15 East African Drill Songs You Need
Drill music was forged in the Southside of Chicago in the basements and bedrooms of wayward young artists and hustlers who used the genre’s ominous soundscape as a canvas to paint stark pictures of the street politics, police brutality, and drug use that consumed their lives. Back in 2011, artists like Chief Keef, Young Chop, Lil Durk, and Lil Reese elevated the hip-hop sub-genre to the American mainstream. To this day, DJ’s across the globe can count on drill anthems like ‘Faneto’ and ‘Don’t Like’ to embolden moshpits. A decade later, Drill music’s schizophrenic hi-hat rhythms have travelled across oceans and taken exciting new forms in places like New York, UK, Australia, and now Africa. Due in large part to the global reach of Pop Smoke’s rowdy take on Brooklyn/UK Drill, young rappers across the continent are finding unique new ways to fit local languages, colloquialisms, and experiences into the genre's unique pocket.
It’s no surprise that Kenya - which has long had a vibrant and metropolitan hip-hop culture - has an especially active community and relatively established drill sound that is a fresh alternative to the nation’s foremost street-oriented musical style, Gengetone. Some younger crews, like G.T.A and Buruklyn Boyz have committed fully to drill’s musical and visual aesthetics; ski-masks , bandanas, puffer jackets, and all. In Rwanda, whose mainstream is dominated by a homegrown take on trap music called Kinyatrap, drill was a logical and easy wave to adopt. Though there isn’t much of a definitive scene quite yet, many emcees who would typically recite kinyarwanda lyrics over trap instrumentals have been increasingly opting to rhye over drill instrumentals. Stars like B-Threy, Bushali, and Soldier Kid for example, have all ridden the wave. Artists across the region are following suit.
We have compiled a collection of 15 East African Drill songs to add to your playlists.
MAANDY - SHASH NA LIPGLOSS
OKSYDE - NGANYA FT. SCAR (Kenya)
Mr Right x Ajay - Billie Jean (Kenya)
249TooDope x Eaz Da Bully - Asly (Sudan)
NATTY - RONG (Kenya)
Jiggy - Chaguo La Teens (Kenya)
Pogatsa - Nyabingi ft. Mvfasta, Bushali, & NERIWEST (Rwanda)
Soldier Kid & Ish Kevin - Mariya (Rwanda)
Steph - Mazishi Freestyle (Kenya)