This “new form of music” divides opinions when crime rates are considered.

Drill music has seen a backlash in light of London’s increasing crime-rate. In 2018, The Independent quoted this statistic from The Metropolitan Police: “London’s murder rate has surged by 44 per cent in a year”. While some believe that the genre has no effect on these rates, others argue there is a correlation, therefore wishing to limit availability of this music.

According to a recent article from The Sunday Times, “murders and stabbings plaguing London and other cities are directly linked to an ultra-violent new form of music sweeping Britain”. The “new form of music” referred to here is drill, recognizable by its lyrical references to nihilism over homemade beats.

They also go on to describe the style as a “’demonic’ music linked to [the] rise in youth murders”, referencing one bereaved father who believed his son, 15-year old Jermaine Goupall “would still be here” without it. Concerned with quashing more murder-cases like Jermaine’s, “police fear a recent attack on one of Britain’s leading drill artists may have triggered reprisals that have fuelled north London’s knife crime epidemic”.

Detective Superintendent Mike West comments “what looks like a music video can actually contain explicit language with gangs threatening each other.” And in fact, the Metropolitan Police have asked YouTube to take down “between 50 and 60 videos, with more than 30 of the requests granted” according to an investigation made by The Independent.

Conversely, some have been quick to counter this argument. In response to a question on the BBC’s Today programme about a violent lyric referring to knife crime, drill DJ Bempah said: “If that’s what you see in your environment, as an artist, that’s what you portray in your lyrics.” He then added that the music: “can glamorise [violent crime], but it can’t force your hand to commit those actions.”

Moreover, while discussing the drill group 1011’s recent ban from making music without police permission, Paloma Faith comments that “you can’t just think that if you take away the genre of music that it won’t happen in another manifestation”. Here, we can see that not everyone’s on board with drill music being banned in light of these crime-rate statistics, continuing the topic’s divisive nature.