Discover the best phonk music in 2025 with Epidemic Sound
Want to use phonk and drift phonk in your content? We’ve got you covered.
Need some chunky phonk beats for your content? We’ve got you covered. Learn what phonk is, where the genre came from, and how to find the best phonk in 2025 with Epidemic Sound.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- What is phonk music?
- Where does phonk music come from?
- Why is it called phonk?
- What is drift phonk?
- How to find the best phonk music for your content
- Five killer phonk tracks to soundtrack your content
What is phonk music?
Phonk is a hip-hop subgenre established in the 1990s and popularized some 20 years later. Notable for its chopped-and-screwed lo-fi production, vintage hip-hop samples, and funk influence, it’s a unique sound that’s developed into something more high-tempo.
Where does phonk music come from?
Phonk’s roots can be traced back to Memphis, Tennessee. Back in the day, hip-hop artists like Three 6 Mafia were laying down half-time, chilled beats with drum machines. Paired with colorful lyricism, cowbell-inflected 808s, and out-there samples, these experiments paved the way for horrorcore, trap, and phonk.
The DIY, lo-fi aesthetic was born from necessity — these artists were dubbing and redubbing to tape, which created a nostalgic, fuzzy feel. As the internet became a tool for sharing and experiencing music, new fans and musicians craved the fresh, organic feel of these ‘90s-era recordings. From this desire came lo-fi hip-hop, and the gradual incorporation of other genres, like jazz and funk, alongside modern production tricks.
Why is it called phonk?
While phonk music’s been brewing for decades, the term only gained traction in the 2010s. Florida-based rapper SpaceGhostPurrp is largely credited with coining the genre back in 2012, titling his debut album Mysterious Phonk.
During an interview with The Guardian, he claimed that “phonk is slang for funk,” having grown up on ‘90s G-funk in Miami. In his opinion, phonk is the natural meeting point between funk and hip-hop.
What is drift phonk?
Drift phonk burst onto the internet during the late 2010s, initially finding popularity in Russia. This was new phonk, aggressive phonk sharing little DNA with the ‘90s stuff — this had more in common with straight-up EDM.
Sure, the cowbell-ish 808s and lo-fi samples remained, but drift phonk placed more focus on thick basslines, higher tempos, and slick production values. It’s also a popular soundtrack choice for speed-racing, which doesn’t chime with phonk’s original vibe.
This strange subgenre of a subgenre gained traction on social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube, overtaking the core phonk subgenre in terms of recognition. Artists like Kordhell, with roots in extreme grindcore, took drift phonk to another level of popularity and blurred the lines further.
Old-school phonk-heads are quick to dismiss drift phonk, as it doesn’t share much of the genre’s Southern hip-hop roots. This leads to a split in factions, especially when you dig further into the genre.
For example, Brazilian phonk is basically Brazilian funk mixed with drift phonk — given that some don’t consider the latter “real” phonk, where does that leave Brazilian phonk? These debates take place in every genre from metal to classical music, and while they can get heated, they’re at least a sign of passion within the fanbase.
How to find the best phonk music for your content
Struggling to find the ideal phonky music for your project? We’ve got you covered. Here’s a step-by-step guide to finding the right sound directly in our player:
- Open the Epidemic Sound player — if you’re not signed up, you can get started here.
- Think about the tone you’d like for your phonk music and accompanying content. You can search the player for a specific vibe — browse moods including heavy & ponderous, restless, dreamy, hopeful, and euphoric. As phonk covers a broad spectrum of emotions, tempos, and genre boundaries, some of these moods may be more fitting than others.
- Drill down into the related genres that might fit your content brief. We naturally have phonk and drift phonk, but don’t rule out styles like boom bap, trap, old-school hip-hop, lo-fi hip-hop, and more.
Want to see how it works in action? Here’s STRLGHT and ROONIN’s drift phonk track, BACK2BACK, soundtracking a professional fan-edit of Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Five killer phonk tracks to soundtrack your content
Now that you know what phonk music is, where it comes from, and how to find it, let’s wrap up. Here are five phonk and phonk-adjacent tracks that’ll make your content pop.
Jobii, Dylan Sitts – PIXEL8
Jobii and Dylan Sitts made magic with PIXEL8: a Jersey club/phonk hybrid that goes from the grandest heights to the gutter, blending lo-fi filth with sharp, clean-cut synth. The faster, Jersey club-style rhythms play beside the pitch-shifted vocals and laid-back elements, resulting in a dark, driving vibe.
ROONIN – SEASIDEROUTE 765
ROONIN’s SEASIDEROUTE 765 dials the clock back to the New York Ballroom scene, mashing up fast-paced spoken word with old-school synth that wouldn’t be out of place on a Kraftwerk track. It’s euphoric yet fierce — perfect for a workout video or fast-paced montage.
doom.us – Favela
doom.us creates a cultural melting pot with Favela, smashing funk carioca into drift phonk with glee. Those grainy, regimented vocal samples are like a rusty old robot knocking at the future’s gates — Favela would work a treat paired with your most colorful, kinetic footage.
Zorro, Raccy – H4teLife
Zorro and Raccy get epic with H4teLife, pitting the former’s sweet-to-sour vocals against the latter’s massive drift phonk beats. It’s overflowing with attitude: every peak, trough, and tempo-change dishing out more opportunities to soundtrack your content no matter the pace.
Dylan Sitts – Still on It
Dylan Sitts ends this list as he started it: dishing out red-hot beats of the thickest variety. Still on It is much more subdued than PIXEL8, harking back to phonk’s more organic roots. It’s murky, mysterious, those kicks and hi-hats bustling like a year hasn’t passed since the ‘90s.
Like what you hear? There’s plenty more where that came from. Epidemic Sound’s catalog is high-quality, affordable, and safe. Our subscriptions go beyond royalty-free music, removing the headache of licensing and freeing you up to do what you do best.
You can enjoy the safety of our license hand-in-hand with our massive catalog of 50,000 tracks, covering just about every genre you can think of. You’ll also gain unlimited access to our advanced search functions — finding the right sound’s never been easier.
It’s better than royalty-free. It’s worry-free. Get started with Epidemic Sound below.
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