What up gang. Back with the real you know what’s the deal. The Bronx drill scene is on a steady decline cause dudes can’t seem to stay out of trouble. The genre has turned into beef, violence, and self-snitching, and rappers are getting taken down like they was Christmas lights in January.
The man they call the Godfather of Bronx Drill Spazz Drilly
and his partna Lee Drilly,
are no exception. The feds was dropping charges like there was no tomorrow, murder, attempted murder, drug trafficking, it’s not looking good, but bros still thuggin it behind bars and on the internet popping with the gang and getting entangled in beef. You’d think their life calmed down, but their life behind bars is just as wild. Let’s chop it up and break it down.
When you think of Bronx drill, names that come to mind be Kay Flock
Sha EK
Sleepy Hallow
D Thang
22Gz
and Sheff G nem
But there goes a rapper by the name of Spazz Drilly who is being given credit for starting the Bronx Drill wave
He’s the spitter and hood savage that started his own clique, Drilly Gang and he was outside with the movement
With songs like “Bunny Hop” https://youtu.be/S8dNIuNLx2k and “Opp Spotter” https://youtu.be/hZcxR2KgkSA Spazz was outta there and blowing up. A life away from the streets looked possible, but the music just poured gasoline on the already burning flames, and the cops was more than happy to put out the fire. August 12th 2020 they ran down on Tabu Harris aka Spazz Drilly and slapped on the cuffs along with his mans Richard Santiago, Nasir Carter, and True Bell. The charge was murder, the victim, James Rivera
The homicide happened months before on July 20th 2020. Reports state that police were called to 3340 Decatur Avenue between East 209th Street and East Gun Hill Road in the Norwood area of the Bronx at 11.44 p.m. on Monday, July 20th.
Upon arrival, officers discovered a 24-year-old male “unconscious and unresponsive” in front of the five-story building at the reported location.
The NYPD said the victim had suffered at least one gunshot wound to the back and was rushed to Montefiore Hospital on East Gun Hill Road where he succumbed to his injuries. The victim was identified as 24-year-old James Rivera, 24, of East 209th Street in Norwood.
The crime scene was so riddled with bullets that investigators ran out of markers for the shell castings
Eyewitnesses would state that James was verbally into it with three men before he dipped and was allegedly hit in the back while running, then the shooters scidadled on foot.
Other eyewitnesses state that Rivera was bussing back while folks nem was trying to take him out. And another eyewitness claims dudes was tryna rob Rivera when he upped the pole and fired 3 shots and that’s when dudes murked him.
Seems like residents were fed up and was ready to give info, and guess that info lead right to the trail of Spazz Drilly who they charged with Murder and Criminal Possession of a Weapon
The timer was on. The charges ain’t no joke. Spazz was now in the pen with a long road ahead of him in the fight for his freedom fr, but NY officers wasn’t done cooking just yet. They wanted his mans nem too while he was in the box.
Lee Drilly, was with him through his come up in the rap game. According to him, he witnessed Spazz create the Bronx drill wave and although dudes like D Thang and Kay Flock made it more popular, it was Spazz who started all that https://youtu.be/pBHrpBeMySI (1:00-1:19) With his homie behind bars, Lee Drizzly finally took up like mic like Spazz always wanted him to and he was doing his thing carrying the torch of Drilly Gang https://youtu.be/pBHrpBeMySI (0:28-0:46)
And carry it he did. Lee Drilly came out pulling no punches with the hardcore banger “Final Destination,” and seems he was taking the same path as Spazz cause bro was dissing every opp that came to mind https://youtu.be/jp_LxblTnWM (0:52-1:19) Lee Drilly even tho his name start buzzing ain’t switch on his mans and dropped part 1 and 2 to his track
“Free Spazz” https://youtu.be/iDoam4bKAPs https://youtu.be/CNsyEo247Uc
Lee Drilly kept contact with Spazz, facetiming him in jail keeping spirits up https://youtu.be/DmU_ZgBUCiM Lil did bro know he was bouta join his partna in a minute. From prison, Spazz Drilly always tried to tell him to stay focused on the music and keep in the stu so he won’t get caught up in trouble, but Lee Drilly was known as the demon child so trouble was bro middle name https://youtu.be/pBHrpBeMySI (2:32-2:50)
April 7th 2022, all hell broke loose. The NYPD News twitter page posted a picture with agents standing in front a table full of firearms with the caption reading “indictment of 20 alleged G-Side/Drilly gang members for crimes including murder, non-fatal shootings, and stabbings.”
Soon the names of those wrapped up in the indictment was posted and both Tabu Harris aka Spazz Drilly and Ali Doby aka Lee Drilly were in that present and accounted for
From there it was like a domino effect across news stations.
The law brought down the hammer and brought it down hard https://youtu.be/v7O4npkH8ac (0:00-0:13) https://youtu.be/FjiVUjVH1as (0:25-0:45) The 10-month operation was gathering evidence that dated back as far as 2028 and the Drilly gang was labeled as the ones causing mad chaos https://youtu.be/v7O4npkH8ac (0:37-1:00) They had footage right down to a Bronx barbershop shooting in October 2021
To evidence of innocent bystanders being hit by stray fire, to tying the Drilly Gang to the homicide of the infamous shooting of Dalila https://www.youtube.com/live/bP82pst2JT4?feature=share (8:40-10:13)
Spazz Drilly and Lee Drilly was now facing reality and if the case goes as the law intends, them boys in there for a long time.
