What If Drill Had a Line Dance?

What do drill music and line dancing have in common?

Nothing, yet.

And if that connection hasn’t crossed your mind before, it probably will after the first episode of The Almanac of Rap. In conversation with Cupid, the architect behind one of the most enduring line dances of the 2000s, host Donwill tosses out a question that quietly shifts the energy, opening up a possibility no one really saw coming.

What rap song could use a line dance?

It sounds playful at first. Maybe even random. You might expect something smooth. A feel-good anthem. Maybe a 2000s R&B hit, something in the spirit of Tamia’s “Can’t Get Enough of You.”

Cupid doesn’t reach for the obvious.

“Faneto” by Chief Keef. The proverbial godfather of drill, and for many, one of the earliest introductions to the Chicago-born, ominous sound.

For a second, it feels like Cupid might be joking. Drill has been boxed into a certain narrative since it arrived in the early 2010s. Aggressive and chaotic. Unfiltered, but infectious in its own way. Meanwhile, line dances live somewhere else entirely. They’re structured, wholesome and communal. Built for rooms where everyone eventually falls into rhythm together.

But Cupid isn’t being ironic. He’s setting the scene of something very specific: a drill club where the beat drops and instead of scattered energy, the room locks into shiesty-wearing choreography. The same intensity, just redirected. The self-proclaimed tough guys — and girls — hitting synchronized steps in unison.

It’s funny to picture. But it’s also kind of brilliant.

Line dances have always been about more than steps. They create a shared language, one that’s unspoken and mostly felt. They spark a few minutes where strangers agree on the same timing. Think about every time you’ve heard the “Cupid Shuffle,” the “Cha Cha Slide,” or even the “Electric Slide.”

Cupid built a career on that understanding. So when he imagines drill getting that treatment, it doesn’t feel random. It feels more like a challenge.

Donwill meets him there, pointing out how drill is already stretching in new directions. Artists like Cash Cobain are softening the edges with sexy drill, bending the sound into something more melodic, even sensual. The gap between chaos and choreography might not be as wide as we think.

That’s the beauty of The Almanac of Rap. The show doesn’t just revisit hip-hop history. It leaves space to rethink the possibilities of what’s next. A “Faneto” line dance might sound wild today. But so did the “Cupid Shuffle” at one point.

Listen to The Almanac of Rap on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and subscribe on YouTube to watch full episodes each week.

Check out Season 4’s first episode of The Almanac of Rap with Cupid here, and watch the full episode below: