You’ve heard of K-pop, now it’s time for K-drill
6 min read
The metaphorical melodies of the track mention “swinging” like Korean baseball player Choshun Soo, receiving cash like casino developer Kongon Land, and “stacking cheese” like a spicy chicken postage-pink. Is.
Even threats of violence are clearly provided with a Korean flavor: “My chopsticks open you up, take steam, spread you there like fritters,” to one half of the pair. Rapist Park Sung-jin, better known as Jimmy Page.
“I didn’t expect foreign YouTubers to make reaction videos or trend songs on platforms like TikTok,” said Kim Dae-woong, another member of Silkybois, whose rap name is Black Nut. Said in a video interview with Seoul. “We just did what we wanted to do in our own way. I loved the reaction of the people, who were unexpected.”
Although the drill originated in Chicago in the early 2010’s, the South Korean scene is heavily borrowed from the British subgener known as the UK drill. With similar catchy and provocative melodies, but with faster beats and more sarcastic sliding bass lines, the sound has since spread from south London to worldwide scenes, including the United States.

Silky Boise members Jimmy Page (left) and Black Nut (right). Credit: Thanks to JustMusic
But while drill artists in Britain and the United States – sometimes controversial – are known to rap about knife violence and firearms, things are a bit different in South Korea, where the world’s lowest gun One of the crime rates. Nonetheless, references to physical violence are prominent, and the country’s drill rappers are not compromising in their portrayal of civilian problems.
“The lyrics are about things in the city,” Park said. “For better or worse, these should be facts. The things that happen on the streets, in the neighborhoods and our mentality – it’s all against us.
“Drill is just another (art) form for me,” he added. “We love hard lyrics … we’re always looking for ways to make strong metaphors and punch lines, and I guess it worked.”
Crossing continents
The number of drill artists may be small in terms of competition, but many of the country’s most popular rappers – including Keith App, Changmo and Korean-American artist Jay Park – have recently released music inspired by the genre.
Shin said he discovered the UK drill through the TV drama “Top Boy”, which outlines the struggles of young people in the inner city of London. Although initially uninterested in the Chicago scene, he turned to the Voice of London (which he described as a “completely new genre”) and to be used during the delivery of lines in English. Began to study British pronunciation.
“The British English I knew was from ‘Harry Potter’,” he said in a video interview. The more I listened (to the British rappers), the more I found them fascinating. ”
The 27-year-old artist’s lyrics are often based on autobiography, which deals with personal issues rather than social issues – such as his struggle with the Cove 19 epidemic. He said copying gang or gun-related material from other countries would be unauthorized.
“Hip-hop didn’t originate in Korea, so when you bring voices from abroad, sometimes people bring emotions (of lyrics),” he said. “There are some issues with (copying the lyrics) but these days, the Korean people will see it as fake or deceptive. Artists don’t want to take that risk. Raping a story that is not yours.”
Legal disputes
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Kim said rap material is taken “very seriously” in South Korea, adding: “It’s disappointing that people don’t understand your lyrics and treat them negatively.” His band, Matt Park, also dismissed the potential real-life effects of offensive music: “If you listen to James Brown, do you feel better after that? No, it’s just sound. Is drill music violent?” Can’t raise it? Not hell. You can’t say that. ”
Putting Kim’s case aside, the country’s drill scene – perhaps because of its relatively small mainstream profile – has not been largely affected by legal issues. None of the artists interviewed for the article reported any other police restrictions on music performances or recordings.
And the content of the song by South Korean artists does not raise the possibility of an official crackdown on drills, Park said, arguing that rappers in Britain and the United States have invited trouble by speaking openly about crime in their music.
In a genre where artists are often seen humiliating the talents of rival rappers, it is somewhat reasonable to assume that the biggest challenge facing the South Korean drill scene is the politician, There is no police or even apathy – this is the standard of his contemporaries. .
“They’re trying to make drill songs, but they’re going to fail because they can’t rap,” he said. “You know how to make a bar – that’s the priority in this business.”
Top photo: Korean drill artist Blaise.