Drift Phonk

Drift phonk is the branch of phonk that became a global streaming phenomenon from 2021, made for car-drift videos and short-form social media. It strips phonk's Memphis-rap vocal samples and lo-fi grit down to a formula of sidechained, heavily distorted 808 'cowbell' basslines, aggressive minor-key synth loops and tempos around 130–145 bpm, usually without lyrics. The style was codified by Russian and American producers working entirely online, above all *Kordhell*, whose "Murder in My Mind" (2021) was the first drift phonk track to reach the upper charts, and *DVRST*, creator of "Close Eyes".