YouTube/Skino
DMV Crank music has been in the spotlight in the past few weeks. On September 3, an X user named @Waitingonwick posted “DMV beats sound like construction sites” with a link to the music video for Skino’s song “FACES.” The post went viral, sparking many conversations, but the most prominent focused on what sounded like a hammer striking metal on an anvil.
This sound goes by several monikers, but it's most commonly known as the Dolan ride, named after producer Dolan Beats. The sound samples a single high-pitched triangle strike and has become a staple instrumental of the free car crank identity, a subgenre that began emerging from the DMV area in the early 2020s. In songs, the triangle acts as both ear candy and a metronome, hitting every 2-4 beats and keeping the song structure grounded. The ride is often used in tandem with dark piano melodies and thumping drums, capped off with artists punching in on the beat to rap about their street lifestyle and everything that comes with it.
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Crank has quietly gained traction in the past few years with artists like SlimeGetEm and Nino Paid leading the way and pushing the genre to new heights. While some songs, such as “Me vs. Me” by Jaeychino and SlimeGetEm, rack up millions of listens, many go under the radar. So, here are a few songs that use the Dolan ride effectively and are worth checking out.
