Drill rap
Bronx drill rapper Kay Flock is among eight members of Bronx gangs Sev Side and Third Side being charged with murder and racketeering, among other “violent offenses,” according to the Department of Justice. The Thursday (Feb. 23) press release also detailed charges related to, “attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon arising from seven shootings committed in the Bronx between June 2020 and February 2022.”
Six of the charged individuals, including Kay Flock — born Kevin Perez — are in police custody, while the remaining two are named in the release as fugitives. “Over a span of several years, the members of these gangs allegedly terrorized neighborhoods in the Bronx and Manhattan by killing and shooting other people. Through these charges, we will hold Sev Side and Third Side members responsible for plaguing our communities with gun violence,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a statement.
Kay Flock is currently awaiting arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on the federal charges. His alleged crimes carry a punishment of “mandatory life in prison or death,” according to the Department of Justice.
Kay Flock’s team did not respond to Billboard‘s request for comment at the time of publication.
The new charges add to 19-year-old Kay Flock’s collection of legal troubles, most notably his alleged 2021 murder of Hwascar “Oscar” Hernandez outside a Hamilton Heights barbershop in New York City, on which he is currently awaiting trial. Despite his growing rap sheet and the fact that he’s currently behind bars, he has continued to release new music, most recently The D.O.A. Tape [Care Package] in December 2022. Last year, Kay Flock’s single “Shake It” featuring Cardi B, Dougie B and Bory300 made quite the buzz, appearing on both the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 51, and Billboard‘s US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where it peaked at No. 14.
New York City mayor Eric Adams has publicly declared his disdain for the drill genre, linking it to violence and crime in the city. Since entering office in January 2022, the retired police captain has cracked down on artists in the genre, with the NYPD shutting down a number of drill performances. In September, drill rappers 22Gz, Sha Ek and Ron Suno were dropped from the Rolling Loud NYC lineup at the NYPD’s request. Other notable New York drill artists including Dusty Locane and Sheff G are also behind bars, while 22Gz is awaiting trial on attempted murder charges.
Buzzing Brooklyn rapper Dusty Locane pleaded guilty to two charges of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from 2019 and 2020 offenses.
On Nov. 24, the drill artist posted to Instagram that he would be turning himself in on Nov. 30 to serve his sentence, which includes a mandatory minimum of one year with a maximum sentence of three years. “Been fightin [these] cases for damn near 4 [years],” the 23-year-old wrote in an Instagram caption. “Now I gotta go handle up ima take care of dis short bid n ima be bacc nine five times stronger ‼️”
Dusty Locane hasn’t let the time behind bars detract from his release cycle. The rapper dropped an EP, CATCH DA FLU, on Dec. 5 and shared a music video for album cut “WAY BACC,” re-released on his Halloween project, NIGHTMARE ON DA FIFTH. The burgeoning EMPIRE artist who boasts 3.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone is poised to be a major voice in the drill scene, with 2020’s “ROLLIN N CONTROLLIN FREESTYLE” peaking at No. 2 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
A childhood friend of the late Pop Smoke, Dusty Locane was born and raised in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn. New York Mayor Eric Adams has openly expressed his disdain for the rap subgenre, telling the press in February, “We pulled Trump off Twitter…yet we are allowing music, displaying of guns, violence. We’re allowing it to stay on these sites.” He went on to add that he wasn’t privy to drill until recently when his son, rapper Jayoo, showed him a few songs. “I had no idea what drill rapping was, but I called my son and he sent me some videos, and “It is alarming,” he said of the genre, suggesting that it should be banned on social media platforms.
In September, a number of drill rappers including Sha Ek, Ron Suno and 22Gz were removed from Rolling Loud New York’s lineup just one day before the festival was set to begin. The removal came at the request of the NYPD. “I don’t understand,” Suno told Billboard following the removal. Suno, who hails from the Bronx, claimed he has no criminal record or “problems with nobody in New York City.”
In 2019, five rappers, including Pop Smoke, 22Gz and Sheff G, were all removed from the Rolling Loud NY lineup mid-festival due to allegations of them being “affiliated with recent acts of violence citywide,” as the police department said in a letter to festival organizers at the time. The letter continued, “The New York City Police Department believes if these individuals are allowed to perform, there will be a higher risk of violence.”
In addition to Dusty Locane, other drill hopefuls including fellow Brooklyn native Sheff G and Bronx rapper Kay Flock are behind bars: Sheff G for second-degree gun possession and Kay Flock for a first-degree murder charge.
Per his Instagram, Dusty Locane is looking forward to serving out his sentence and returning to music. “ALIVE IS THE BEST PLACE TO BE. THEY LOCCED ME PHYSICALLY BUT MY MIND IS FREE,” he wrote on an Instagram post showing him in a blue prison uniform. “I APPRECIATE THE LUV N SUPPORT, FREE ME‼️”
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