Image
Image Credit
Joseph Okpako / Contributor via Getty Images
Image Size
landscape-medium
Sexy drill didn’t come out of nowhere. Born in New York, the subgenre pairs seductive verses with R&B samples and melodies over drill beats, thanks in large part to Cash Cobain’s influence.
That said, sexy drill isn’t a one-man show. The sound came to life through artists like Chow Lee and Lonny Love, who linked up with Cobain for tracks like “NOBODY.” Bay Swag and Vontee the Singer further round out the local roster of artists pushing sexy drill to the forefront. Outside of New York City, songs like Drake’s “Calling For You” and Jordan Adetunji’s TikTok-famous “KEHLANI” helped carry sexy drill well beyond its home turf.
Rap-Up rounded up 11 essential sexy drill songs that make the perfect entry point into the genre. Check the list out below.
1. Dunk Contest by Cash Cobain
Cobain’s “Dunk Contest” is such an obvious choice, but sometimes you have to start with the basics. The Bronx rapper is practically the godfather of sexy drill, and if one track were to represent the entire genre, it’d be this banger. On the record, the self-described Slizzy Smalls lists various women — real women, as it turns out — and what he’d like to do with them. The internet, of course, did its detective work and tracked down the real-life inspirations behind lines like “Jess, we could make a mess” and “Millie, I wanna f**k your body ’til you dizzy.”
2. ms.beautiful V by Chow Lee
In case it wasn’t obvious by the end of the track, the “V” in “ms.beautiful V” stands for exactly what you’d think. While tracks about women’s anatomy aren’t new territory (Latto’s “P**SY,” Cardi B’s “WAP” and so on), Lee brings a different flavor to the topic. Floating over a sultry sample of Trey Songz’s “Interlude4U,” the Long Island star dishes out lines about his sexual expertise. Even though the song is mostly a chorus with a quick verse, we’re certainly not complaining.
3. KEHLANI by Jordan Adetunji
Adetunji’s breakthrough single is just what it says on the tin: a tribute to one of R&B’s finest artists, Kehlani. The original version took off largely because of the singer-songwriter’s energetic delivery and catchy punchlines. In fact, we’re still repeating “I need some water, need Tyla, uh.” The track’s remix is just as addictive, if not more. Kehlani herself jumped on the record with lines like, “Baby, you bad like me / Big bad like me / Ought to get you a bag like me.”
4. Calling For You by Drake featuring 21 Savage
Believe it or not, Drake went ahead and tried his hand at sexy drill, and surprisingly enough, with Cobain steering the production, it turned out pretty well. Built around a loop from Fridayy’s “Calling 4 U – Freestyle,” the Toronto hitmaker does his best to charm a love interest while 21 Savage drops in with a verse about the streets and settling scores. Maybe the Savage Mode rapper’s presence feels a little out of place, hence the beat switch, but it’s still a fun collaboration worth spinning back.
5. cake by wolfacejoeyy
We’re not sure we’ll ever look at Sonic the same way again, but wolfacejoeyy’s “cake” is a certified bop regardless. The track was very much a product of its moment, with the rising star tipping his hat to BossMan Dlow’s viral hit “Finesse” and Cobain’s “Fisherrr.” As he should, wolfacejoeyy ran with the momentum, turning the single’s success into a full project. So, if “cake” leaves you wanting more, check out Valentino.
6. Fisherrr – Remix by Cash Cobain featuring Ice Spice and Bay Swag
There’s no way we’re making it through this list without at least one entry including Ice Spice, who, love her or not, has become a defining voice in New York’s drill scene since stepping onto the scene. On “Fisherrr – Remix,” she teams up with Cobain and Bay Swag. Within the span of a few bars, she compares herself to Danimals yogurt and interpolates her own hit “Munch (Feelin’ U).” Plus, her famous look from the music video even made its way into Fortnite as a playable skin.
7. uhm…ok? by ilham
“Tweakin’, I know what to do to have him tweakin’ / Phone on DND, I know he need it / Got me on my SZA for the weekend,” ilham croons on “uhm…ok?” It’s her first foray into sexy drill and definitely not a subtle one. Between bringing a little more R&B to the table and the song’s sticky hook, the New York singer earned “uhm… ok?” a well-deserved spot among the genre’s essentials.
8. Body by A Boogie Wit da Hoodie featuring Cash Cobain
A Boogie Wit da Hoodie has always been early to a sound, and teaming up with Cobain on “Body” proves the timing was right. Like usual, he raps about a woman who went from loyal to untrustworthy and how things could’ve been different if she’d stuck around. It’s essentially the kind of record you’d expect from an album titled Better Off Alone.
9. Tell Me Again by Girlfriend featuring Bay Swag
Another track made for the ladies, Girlfriend and Bay Swag gave Lil Jon’s “Lovers And Friends” a sexy drill makeover. The pair toss lines back and forth that are somehow both outrageous and seductive, like “I’ll Nick your Minaj if you wrap my Benz” and “Can we be lovers and friends, I wanna touch it again.” It might not be for everyone, but they rode the original beat with enough charisma to pull it off and then some.
10. THE CREATORS by Lonny Love featuring Chow Lee
“THE CREATORS” feels like exactly the right title for a track coming from two artists who helped pioneer sexy drill. And in case there’s any doubt, they make sure to remind you. “We put the sexy in drill, girl, we made that / I show you the time of your life, so just lay back,” Love raps over the collaboration. If their verses prove anything, it’s that there’s pretty much nothing these two won’t do in the name of love — or at least, lust.
11. IMU by Vontee the Singer featuring Cash Cobain
If you’ve heard Drake’s “GIMME A HUG” even once, or know the ’90s classic it samples, you’ve definitely encountered the powerhouse that is Aaron Hall’s “I Miss You.” Vontee the Singer and Cobain took the record, sped it up just a touch, and used it to wax poetic about missing their partners. As mentioned before, sexy drill really doesn’t need much to be entertaining, but one of the highlight moments comes courtesy of Slizzy Smalls referencing Macaulay Culkin’s role in Home Alone. The pain of lost love may linger, but at least the two rappers gave us something to numb the hurt with “IMU.”
