1

How well known is "UK drill" music in the US? What is its primary demographic? What proportion of that demographic is at least somewhat familiar with this style of music?

(Wikipedia says, "UK drill beats are generally structured around a Tresillo hi-hat pattern, with snares landing on the fourth beat instead of the third every 2 bars. Instrumentals often also have a sliding bass, hard hitting kicks, and dark melodies.")

aparente001
  • 253
  • 1
  • 9
  • Its primary demographic is 'rap fans'; every subsequent, smaller pigeon hole reduces the demographic still further. No-one outside that primary demographic had ever heard of drill of any sort until Stormzy played Glastonbury. – Tetsujin Jul 24 '22 at 10:08
  • @Tetsujin - so can you tell me about the demographic characteristics of rap music or point me to a relevant Q/A, please? – aparente001 Jul 24 '22 at 14:30
  • Nope, haven't a clue. I'm one of those who'd never heard of drill, or Stormzy, until he played Glastonbury. It's not a genre I have any interest in. I also have little patience for ever smaller pigeon holes. I feel it's a device to provide a difference where one would otherwise be difficult to perceive by just listening. A reaction to the overall stagnation of the music industry over the past couple of decades. if you can't make something sound new, just give it a new name. – Tetsujin Jul 24 '22 at 15:44
  • @Tetsujin - I have no idea what it sounds like. The lyrics seem to have reached an all-time low. But my son likes it because there are certain dances associated with it and he likes them. Here's how I became curious: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/591980/what-is-the-nearest-british-english-equivalent-to-dumpster-fire#comment1487819_591980 and then https://english.stackexchange.com/q/592237/112436 (which was largely misunderstood...) – aparente001 Jul 24 '22 at 23:48
  • The second question you link makes very little sense to me. The UK has no "special meaning" for the word 'bloody'. The potential reason we use it more than the US is from a rise in haemophiliac references in Victorian times. I don't even think it is derived from a minced oath, though it may have been back-formed to appear like one. Anyone assuming it's the equivalent of fuck has just failed to understand its 'position' in the swear word hierarchy, which always has sexual swear words above other 'bodily function' references. – Tetsujin Jul 25 '22 at 06:48
  • @Tetsujin - Maybe you're reading a previous version of the question? / In the US, one does not say, "bloody this, bloody that." "Bloody" in the US only has a literal meaning, as in a child getting a bloody nose when jumping off the diving board at the pool. – aparente001 Jul 26 '22 at 04:24
  • …and what other meaning do you think the Brits have for it? None. It's the same meaning, in exactly the same way as f**k or s**t have actual meanings too. I've completely lost track of what exactly it is you're trying to find out. – Tetsujin Jul 26 '22 at 18:55
  • 1
    @Tetsujin Wikipedia says that in UK English, bloody be be used as a mild expletive or intensifier, whereas "in American English, the word is used almost exclusively in its literal sense." – aparente001 Jul 28 '22 at 06:26

0 Answers0