Criminal Law Assignment: Examining Drill Music's Influence on Society

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of Drill music, examining its origins in Chicago and its subsequent impact on the UK's urban environment. The paper explores the genre's lyrical content, often associated with violence, gang culture, and criminal activities, and investigates its potential influence on societal perceptions and behaviors. The study delves into the debate surrounding whether Drill music reflects or shapes the environment, considering reactions from society, media, and law enforcement. It examines the arguments for and against the claim that Drill music contributes to rising crime rates, offering a comprehensive legal perspective. Furthermore, the essay provides a background on the genre and its emergence, its characteristics, and its reception by society. It also considers the historical context of youth music and its relation to criminality and violence.

Running head: CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal Law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Acknowledgement
Sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of those who have helped and encouraged me for
conducting this study. I am indebted to my supervisor ……………………. whose guidance,
advice and patience have been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the …
[Mention your university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support
have made this thesis possible.
I would like to thank the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education
Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research
would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research
work helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, for whose mental support has helped me to complete this research
paper. Thank you.

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Abstract
Drill music is a style of Trap or Hip hop music which had a developed in the late 1990s in the
Southern states of USA. It originated in the southern side of Chicago. Drill music is often
considered violent and dark with aggressive lyrical content. It is said to be focused on the
criminal ordeals of the life that is experienced by the downtrodden people who are often the
victim of discrimination and disgrace. The songs based on real music mostly use abusive
language and slangs and talks about using violence bloodshed and weapons. The word ‘Drill’
is used is the name of the music for Drill stands for the slang word in context to the use of
automatic weapons. Therefore, it is essential to study the background of this genre of music
and to understand its impact. This paper discusses about the background of Drill music along
with its present scenario in the UK. By inspecting the origin, background and its
contemporaries, the present scenario of Drill music and its impact on the society can be
evaluated more judiciously. The study argues on the fact that whether Drill music has its
aggressive and dark reflection on the society and environment at large. The paper strives to
gather certain example of reaction of common people pertaining to the influence of Drill
music in the society, by the help of newspaper articles. In addition, the study also puts
forward certain argumentative points regarding the accusation of it shaping the environment
around. The paper strives to find out whether the allegation by the media pertaining to the
rising violent crime in the urban areas is a contribution of the Drill music.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................4
Chapter 2: Background and Foreground of Drill Music............................................................6
2.0 Overview..........................................................................................................................6
2.1 Background......................................................................................................................7
2.2 Foreground.......................................................................................................................9
Chapter 3: Does Drill Music Reflect the Environment?..........................................................11
3.0 Overview........................................................................................................................11
3.1 Drill music’s Reflection on the Environment................................................................11
3.2 Gestures of violence and protest....................................................................................13
3.3 Reactions of Society.......................................................................................................14
Chapter 4: Does Drill Music Shape the Environment?............................................................17
Chapter 5: Conclusion..............................................................................................................22
List of References....................................................................................................................27

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Chapter 1: Introduction
Drill is a pattern of Trap music, being originated in Southern Chicago. The
significance of categorising music in this form lies in the recognition of the violence and
darkness in the lyrical content of Drill music. It is actually an exaggeration of the street style
Hip Hop that has been popularised from Chicago only. The lyrics and the tone of this form of
music primarily revolve around crime as well as the daily ordeals associated with street life.
In fact the vulgarity associated with this form of music comes from the word itself which is a
street slang comma used in context of usage of the automatic weapons (Metro.co.uk 2019).
Drill music is a style of Trap or Hip hop music which had a developed in the late 1990s in the
Southern states of USA. It originated in the southern side of Chicago. Drill music is often
considered violent and dark with aggressive lyrical content. It is said to be focused on the
criminal ordeals of the life that is experienced by the downtrodden people who are often the
victim of discrimination and disgrace. The songs based on real music mostly use abusive
language and slangs and talks about using violence bloodshed and weapons. The word ‘Drill’
is used is the name of the music for Drill stands for the slang word in context to the use of
automatic weapons. The beat is this type of music is usually of slow tempo; however it uses
extreme rough and brutal words and actions (Muncie 2014).
The typical Drill music of Chicago was exposed to the international audience in 2012
when a number of YouTube music videos of Chief Keef were coveted and widely accepted
by the listeners (BBC News 2019). It was in 2012 after the videos went viral, Drill music
transcended out of the trappings of Chicago, its birth place where the count of homicides was
more than that of the number of homicides in Los Angeles and New York combined. It is
quite evidently recorded through feedback from people that Drill music, the dark and
aggressive derivative of trap and rap music is taking over the traditional as well as the urban

