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You can’t avoid the drill if you listen to urban music today. Because this style has influenced the whole culture, even outside of rap, to sweep over the music like a real tsunami. This musical genre, which has travelled back and forth between the USA and England, has also won everything in France, even in clothing styles. So far, at PXP, where many of our collections are inspired by the drill universe.
From the streets of Chicago to the top of the world charts
The term “drill” has become ubiquitous in the music world in recent years. She has even already given birth to a subgenre, the jersey drill, even more punchy and aggressive but which keeps the same influences in the texts in particular. But few people know where this musical phenomenon comes from and what it represents culturally. The drill was born in Chicago, one of the big cities where the number of violent deaths is one of the highest in the United States. And especially some of Chicago’s southern neighborhoods, become world famous thanks to rappers, controlled by war gangs and violent gangs that share the territory. The drill initially embodies a very nihilistic movement: in short, the positive messages of calls for self-emancipation, awareness of the problems of the neighborhoods, carried by the rapping big brothers, have failed. There are no more solutions to improve people’s lives, so the only way out is the streets, traffic and violence. The first rapper to explode internationally is Chief Keef, and he scares his colleagues quite a bit in his early days, because of his addictions but also his criminal record.
In terms of musical influences, we remain at first quite close to the trap, but with even more irregular rhythms. Moreover, many rappers from Atlanta, the cradle of the trap, have influenced the artists of Chicago, until collaborating with them. But the dark atmosphere that reigns on the Chicago rap scene means that the phenomenon did not explode worldwide right away. First it had to be recovered by English rappers, especially those in London. Difficult neighborhoods, quite close to the violent reality of the rappers of Chicago, hence the fact that this music touched the English. Very quickly, they made metamorphoses: if the background of the lyrics remains quite identical, with this omnipresence of violence, we gradually end up going towards other lighter themes (like the incredible parody hit «Man’s Not hot»). With musical touches from the Caribbean, mainly via the Anglo-American diaspora. It is at this moment that comes into play who will make the drill number 1: Pop Smoke. A very young New York artist, fan of rap, but especially of drill UK. He’s going to make contact with 808Melo, one of the greatest drill beatmakers in England and together they’re going to make history.
With «Meet The Woo», released in 2019, Pop Smoke will give a little bling-bling sauce to the New Yorker, in tribute to the time of Bad Boys Records, and he will go from famous unknown to best rapper of the moment in 3 months. Driven by the success of the hit «Dior», the world of rap will start to drill in one shot. Although, in France, we obviously had some precursors, like Freeze Corleone or Ashe 22, quickly followed by Gazo, Ziak, 1Plike140 and a few others. And while many rappers still keep this hyper dark and violent side in their lyrics, others have also released songs where the atmosphere is very happy, very festive, adding African sounds for example. Tiakola, for example, or Chily, were able to give new colors to this style so dark at the beginning. Today, drill music is omnipresent, with multiple faces and atmospheres, but it has also had a huge impact on the dress level. Because thanks to our English neighbours, the drill is also a whole panoply.
The drill, the winter style par excellence
It has probably not escaped you, if you are a regular consumer of drill clips, that rappers and extras often have a particular style of clothing: thick down jackets, masks, hoods, gloves, hoods, technical clothing, the winter mood is in the spotlight in this music. This is certainly due to the fact that, in London or Chicago, the climate is rarely very pleasant. We are rather in a delirium cold/ humidity/ fog very creepy. So, to adapt better, we put warm clothes. And it’s a good thing, it’s cold right now and Project X Paris offers a lot of winter outfits that are very inspired by the drill universe. There is even a capsule-tribute, called «Drill & Drip», which offers a wide range of jackets, parka multi-pockets, sometimes long, but also quilted vests, to combine elegance and comfort/ warmth. Perfect for the season !
As mentioned above, the drill had a great influence on the return to fashion of the «Techwear» (notably the explosion of the North Face or Canada Goose brand). At PXP, we have what you need for a well «tech» outfit: sleeveless vests or quilted jackets with a rather sober design, but also windbreaks, and cargo pants with several pockets. Parts that are also very popular with Drillers, and very suitable for winter. Finally, we also have the inevitable padded jogging stockings, with a «yoke» style design, which will go perfectly with the threadable sweatshirt with quilting, or the quilted yoke jacket. All it takes to face the hostility of the cold, with a beautiful overall sweatsuit effect. We obviously could not talk about the drill universe without doing a little reminder of the Bandana Capsule. An iconic piece in drill, which is a very «gangsta» style of rap in which we re-use a lot of American gang codes, including the bandana.
A piece that can be found in Ziak, who wears a bandana as a mask for many of his clips, in order to hide his identity and to arouse the curiosity of listeners. But also at Chief Keef, the founding father of this musical movement. At Project X Paris, we therefore offer different pieces where we can see bandana patterns, such as a black man hoodie for example, or quilted overcoats. But also other more summer pieces, which you can find on our site, in the «Capsules» tab, then «Bandana». Finally, the drill being a «street» music par excellence, we could not forget to talk about the Graffiti capsule. A collection in which the clothes are covered with «graffiti» motifs, to pay tribute to this street art, and which was tested at 1Plike140, one of the strongest drillers in France. The result is flawless: whether you wear them alone in the summer, or under a sweatshirt or a down jacket in the winter, graffiti t-shirts will add the touch of colour and fantasy needed to stand out in the middle of all these dark black sweaters. All you have to do is make your choice !