke’s tragic death in 2020, fans and naysayers have questioned whether or not the genre will last, if there will new restrictions put in place to sensor and just the overall future of the sound. What the genre is truly missing is evolution and innovation. With Fivio Foreign’s recent Grammy nomination and more mainstream artists getting hip to the genre, it seems that the evolution process in the drill scene is well underway.

Nicki Minaj sent the internet in a frenzy when she announced her surprise collab with Fivio Foreign on their new single 'We Go Up'.

The record did extremely well, charting #1 on iTunes. It also invited other music lovers to drill sounds being that Nicki Minaj is a mega superstar with huge Hip Hop, Pop and even international collaborations. The drill genre is gaining fans of all kinds and slowly receiving the positive attention it deserves. Florida rap duo, City Girls, also teamed up with Fivio Foreign to create “Top Notch", a drill single laced with the signature sounds of drill producer AXL Beats. The sassy swagg of Young Miami and JT paired with Fivio’s classic drill cadence made for great music. Cardi B even joined the conversation, after getting on a track with Bronx drill rappers Kay Flock, Dougie B and Bory 300 for the “Shake It” remix. As footage of their video shoot reached the internet, Cardi B is seen in the Bronx in front of a Kay Flock mural turning up with fans. Dougie B, the Bronx rapper known most for his energy, can be seen showing Cardi new dance moves while Cardi raps her verse. Authentic connections like these made between rappers and upcoming drill artists is just what we need for the sound to evolve and reach new success.

Despite receiving backlash for its violent lyrics and unorthodox flows, drill music is arguably the newest sound to take over the music industry. The legendary Pop Smoke introduced rappers like Quavo of The Migos and Travis Scott to drill beats, earning an award for his song 'Shake the Room' featuring Quavo and a feature from Travis on a record called ‘Gatti’. Rap icons like Kanye West and Drake have shown drill a lot of love by hoping on drill beats and showing love to emerging artists like Fivio Foreign.

Drake’s “War” and 'Demons' featuring Fivio Foreign and Sosa Geek did extremely well on the charts and was a major key to unlock the mainstream door for Fivio. Kanye West 'Off the Grid' record featuring Fivio and PlayBoy Carti was also a big power move for the Brooklyn rapper. The collaboration earned him a cosign from Ye himself along with the announcement that Kanye would be producing his album B.I.B.L.E, out now.

While the positive attention and buzz surrounding drill music is encouraged, there is still a lot of work to do. Mayor Eric Adams has yet to make a statement about the meeting he had with rappers on February 16th, 2022.

He’s expressed publicly his concerns about the music and content being put out around it. Pop Smoke kicked down the door and should the world that it was possible to unlock drill success and become bigger than the issues that many young Black men face everyday. Hopefully, with more mainstream artists jumping on the drill wave, labels will be forced to increase budgets and advances for drill artists. As streams and views continue to increase and Grammy nominations for more drill rappers start rolling, the industry will have no choice but to invest into the next thing. Once budgets increase so will opportunity and creativity thus giving upcoming rappers a real chance at success.

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