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youth culture of London and its adjoining areas. It is also has been observed that the younger
generation are more influenced by rapper who are of their age and not much older, with
whom they could relate as to their in day-to-day life; some of whom may have got into
trouble with the police or have joined a particular gang for certain purposes. It has been
recorded that several kids from the southern part of London are stuck into serious
delinquency acts. DS Mike West put forwarded his view to the Independent, which clearly
mentions his disapproving gesture towards it (The Independent 2019). He says that the music
videos contains abusive and explicit language where one gang threatens the other, and are
absolutely unfit for teenagers to watch or listen to such things.
However, it needs to be noted that it is not new for media and the police to tag a
certain genre if music as aggressive and dark. Earlier in the early 19th century, there were a
bunch of respectable intellectuals who were upset with the increasing number of Music Halls
and Pubs where youngsters would go, drink and dance. The intellectuals were afraid of the
fact that the influence of American or global music as well as socialising with like-minded
people in a pub might diminish their culture and morals (Pearson 1983). Similarly, the media,
police and the politicians have, for decades, branded popular youth culture and youth music
as an influencing factor of Criminality and Violence in the society. Artists like Marilyn
Manson was a common target for allegations and blame pertaining to dissemination of
violence and crime. Therefore, it would be heavily judgmental to mark Drill music as the
source to all the violent and homicidal acts in and around the city, be it London or Chicago. It
is often argued by researchers and Drill music listeners that this genre of music is mostly
produced by the young, black and poor people who are socially as well as politically
marginalised. It is often commented that the major agenda behind such rough and dark
approach of such genre of music is to voice the emotions and frustrations of the backward
youths through music. An attempt to stop these youths to convey their frustration and anger

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by the help of music could possibly lead them back to the streets smuggling and selling drugs
and indulging into more vicious criminal activities (General 2006).
Therefore, the paper aims to discuss about the background of Drill music along with
its present scenario in the UK. By inspecting the origin, background and its contemporaries,
the present scenario of Drill music and its impact on the society can be evaluated more
judiciously. The study argues on the fact that whether Drill music has its aggressive and dark
reflection on the society and environment at large. The paper strives to gather certain
example of reaction of common people pertaining to the influence of Drill music in the
society, by the help of newspaper articles. In addition, the study also puts forward certain
argumentative points regarding the accusation of it shaping the environment around. The
paper strives to find out whether the allegation by the media pertaining to the rising violent
crime in the urban areas is a contribution of the Drill music. The Police have concluded that
this genre of music has been influencing violence, aggression, gang wars, homicide and
increasing rate of criminality.
Chapter 2: Background and Foreground of Drill Music
2.0 Overview
Drill music is a style of Trap or Hip hop music which had a developed in the late
1990s in the Southern states of USA. It originated in the southern side of Chicago. Drill
music is often considered violent and dark with aggressive lyrical content (Metro.co.uk
2019). It is said to be focused on the criminal ordeals of the life that is experienced by the
downtrodden people who are often the victim of discrimination and disgrace. The songs
based on real music mostly use abusive language and slangs and talks about using violence
bloodshed and weapons. The word ‘Drill’ is used is the name of the music for Drill stands for

