Mike the Visionary 

7 May 2023 

Stars in the Making 

The last few “It Ain’t Hard to Tell’‘ pieces have revolved around the same artists, so this week we’ll be diving into rap music that’s a bit more modern. This week’s piece will consist of rappers and producers within the New York drill scene. Despite the reputation of New York drill music, the popular subgenre of rap music is stacked with some of the most talented rappers and producers currently out. The best thing about New York drill is the fact that when most of these artists or producers end up with a placement with a mainstream artist, they continue to collaborate and shed light on their peers that are still considered underground. There are more than a few individuals that can be mentioned for this specific topic, but for today, I’ll be sticking with one artist and one producer that deserve their flowers while on their journey to stardom. 

Evil Giane: Evil Giane is one of, if not, the most popular producer within the drill scene. From his usage of drums to his sampling, Evil Giane is one of the best active producers, and he continues to prove why he’ll be around for years to come. Aside from working with notable underground artists such as RealYungPhil, Polo Perks, K$upreme, and Pasto Flacco, Giane has a few mainstream features as a producer that are also worth mentioning. He’s dipped into other lanes such as pop, and can be heard on PinkPantheress’ “to hell with it (Remixes)” as he remixed her track entitled “Reason”. Surprisingly, Earl Sweatshirt is another name on the list of major artists that Evil Giane’s produced for. They have an unreleased single called, “Making the Band” (co-produced with Clams Casino), which is a major deal considering that’s the first time many fans have ever heard Earl Sweatshirt on a drill beat. His most recent significant placement was with Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem on a track called “Hillbillies”. Similar to Earl Sweatshirt, this was a collab that we got and never knew that we needed. Evil Giane’s proven early in his career that he can never be placed in a box. He’s not only versatile with the genres he’s been making music in, but he’s getting veterans in the game to hop on beats that we’d never imagine hearing them over. 

Shawny Binladen: Shawny is a one-of-a-kind artist within the New York drill scene, he doesn’t have to rap about murder, drugs, and a fast lifestyle to make good music. Aside from his popular “Oh, yeah” adlib, Shawny typically raps about his personal life, his friends and family members that are currently incarcerated, and the individuals that he lost to violence.  He often considers himself the “king of samples”, which isn’t too far fetched with his phenomenal beat selection. Some of the best production within his discography can be found on projects such as “Wick City Deluxe (2022)”, “Wikipedia Deluxe (2021)”, and “Merry Wickmas 2 Deluxe (2022)”. The most significant thing to remember about Shawny’s music is that he makes music for everybody. Shawny makes music that’s easy to vibe to, but there’s always a clear message behind the music. He makes music for people on their grind, people grieving, and even people craving love. Shawny provides the drill scene with a sound that needs to be heard, it shouldn’t always be about murder and revenge. 

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