Phonk music & it’s sub-genres (Brazilian Phonk, aggressive Phonk, drift Phonk, etc) has blown up over the past few years. In this post we will answer some questions about the genre, help you make it, show you how to submit music to Phonk playlists and promote Phonk on YouTube / online with music promotion services.
What is Phonk Music & Why do they call it Phonk?
Phonk is a style of music that takes influence from HipHop, trap and EDM / dance music.
Think dark, gritty beats. It uses heavy, often distorted bass (those deep 808s). You’ll hear chopped-and-screwed bits from old 90s Memphis rap tapes. And often that specific, sometimes repetitive, cowbell sound. It started bubbling up online, especially on sites like YouTube and SoundCloud. It feels raw, atmospheric, and a bit lo-fi.
The exact reason for it’s name isn’t 100% nailed down in history books.
But the name is strongly linked to one of the early pioneers: SpaceGhostPurrp. He was making music inspired by old 90s Memphis tapes and started calling his style “phonk” or “phonky.
It’s said to be a darker, dirtier take on “funk.” Basically, one key artist used the word, and it just became the name for the whole sound as it grew online.
How Phonk Music is made:
While phonk music has deep online roots it’s not as simple as generating phonk sounds online (like our slow + reverb generator). Phonk tracks have several key elements which take a lot of work to dial in:
he main things you need are:
Samples: This is a huge part. Producers take little pieces (samples) from old songs, especially those 90s Memphis rap tapes we talked about. They chop them up, mess with the pitch, and loop them to create the base sound or atmosphere.
Drums: Heavy 808 bass kicks are essential. They provide that deep, thumping rhythm. Standard drum machine sounds, often raw and punchy, fill out the beat.
That Cowbell: The iconic, often repeated, cowbell sound is added in. It’s a simple but key rhythmic element that helps define the sound.
Effects: Producers add effects to make it sound gritty and dark. This includes distortion (making sounds fuzzy or harsh), reverb (making sounds echoey) , and sometimes effects to make it sound like it’s coming from an old tape (lo-fi).
- Mastering: Once the song is complete, the track needs to be mastered in a specific way to really get all the specific elements to come through. Try our free audio mastering tool and pick a big Phonk track as your reference to get this right.
Phonk playlists – Free playlist submissions
With Soundplate, you can submit music to Spotify playlists for free. Check out just some of the phonk playlist listed below and submit music now:
Promote phonk online – with social media ads for music
Phonk has deep roots online, especially on YouTube (see phonk radio channels and playlists). For a Phonk song to go truly viral you need great song promotion to grow it where the fans are, YouTube and social media.
For this, we advise using targeted social media and YouTube advertising for music. The tool linked below will help you get your music advertising setup and running as efficiently as possible.
You can also use this tool to promote song links across other social media platforms.
Advertise phonk music online
The phonk aesthetic – phonk art
Phonk isn’t just a sound; it has a whole look and feel attached to it.
Think of it like this: if the music sounds dark and gritty, the phonk art looks it too.
It’s often about a vintage, lo-fi, slightly damaged vibe that takes influence from anime, synthwave music and car culture.
Visuals you’ll often see linked to phonk include:
Grainy, VHS-tape quality: Like it was recorded on old video equipment.
Dark colors and filters: Muted, washed-out, or heavily contrasted looks. Blues and dark purples are often associated with the sound.
Urban or industrial settings: Grimy streets, abandoned places.
Old car culture: Especially drifting and Japanese cars (this grew with the ‘drift phonk’ style).
Sometimes disturbing or surreal imagery: Glitches, distorted faces, unsettling scenes.
Vintage anime loops: Often sped up or distorted.
It all ties back to the music’s roots: using old samples, the raw, underground feel, and its start on online platforms where people used simple, often low-quality visuals.
It’s about creating a mood – one that feels raw, underground, and maybe a bit uneasy or melancholic.
Need some help, try our free music cover generator.
We hope this post has taught you a bit more about phonk music and online music promotion for phonk.