My name is Dennis Richmond, Jr., and I’m a 27-year-old journalist and educator. I’ve been a fan of the Hip-Hop and Rap scene since I was little. My older sister Shanise would always play certain songs. I remember my sister watching the music video for the song Oooh by De La Soul back in 2000. The video had a Wizard of Oz theme. I remember my older sister Denise saying I couldn’t rap the words to JAY-Z’s song I Just Wanna Love U. I even remember meeting rapper Jadakiss. I was excited. Jadakiss is a legend.
My love of Hip-Hop/Rap is ever-growing. Luckily, my top three favorite rappers, JAY-Z, Jadakiss, and Lil Wayne, have been able to stay relevant and still kill the game. Thousands of other rappers have fallen off. Respectfully. The young kids these days aren’t checking for traditional rap anymore, though. Today, young kids across America are listening to drill music. Rappers back in the day would reference their enemies and shooting. The slang is different today. A lot of drill rappers don’t say shoot. They say, “up it and aim it.” And they don’t say, enemies. They say, “opps.”
Drill music is a subgenre of Hip-Hop. I was alive to see a lot of subgenres of Hip-Hop. Bounce, Crunk, Jerkin’ and Trap music are all subgenres of Hip-Hop culture. Drill music first gained national attention in Chicago, Illinois, around 2012. Around the same time, drill music in the United Kingdom took off. By the middle of the 2010s, New York drill music was on the scene heavy. Today, I would argue that there are thousands of drill rappers across America. Some are famous, and some aren’t. Youtube is doing a powerful job of leveling the playing field, though.
Hip-Hop/Rap culture changed from what it was just 20 years ago. For one, drill music is popular now. Rappers like Fivio Foreign, Chief Keef, Lil Durk, Kay Flock, Ice Spice, DD Osama, Kay Flock, and Ron Suno, are just a few names of the drill scene. Second, a lot of women are in the rap game. Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Remy Ma, Megan Thee Stallion, GloRill, and Latto are doing their thing. And three, some rappers are openly in the LGBTQ+ Community. Lil Nas X and Saucy Santana both live their truth.
While I could accept that drill music is a part of the culture, it’s hard to grasp that many young adults and kids are dying. Many deaths are realted to drill. New York City’s Mayor, Eric Adams, even held a press conference with drill rappers to address gun violence. Regardless of how folx feel about drill rap and rap in general, one thing is for sure. America’s youth have a lot to say, and many young adults express themselves through drill music.
Dennis Richmond, Jr., is an author and journalist focused on the Black, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ Community. He has covered HBCUs periodically for six years at Yonkers Rising. Richmond lives in Yonkers. Follow him on Twitter @NewYorkStakz.
