Sample Drill
tagStarted 2020Peak 2023-2025Last big hit still active
Located in 1 route
New York drill flipped around recognizable R&B and soul samples chopped into the beat, giving it a warmer, hornier glow than menacing piano drill. Sliding 808s and skittering hi-hats sit under looped, pitched vocal snippets, often whispery and seductive. Flows turn laid-back and flirtatious, birthing the 'sexy drill' offshoot that softens the genre's edge into bedroom mood music.
History
Pioneered by Bronx producer-rapper Cash Cobain from around 2020, who began building drill beats on chopped R&B samples. His 2022 album '2 Slizzy 2 Sexy' with Chow Lee crystallized the 'sexy drill' lane, and the 2023 single 'Fisherrr' with Bay Swag became a TikTok smash, earning an Ice Spice remix and pushing sample drill mainstream.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/bay-swag-cash-cobain-ice-spice-fisherrr-1235884770/
- https://www.okayplayer.com/how-cash-cobain-and-his-sexy-drill-sound-caught-fire/559664
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_Cash_Cobain
- https://www.nme.com/news/music/cash-cobain-interview-sample-drill-pinkpantheress-drake-3546652