[Ads-l] drill rap(per)

[Ben Zimmer]

Wikipedia and other sources trace the origins of "drill music" to the 2010
track "It's a Drill" by Pac Man (aka Larry Johnson) from Chicago's Woodlawn
neighborhood, though the song doesn't use "drill" to refer to a musical
style. Twitter/X has "drill music" as the Chicago-based rap subgenre from
2011:

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https://twitter.com/DGainz/status/85931470471958528
@DGainz, Twitter, June 29, 2011
In Chicago we make #DRILL music
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https://twitter.com/DrillCityEnt/status/132021262833827840
@DrillCityEnt, Twitter, Nov. 3, 2011
@LilTunechi Get In Tune Chicago Drill Music
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https://twitter.com/LordRachi/status/132573380506431488
@LordRachi, Twitter, Nov. 4, 2011
you only find drill music in chicago #im so proud of dat we gangsta gangsta
---

Tweets with "drill rapper(s)" also date to 2011:

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https://twitter.com/MitchMakinMoves/status/136980358515269632
@MitchMakinMoves, Twitter, Nov. 16, 2011
Nobody Said These Drill Rappers From Chicago Could Actually 'RAP', They
Shit Jus Appealing..... Sorry Dont Nobody Wanna Listen To You.
---
https://twitter.com/DjHustlenomics/status/138809796529889281
@DjHustlenomics, Twitter, Nov. 21, 2011
All My Drill Rappers Gettin Hella Shows Now. I Need To Learn All They Songs
So When Im On Stage.
---

The "drill" subgenre started getting mainstream attention in 2012.

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https://music.newcity.com/2012/06/04/preview-chance-the-rapperlincoln-hall/
New City, June 4, 2012
With most of Chicago’s burgeoning hip-hop clout being lavished upon the
Drill Music scene, and rightfully so, Chance has become something of a
throwback even as he walks in the door. Drill artists like King Louie,
Chief Keef and Katie Got Bandz glide over heavily Trap-influenced beats.
---
https://www.spin.com/2012/06/chicago-rap-blazes-streets/
Spin, June 25, 2012
A bustling YouTube culture has magnified awareness of homegrown artists,
particularly the East Side street-rap network known as the "drill scene,"
marked by booming, slow-rolling, Lex Luger-esque beats and rappers like the
16-year-old Keef, King Louie, Lil Durk, and Lil Reese.
---
https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-drill/185513804/
Chicago Tribune, July 29, 2012
Another GBE member who signed a solo deal with Def Jam, Lil Durk has spent
the past two months incarcerated, but he was scheduled for release July 27.
His "I'm Still A Hitta" mixtape from 2012 is one of the most acclaimed in
the Chicago "drill" scene.
---
https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-drill/185513982/
Chicago Tribune, Aug. 13, 2012
Block thought the local music scene needed a new female voice, especially
in the aggressive Chicago rap subgenre known as drill music.
---

--bgz

On Sun, Nov 23, 2025 at 8:58 AM Jonathan Lighter <
00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/14-old-killed-8-teens-001000397.html :
>
> The last shooting with such a high number of victims in the center of the
> city was at drill rapper Mello Buckzz’s album release party in the River
> North neighborhood in July.
>
>
>

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