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the slang word in context to the use of automatic weapons. The beat is this type of music is
usually of slow tempo; however it uses extreme rough and brutal words and actions. The New
York Times wrote on an article that this genre of music focuses on music based on violence
which is raw and unmediated focuses largely on anger and violence (Nytimes.com 2019).
The newspaper and it is saying that the Instinct of this music is to call out on the unforgiving,
tough and harsh life with the help of the concrete hard and joy less music; however there is
different opinion which describes Drill music as exuberant in its own darkness. Drill music
progressed in America and became a hit mainstream and regular in mid-2012 with the
success of music producers and rappers like Fredo Santana, Young Chop, Chief Keef and Lil
Reese. These music producers and rappers had captured significant presence on the internet
along with grabbing the interest of many fans locally (Brown 2005). This made the way for
media attention and gave the Drill musicians opportunities to get signed by major music
company labels. The Drill musicians are mostly known for their graphics and violent lyrical
content and also for their association with crime and violence in Chicago. Drill music found
its wings spreading towards south London district of Brixton in the early 2012 and need its
own regional sub-genre.
2.1 Background
To understand the background of Drill music in the United Kingdom, the real
birthplace of Drill music in the south side of Chicago needs to be explored first. Chicago as a
state has always been in the news for poverty issues, gang war and violence, which led to the
creation of this unique rap music subgenre known as ‘Drill’. The Chicago grill rap music is
known to be violent and grim, quite similar to Atlanta's famous Trap Music. If comparing
Trap and Drill music, the former is typically based on smuggling, selling and enjoying drugs
while the latter is way more violent and they are usually thrown at rival gangs quite like a

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threat or challenge. It is quite an interesting fact that Chicago, the birth place of Drill Music,
is known as “Chiraq Drillinois”. ‘Chiraq’ refers to the time when murders were so rampant in
Chicago that the number exceeded that of the war casualties in Iraq, while “Drillinois” is an
amalgamation of the word ‘Drill’ and the state ‘Illinois’ where Chicago is located. The music
here gives an illustration of the harsh reality of the impoverished human settlement and the
low standard of living of the people living in the Southside, Chicago. It originated in
Woodlawn neighbourhood of Southside Chicago called ‘Dro city’ along with the Lower East
Side and West Side of the city. ‘Pacman Dro’ of ‘Dro City’ is associated with the formation
of Drill music movement. It was popularised in early 2010s by music artists like Chief Keef
and King Louie and gave it an aggressive shape, which can be categorised as a descendant of
trap music, which has faded from its original version.
The typical Drill music of Chicago was exposed to the international audience in 2012
when a number of YouTube music videos of Chief Keef were coveted and widely accepted
by the listeners. It was in 2012 after the videos went viral, Drill music transcended out of the
trappings of Chicago, its birth place where the count of homicides was more than that of the
number of homicides in Los Angeles and New York combined (Hall 2012). As put forwarded
by Forrest Stuart, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, Drill music was just a sub-genre
of trap beat and rap music and had a local phenomena until the increasing number of
homicide in Chicago (Anderson, Carnagey and Eubanks 2003). He added that it is quite
evident that the music genre originating in Chicago highlights the issues of poverty,
masculine bravado and territorial gang rivalries would successfully influence the younger
population of a densely populated city which faces is similar social issues and conflicts
(Wolhuter, Olley and Denham 2008).

