Chow Lee’s ‘Sex Drive’ Is Himbo Hedonism at Its Finest
That album cover is just the beginning.
According to his Instagram, Chow Lee considers himself a “sex worker philanthropist.” And the way he talks about sexual encounters on record really does feel rooted in charity and goodwill. His songs have the intimacy and detail of diary entries, but I doubt the person behind bars like “How do you feel about sending that pussy through text on iMessage?” is capable of feeling enough shame to hide them in a book. That earnest silliness is half the appeal of all sexy drill, the subgenre that combines New York drill drums and Jersey club samples and tempos into frenetic love songs. But it’s especially true for Lee.
Unlike his frequent collaborator Cash Cobain, who leans more on punchlines and wordplay to keep his songs fun, Lee’s sexcapades are startlingly direct. “The city, they jackin’ the movement/Your titties, I’m jackin’ the cup size,” he says on “Advance w Her,” the intro track to his latest album, Sex Drive. He’s not above making a joke or two, but the bluntness of his lust, and the breeziness of his raps, do most of the heavy lifting. Though Lee dropped 2023’s Hours After the Club around the time sexy drill began cresting in the mainstream, Sex Drive feels more like his statement piece, a display as colorful and unhinged as the air-brushed, trunk-rattling quickie depicted on its cover.
It can be tempting to call Lee’s style one-note, but his technique and writing have layers that give each song a different aura. He’s adaptable, catering to each beat instead of running one flow into the ground like DaBaby or NLE Choppa: On “Addys!” his hook lands on the downbeat, and on closing track “Skeletons” he ignores the drum pattern completely and lets his libido wander. When combined with his straightforward storytelling, this gives him the air of a lovable high school jock, scooting by on skill and rizz. It doesn’t matter if he and his partner are sipping on tequila at the Met or risking it all in an empty church—he’s ready and willing to pipe it up at a moment’s notice, and his flows match that sense of urgency.
He blazes through Jersey club (“GMT”) and drill (“Addys!,” “I’m Not Really Spiritual!”) beats with ease, double-dutching over ankle-shredding drum patterns while crooning about reconnecting with girls he sexted on MySpace. The handful of link-ups with Cash Cobain—who produced five of the album’s 19 tracks and is featured on two of them—don’t touch the ecstatic highs of their 2022 sexy drill blueprint 2 Slizzy 2 Sexy, but their chemistry and vocal contrast, especially on the raucous “Act Bad Twin!,” is still sharp. The best features come from new faces in Lee’s orbit. Anycia’s deep Atlanta drawl is the perfect foil for Lee’s high-pitched ad libs, and Alabama stepper Flo Milli brings both aggression and sweetness to her brief feature on the remix to “Swag It!”.
Sex Drive’s buzz starts to taper when Lee ventures into new territory. “Tequila Vacay!” abandons drill and Jersey club for a brief jaunt into Afropop, and Lousxtwo’s skipping drums don’t suit Lee’s cadences, making his flow sound less sticky and energetic than usual. It’s the one time on the album Lee sounds out of place, his flailing melodies stiff and awkward next to singer Roy Woods’ smooth melodies. But even a speed bump like that re-emphasizes the range Lee and his team of producers have with their pet sound: The muted melodies of “Ms. Beautiful V!,” the synth power chords of “Settings!,” and the thumping sample chops of “Bangbang!” help the club and drill drums bloom out into different arrangements, evoking the daydreams, steamy nights, and attempts to stack up as many mistresses as possible in his lyrics.
Sex may be sacred to Lee and every character in his songs, but it’s also a lot of fun. This guy laughs at prudes and turns his nose up at anyone not willing to throw down as much as he does, but the exchanges in his songs never feel selfish or exploitative. When he says, “Most of my bitches like sex/I like sex, too, that’s why we get along,” on “Practice!,” it’s not just horny, it’s heartwarming.
