phonk
Description
the beat of your drift
Quickstats
Playlist Length
0 days, 3 hours, 26 minutes
Playlist Followers
7499403
Source
Reddit, Spotify Category
Playlist Last Updated
February 2, 2024
Mood
Amped
Track Popularity Rating
Very Popular
Style
Loud
Average Release Decade
2020s
Main Genre:
Electronic
Reddit Info
Reddit Post
In the music production community, there’s an ongoing controversy about the phonk genre and how TikTok’s influence has drastically changed it, for better or worse. Phonk is a subgenre of rap music influenced by horrorcore and Memphis rap music of the 90s, as well as the work of DJ Screw. Initially a very underground style, it blew up on TikTok after videos featuring songs in that style grew very popular. [The tag “phonk” on TikTok currently has over 9 BILLION views.](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/phonk?lang=en) But what most old heads and established producers are claiming is that this style is not really phonk at all. Even though phonk is still a subgenre, it has several subgenres in and of itself. These include dirt phonk (ISVVC, kushface), wave phonk (LXST CXNTURY, DVRST), and simply phonk itself (DJ Smokey, Soudiere). However, if you listen to any of these, you’ll probably notice they share little in common with the music that’s so popular on TikTok. They have a leaned-out, relaxed, energy; they tend to focus more on the beat and acapella than the melody; and they are much more diverse style and sample-wise in general. But if this is phonk, than what on Earth is that stuff on TikTok? Well, it’s technically another subgenre, known as drift phonk. It’s characterized by dominant, distorted cowbell melodies; hard hitting 808 drums; and a very high BPM (~180). Drift phonk is one of the newest subgenres, yet it has undergone a very drastic evolution over the ~3 years it’s been around. Let’s compare an early drift song ([Pharmacist - North Memphis](https://youtu.be/nkQFuwvCoPo)) to a newer one ([MoonDeity - Neon Blade](https://youtu.be/dvQJIgjlR3I)). Even though North Memphis is quite distorted, it’s obvious what’s making up the melody is the TR-808 cowbell effect, and the vocals are REASONABLY discernible. Neon Blade, however, sounds like it’s off an 8-track tape someone fished out of a river. What exactly makes this heavily mangled sound so appealing? There really isn’t a clear consensus, but it would probably be that drift just hits harder. A Patrick Bateman gigachad gym edit video on TikTok is perfectly complemented by Neon Blade. Compared to, say, [ISVVC’s “MACKIN’ AIN’T NO PUNK SHIT”](https://youtu.be/7z0B55R5pPM), the difference is stark. Take out the snares and lyrics and the sample wouldn’t be out of place playing in an elevator. Drift phonk’s evolution has come to define the genre as a whole, for better or worse. For most people who aren’t familiar with the genre, drift IS phonk. That’s why almost every tutorial video that isn’t drift has some kid commenting “wHeRe’S tHe cOwBeLl???” It doesn’t help that the audio platforms that support the growth of it (TikTok, Spotify) promote this misconception, intentionally or not. Take a look at [Spotify’s official phonk playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWWY64wDtewQt) and you’ll see that the overwhelming majority of songs are drift, a fact lauded by producers and serious fans across the internet. For now, it looks like phonk will continue to be defined by the drift subgenre, despite the best efforts of those who know otherwise. (I wanted to submit this as an actual post, but didn’t think it qualified since the drama could be considered as ongoing. Thanks for reading!)
Upvotes
89
Subreddit
HobbyDrama
Reddit Username
requiemsux
Reddit Timestamp
1/28/23 20:31
Reddit URL
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