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Since the international exposure of Drill music in different locations of the globe, it
has adapted to the specific neighbourhoods and parts of the cities, like South London and has
being dominating over the previously established music genre of the area. Drill music is
known as the nephew of road rap which was pioneered by rappers like Nines and Giggs who
have produced music in collaboration with the famous Drill band 67. Drill music is said to be
sharing certain traits of Grime music, another much awaited and cherished cultural treasure
of London which too had received negative comments and feedbacks from the police and
media when it had made its mark in the city (Adorno 2015.). Grime and Drill contains the
same rebellious, aggressive and dark adolescence tone. Artist of both the genre prefer to have
all black tracksuit outfits and incorporates the same kind of African-Caribbean-British fused
slang and abuses in their music, which according to them helps to communicate to their
listeners and spread the social commentary (Hecker 2016). Therefore, by inspecting the
origin, background and its contemporaries, the present scenario of Drill music and its impact
on the society can be evaluated more judiciously.
2.2 Foreground
At present, one is more likely to come across a similar yet distorted trap beats buzzing
from the buses or School yards of South London. Ciaran Thapar, a youth worker have found
out an unusual phenomenon where he has noticed that after the schools finished for the day,
groups of teenagers gather at the bus stops or shops yelling various lyrics of different kinds of
trap and even Drill music in the busy street of South London. Many teenage students have
been heard of listening to Drill music and claims that it is what they have grown up around
(Anderson, Kinsey and Smith 2017).
It is quite evidently recorded through feedback from people that Drill music, the dark
and aggressive derivative of trap and rap music is taking over the traditional as well as the

10CRIMINAL LAW
urban youth culture of London and its adjoining areas. It is also has been observed that the
younger generation are more influenced by rapper who are of their age and not much older,
with whom they could relate as to their in day-to-day life; some of whom may have got into
trouble with the police or have joined a particular gang for certain purposes. It has been
recorded that several kids from the southern part of London are stuck into serious
delinquency acts (Mawby and Walklate 1994).
Music Producer Carns Hill has been steering and producing Drill music in
collaboration with other fellow music producers. Hill is backed by several big names from
the music industry and the group has become one of the biggest influences of UK
Underground Music. According to the group of music producers the Drill musicians are the
voice of the youth in today’s world; they have matured and have formed bands like So Solid
Crew, Like Gigs Before Them, 67, Rodney P, et cetera. The present bands of Drill musicians
are often compared as well as related with their lineage of past Drill music and its musicians
in South London over the last two decades.
The Drill outfits of the main artists (LD, Monkey, ASAP, Liquez and Dimzy) of the
popular Drill band 67’s are popular and increase among the teenagers in South London and
other places where Drill music is becoming a hit. The Drill music musicians have being
successful to transcend their logic behind producing Drill music and to overlook the paradise
of postcode loyalty that affects and plagues the music. There are several loyal fans of others
genre of music who completely refuses to listen to it or me sometimes it made of listening to
artist who are from the rival section of the town. The fact that the music produced by 67
under Carns Hill's guidance which contains high quality hood videos and sheer quantity of
addictive output have resulted to the undeniable rise of the band as well as the music genre.

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Chapter 3: Does Drill Music Reflect the Environment?
3.0 Overview
Drill is a pattern of Trap music, being originated in Southern Chicago. The
significance of categorising music in this form lies in the recognition of the violence and
darkness in the lyrical content of Drill music. It is actually an exaggeration of the street style
Hip Hop that has been popularised from Chicago only. The lyrics and the tone of this form of
music primarily revolve around crime as well as the daily ordeals associated with street life.
In fact the vulgarity associated with this form of music comes from the word itself which is a
street slang comma used in context of usage of the automatic weapons. The beats in Drill
music are of slow tempo which usually 60 to 70 beats every minute. The style of rapping
associated with Drill music has a very deadpan delivery and in most instances it is not
concerned with punch lines or the metaphors. A recent report has been published by the New
York Times focusing on the societal inspirations that drive Drill music. The report confirms
that the genre is emphatically focused on violence and the music that is delivered is
absolutely unmediated as well as raw. The audience cannot persons any bright spots in either
the lyrics or the background score with the latter giving a feeling of angle and violence to the
listener (Bbc.com, 2018).
3.1 Drill music’s Reflection on the Environment
As highlighted by researchers like Wakefield (2018), most section of the society and
especially the young people who have a taste for vibrant music tends to call Drill music
tough, unforgiving as well as concrete hard. Hence, there is an essence of joylessness. The
exuberant symphony of music is missing from the form of Drill music according to Rowney
(2018). However, in sharp contrast other researchers like Muncie (2019), promulgate that the