The stack of charges included serious offenses like Murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, and conspiracy
Lee Drilly would make his appearance in court and off to behind bars he went. The judge nearly sent his partna in there with him when she caught bro filming inside the court talkm bout “I love you bro” https://youtu.be/1bbTSUSAda0 (0:14-0:21)
At this point would be a good time for anyone to say “let me chill keep up a good image while I fight for my freedom,” but nope, not the Drillies. It’s Drilly Gang or nothing. Both Spazz Drilly and Lee Drilly been keeping it thuggin from behind prison bars and somehow getting in beefs with people on the outside.
Another Drilly member, Say Drilly
would pop up on his IG and post to his story saying he’s the top Drilly and went on to diss Spazz personally calling bro a nobody and shouting out Lee Drilly and the rest of his guys
Seems soon as the Drilly honcho got locked things start falling apart. For whatever reason behind the scenes, him and Say Drill wasn’t seeing eye to eye. Spazz wasn’t going to let no case over his head stop him from talking on a gang he started and his IG responded to Say Drilly stripping bro of all his Drilly rank and apparently kicking him out the crew right then and there
Spazz wasn’t gna let no one little boy him out his position, but given the situation, should speaking on Drilly affiliations be the smartest move when you facing a body and then got an indictment with a whole bunch of other charges in an operation called “Drilly” Takedown? Priorities bruh. Priorities. Them shenanigans may come back to bite him at trial, but that’s the life these dudes lived.
Him and Lee Drilly really hood bros cause he was no different in the decision-making. One moment Spazz going at it with Say Drilly, next moment, Lee Drilly dropping a jail freestyle talking bout bodies and the drillies and opps and putting the beam on the strap and a dissin Bronx shawty named WinterDaBrat https://www.instagram.com/reel/CptUeayg0HC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Like dang you gon post that publicly online while the law has your life under a microscope my boy? The feds probably just scrolling through the gram taking notes
What’s done was done, and WinterDaBrat said she’s standing on business and shot back with some bars aimed at Lee Drilly head top https://youtu.be/aYdTsDtOhHw Lee Drilly would respond to WinterDaBrat
And address her bars referring to him copping pleas after dissing her deads
WinterDaBrat would first respond on her IG story
and then follow that up with a video where she addressed Lee Drilly directly calling him cap and pushing back saying he Facetimed her and said what he said right next to her mans that’s locked with him https://youtu.be/WbTD_joNBt8 (0:56-1:55) According to Winter she ain’t start the beef, she said somn directed at Say Drilly and not him, but he need to focus on his case cause he ain’t getting out https://youtu.be/WbTD_joNBt8 (5:07-5:30) https://youtu.be/WbTD_joNBt8 (0:00-0:33)
Since then they been keeping it hush which is prob the best for Lee Drilly cause he has bigger fish to fry. On June 27th Lee Drilly caught another indictment while on charges for the Drilly Indictment. The report reads “Twelve Charged With Operating An Open Drug Market Inside A Bronx Apartment Building And Carrying Firearms.” Ali Doby aka Lee Drilly was really out there with the work
The report alleges bro nem had the lobby and multiple apartments of an apartment building in the Bronx on lock, turning that building into an open market for drugs and denying residents, including families with children, safe access to their homes.
Lee Drilly now had to deal with the additional charge of being a member of a drug trafficking organization (the “DTO”) that distributed drugs, including crack cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin, in the Bronx, including from inside 2685 Valentine Avenue, from March 2019 through June 2022.
Boys in blue really wasn’t out to play with the Drillies, they really trying to take em out. But, what’d they expect to happen when they channeled the violence, beef, and alleged crimes through songs? Them same songs was used against em as evidence in the indictment that got em jammed up now https://youtu.be/v7O4npkH8ac (1:23-1:40) https://www.youtube.com/live/bP82pst2JT4?feature=share (10:24-10:53)
Lee Drilly has been still trying to keep his music buzz going, dropping pre-recorded tracks like the Missy Eliot sampled “Freak On.” The track is filled with shots towards his opps, talking about his body, and sending shots at The Blixky Gang https://youtu.be/HU1KeUx1zgg (1:12-1:35)
His latest song and music video uploaded to his YouTube is titled “Demon Child” and still keeps the same energy in the song that got him indicted https://youtu.be/hkdQMvPZ-8U
Outside of official music releases, Lee Drilly would drop updated pics of the kid behind bars
and both him and Spazz Drilly have been dropping separate freestyles from jail calls, doing their best to keep their career breathing https://youtu.be/EJuoeiQj7Cc
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcvhwmhAygC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Both him and Spazz Drilly still unsure about their fate. They been popping up on videos with the other Drillies locked in the can https://youtu.be/fMv7Pqk46g4 It may come back to haunt em, mainly Lee Drilly cause on the live he was in on a phone it was wild, some dudes smoking, flashing gang signs, and even flashing shanks
At this point, they their own worst enemies. It’s sad they ain’t realize it yet and chill https://www.reddit.com/r/NYStateOfMind/comments/118h36o/lee_drilly_recent_vid_in_the_feds/
https://youtu.be/7lBfIYOpYjc (2:18-2:40) https://youtu.be/7lBfIYOpYjc (5:07-6:00)
Bronx Drill just can’t catch a break, but drill rappers are partly to blame for how they moving. Nobody learning from the last man. Everyone going down the same path. Now Spazz and Lee Drilly got hell to face and with how they stacking charges on them boys, they came to put em away for good. Time will tell how their life behind bars goes from here forward depending on their case, but going by Lee Drilly last freestyle he posted to his gram, he said someone tellin so the stakes even higher right now https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqqjFh_A_rF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
So there you have it. Thanks for kicking it with yah boy, appreciate the love and support. Catch ya’ll in the next one. Peace up and peace out.
Chad is a professional journalist specializing in Hip-Hop culture and writing music reviews.