Brooklyn Drill Trio 41’s “Chill Guy” Is the Platonic Ideal of Meme Rap
This surprisingly relaxed track is a dissociative vibe—whether you know the chill guy in question or not.
In the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it world of memes, the “chill guy” has enjoyed unlikely staying power. The drawing of a preternaturally relaxed dog in a grey sweater was created by the artist Phillip Banks last year, drawing a cult following of fellow chillers before going legitimately viral toward the end of this summer. On TikTok, he was often paired with a snippet of Chicago singer-songwriter Gia Margaret’s 2023 piano instrumental “Hinoki Wood,” the aural equivalent of sipping a cup of hot apple cider on a brisk fall day. The meme has stuck around in various forms since then, perhaps as a dissociative alternative to the chaos of election season, and once again became the internet’s de rigueur reaction image in late November. By Thanksgiving, I thought I was ready for this trend to be shuffled back into the decks with the smoking duck or the cowboy chicken nugget. But Brooklyn rap trio 41, composed of TaTa, Jenn Carter, and Kyle Richh, is giving me one more reason to get my chill on.
You wouldn’t normally use the word “chill” to describe 41’s music, which is part of why their latest single is such a fun pivot. Their trademark sound is a delirious combination of New Jersey club and Brooklyn drill. “Chill Guy” slows things down considerably, with a beat that adds soft drums and bass hits to Margaret’s twinkling instrumental. If the average 41 song sounds like running, guns blazing, through the wall of a club at full speed, “Chill Guy” is the mellow, park-bench conversation that comes after the place has closed for the night.
Though the group’s step is lighter here, the content of the song is familiar, detailing various drug-induced love affairs. Carter’s opening verse is muted and spacey, a fitting choice considering she’s rapping about “mixing Sprite with the potion like Bill Nye” and just wanting to lay back in a haze of lean. TaTa is on hook duty, confiding in his lady about a friend who just got booked and having more responsibility than usual. Kyle Richh’s verse is by far the funniest and most active. “He in her DMs, but his shorty be with me in real time,” he barks, before detailing a wig-flipping quickie in a Wraith. Then he deads a post-coital argument because he’s, of course, a “chill dude.”
Under any other circumstances, the various meme-specific references would be too on-the-nose and run the risk of sounding dated—just look at anything Fivio Foreign’s made in the last two years. But 41 incorporate this meme’s essence into their style so well, the song ends up being more than just trend-jumping. “Chill Guy” is a fun bit of downtime with three of your wildest friends. You don’t know how long it’ll last, but it’s nice to be able to catch your breath in the meantime.
