Chow Lee Talks New Project ‘SEX DRIVE’ & Growing New York’s Sexy Drill Sound
Chow Lee is basking in the moment. Just a week shy of what was supposed to be the release date of his new album SEX DRIVE, he flashes a dimpled smile on a morning Zoom call before expressing his excitement: “I can’t wait to drop. I’m feigning to drop.”
Although the 25-year-old Long Island native has recently ascended in the sexy drill wave he co-pioneered with Cash Cobain and Lonny Love, the newly released project SEX DRIVE marks his 12th album since 2018. After sample clearances delayed the album’s release date twice, he’s finally ready to introduce fans to his most versatile ensemble yet.
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Like most Gen Z artists, the majority of his references trace back to the early ’00s, when hip-hop and R&B fusions were re-defining both genres. He cites Drake and his OVO imprint as early inspiration when he began rapping nearly a decade ago in high school. He released a string of albums and mixtapes before linking up with the Bronx hitmaker Cash Cobain in 2020. Their instant creative chemistry led to the successful 2 Slizzy 2 Sexy mixtape two years later. They buffed the rough-around-the-edges drill markers with sultry R&B samples and lusty pillow talk on popular tracks like “JHOLIDAY,” and “VACANT.” Not as sensual as R&B, but not as gritty as New York and Chicago drill, sexy drill was born.
“People were like, ‘Sexy drill? What is that?,’” he recalls.
Last year, he performed on Rolling Loud Miami’s main stage and was recruited to open up for Sexyy Red’s Hood’s Hottest Princess Tour and Lil Tecca’s HVN ON EARTH Tour. He also teased the project with back-to-back one-offs like the TikTok viral hit, “swag it!,” a catchy melodic track with punchy bass.
His horny escapades are at full throttle on SEX DRIVE. He penetrates the sexy drill sound with Jersey club pulses and experimental regional mashups. An unlikely crew of features from AJ Tracey, Anycia, Flo Milli, and Roy Woods takes listeners on a sonic journey from the U.K. to a tropical escape. He links back up with Cash Cobain on tracks like the Bay Swag-assisted “act bad twin!,” a dance mix undergirded by PARTYNEXTDOOR’s “Resentment.”
He’s here for a good time, not a long time on sinful tracks like “ms. beautiful v!” and “im not really spiritual!,” featuring U.K. drill vet AJ Tracey. He cruises on loverboy mode on “Tequila Vacay” featuring OVO signee Roy Woods, but reverts back to his old ways on the “Swag it” remix featuring Flo Milli. On “Get Back,” he enlists Atlanta’s newest “It Girl” Anycia whose relaxed delivery is juxtaposed by his retaliatory actions. “Ten times out of ten if you f–king my mans, I’m f–king your friend,” he declares over flirty piano riffs.
A sonic tale of a reckless slizzy summer, Lee’s new album embodies the “love, sex and drugs”-fueled ambitions of a young rapper on the rise. He builds on the heavily sampled sexy drill niche while underlining not-so-guilty pleasures. Right before he headed back to his new home in Miami to celebrate the release of SEX DRIVE, Lee spoke to Billboard about his collaboration with Cash Cobain, expanding his sexy drill sound, and what makes a slizzy summer.
Tracks from the 2 Slizzy 2 Sexy mixtape like “JHOLIDAY” and “VACANT” led up to the sexy drill sound you’re experimenting with on SEX DRIVE. What inspired sexy drill? Was it from the natural creative chemistry that you both share?
It’s really a little bit of both. It was kind of a natural part of our creative process. We talk about women and Cash is the mastermind behind the beats. I’ll give him a song to sample or he’ll sample something. He’ll type in YouTube and ask like, “Give me a song to sample?’’ Then, he’ll sample it. Shit, we’ll just rap on it. That’s really the creative process. And we kept doing that. And we also worked with artists like Lonny Love. He also helped us create sexy drill too. It was all three of us.
You’re definitely making a statement with SEX DRIVE and the cover art. What was the creative process behind the album’s cover art?
We wanted to make it sexy and still be on brand. It’s kind of a high school vibe with the letterman jacket and the cool car. We shot it in Cali and had to get that old school car. I had to go with the American muscle.
You team up with a variety of artists on this album. What was it like to bring together all these different sounds and meld it with your sexy drill signature?
It’s a blessing. It shows that everyone from different places can get on sexy drill. Like [AJ] Tracey is on there. He’s from the U.K. It’s a universal thing. It’s past New York at this point.
Speaking of sexy drill being universal, “swag it” took TikTok by storm and was everywhere. Can you talk about linking up with Flo Milli on the remix?
It was a movie. We shot the video and it was mad cool. She came and loved the song. She made a TikTok to it, so we reached out to her and asked if she wanted to get on the song. She did that s–t mad fast. She was willing to shoot the video so we shot it in L.A. She was a great person to work with. Hopefully I can get her on more stuff and we can drop again.
One of my favorite songs on the album is “tequila vacay!”. What was the idea behind that direction with Roy Woods?
I made that song probably like a year or two years ago. I had contacted him because he was following me. He was like, “Yo send me some s–t and I’ll send you something.” That was the first song that came to my mind ‘cause you know how Roy Woods gets. I was like, “I have to switch it up.” I sent him some s–t I thought he would be good on and he went crazy. I was like, ”Nah, I needed this for the album. They not gon’ expect that one.”
You also enlist collaborators like Cash Cobain, Sleepy Hollow and Bay Swag for a few tracks on the album. Why is it important to show the flexibility of the sexy drill sound?
When you think outside the box, you get better results. You’re not going to get far if you keep doing the same thing. I take my creative process very seriously, and fans are already saying it’s a classic before the album drops. That matters to me.
You’ve been on tour for the past year from performing at Rolling Loud in Miami last summer to opening for Sexyy Red’s tour. What is it like to bring the energy of your songs to the stage?
It’s a movie. You can go on stage and perform your songs, and people will like it and not really know it — but that means something. It’s not that hard to go on stage, you just have to bring that energy. The songs are already getting them lit. It can be a curse sometime, cause some people will be like, “Listen, we wanna see Sexyy Red. Get off stage already.”
Are there any standout songs for you? Any artists in particular who you just had to work with and you got them on the album?
Definitely Roy Woods and AJ Tracey. I always used to bump Roy Woods. I never got a chance to make a song with someone who can sing like that. Usually, I’m making songs with the guys or another rapper. I never got to do a song with someone who can sing. I wanna sing like that, but I can’t.
Take me through your songwriting process. When you’re getting ready to record, are you inspired by a night out or is this just coming off the dome?
It depends on the mood I’m in. I can think about a scenario and write about that and fabricate it or I can talk about something that actually happened with a girl. Or I can make some whole s–t up and write about it. I’ve watched enough movies. I may get drunk and freestyle and say some bulls–t.
How does SEX DRIVE embody a slizzy summer?
A slizzy summer is being outside. It’s a lifestyle. It’s catering to the women, having fun and being yourself. Not being a bozo while handling your business at the same time. SEX DRIVE is just…SEX DRIVE. Keep that sex drive up because we outside. I’m trying to keep it PG-13, but it speaks for itself.
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