Suck My D*ck’: Drill Music, Hyper-Masculine Carceral Culture, & Homoeroticism

• In Event: Exploring the Intersection of Music and Violence

Abstract

Homoeroticism within hyper-masculine spaces such as body building, sports, fraternities, and incarcerated settings have long been studied as a point of sociological inquiry. More specifically, the dialectics between homoeroticism and homophobia reveal the tensions between behavior and identity. While music, specifically hip-hop culture has also been part of this discussion, there is virtually no research on how homoeroticism plays out in drill music. Beginning in the early 2010s, drill music originated in Southside Chicago but has now found global appeal, specifically in places like New York City as well as seen fusions with other forms of music such as house and club sounds. This paper investigates New York drill music, primarily the widely used phrase, “suck my dick,” used as derogatory slang towards a person’s foe (commonly known as “opps”). Through a discursive reading of drill lyrics, the purpose of the paper will highlight these tensions between homoeroticism and homophobia, contextualize and frame masculinities within this sub-genre of music and street culture, and critique how carceral logics manifest and exacerbate hyper-masculine identities, behaviors, and actions.

Author

• Calvin John Smiley, Hunter College-City University of New York