Please Stop Making Sexy Drill

Sexy Drill is the latest offshoot of Drill Rap to have a strangle on the city’s burgeoning and mainstream Hip-Hop scene. From Drake to Don Toliver, many artists (both established and underground) have set foot in The House That Cash Built. The genre had been making waves throughout the city over the past couple of years, but picked up steam at the turn of 2023, propelling Cash and his cohorts (The Slizzies) into the throes of regional fame. The power of the subgenre is in its accessibility to the masses, it’s a form of Drill Rap where the only common thread is just the signature hi-hat rhythm, swapping the often violent (sometimes confessional) lyrics for more sensual subject matter and an upbeat bounce. By speaking to the ladies instead of the opps, the emergence of Sexy Drill and its infectious energy was felt across the world over the last year. 

On a grassroots level in the city, the effect was just as present, as artists from different genres began to hop on the trend and dip their toes in the same pool everyone else had. Although trends can sometimes benefit underground artists by helping expose them to an audience that might not find them otherwise, that isn't the case for the vast majority. 

Especially as the editor of an underground publication, I have slowly watched the underground scene become engulfed in the same hi-hat pattern and variations of booming sonar sounds, sometimes with jersey club syncopation and sometimes without. All of the time talking about the same things: fucking, sucking, eating, and various ways of getting their money up. Though it was - and still is - a nice switch up from the usual imagery of Drill that most folks conjure when the genre comes to mind, I’d be lying if I said its existence and imitations hadn’t become tiresome to a degree. 

My disdain doesn’t come from the genre’s purveyors, promulgators, or pioneers, but rather from the artists who continue to utilize the avenue as a means of chasing success. I have come across too many new artists who only recently started making music, and inherently that’s not an issue. The problem lies in the execution. The production on tracks is often a Cash Cobain-type beat that relies on the same sound packs he uses, then the bars are delivered using the same flows he employs if they don't downright try to imitate his melodic tone too. Similar to how the initial wave of Drill Rap had a moment like this, Sexy Drill seems to be following in its predecessor’s footsteps as an oversaturated space with more than it knows what to do with right now, leading the genre to the moment of stagnance I feel like it’s experiencing. 

Despite how this argument may seem at first glance, I’m a huge fan of the genre. I even placed Mr. R2R, Friends and Lovers Deluxe, and Sexc Summer to my Top 10 Underground Albums of 2024. I understand that for the genre to continue to thrive, new acts have to throw their hats into the ring. My plea to those new acts is to pay attention to how artists like R2R Moe, Vontee The Singer, and Baby Osama have managed to utilize the sound to succeed, while simultaneously pushing the genre forward with new ideas, new flows, and even new spins on old ideas. The point is to ultimately bring something new to the table, because if we are trying to contribute to the grand scheme of things, and what we’re doing isn’t new in some way shape, or form, what are we really contributing? Take the things that have already been proven to work, and plug-in the things that are unique to you. 

Another point I’m trying to make here is as blatant as the title: Please, stop making Sexy Drill. The genre is oversaturated and the mainstream has quickly crept its way into the space, selling it out even more and creating even blander versions of the product via label-”suggested” link-ups (let the record show not all of these are misses either, but a good few doesn’t outweigh a bad majority). Now more than ever, the underground is in dire need of something new that is going to reignite the flame. New York City is already so much more than Drill, with too many artists to name across so many genres releasing new music every day. Boom Bap, PlugnB, R&B, Trap, Hyperpop, Jerk, Rage, New Jazz. These are just some of the thriving spaces that I can name off the top of my head. Not to mention the artists who exist solely in the spaces between genres, blending and mending different characteristics and elements of each to their sonic desire. Furthermore, I haven’t mentioned the underground Latin Music scene in New York City either, which is currently experiencing its own renaissance. There are so many different avenues you can explore, so why continue to walk down the roads that have already been traveled?