Drill is defined by its sliding 808s and skittering, syncopated hi-hats over a dark minor-key melody. A good Suno prompt names that rhythm section explicitly and pins the tempo around 142, where the half-time bounce sits right.
Quick recipe
- Tempo: 140-145 bpm — sweet spot 142
- Core tags: UK drill, sliding 808s, syncopated hats, minor-key piano, sparse pads
- Vocals: gritty, rhythmic male rap delivery
- Mood: dark, menacing, tense, cinematic
The prompt
Paste this into Suno's Style of Music box and adjust to taste:
UK drill, dark and menacing, sliding 808 bass, syncopated hi-hats, eerie piano melody, sparse minor-key pads, 142 bpm, gritty male rap vocals, hard-hitting mix
Keep the strongest genre and mood tags up front, state the BPM as a number, and trim anything that does not earn its place — Suno responds best to tight, ordered prompts. The reasoning behind that order is in how to write a Suno style prompt.
Why these tags
Each tag is doing a specific job. The genre word sets the overall template; the tempo locks the feel (see the BPM cheat-sheet); the instrumentation and production tags supply the texture that separates a convincing Drill track from a generic one. Swap individual descriptors before you add more — more tags rarely beats better tags.
Make it yours
Change the vocal line, push or pull the BPM a few points, or fold in a second genre using the base-plus-accent method from how to blend two genres in Suno. For the full picture, this guide is part of the complete guide to Suno prompting.
Frequently asked questions
What tempo is drill in Suno?
Drill sits around 140-145 bpm, with 142 a safe default. The snare pattern gives it a half-time feel, so it sounds heavier and slower than the number suggests.
How do I get the sliding 808 sound?
Ask for it by name — sliding 808 bass or 808 glides — in the style box. Pair it with syncopated hi-hats so the low end and the rhythm section reinforce the drill bounce.
Can Suno do dark, menacing melodies?
Yes. Tags like eerie piano melody, minor key and menacing steer Suno toward the tense, cinematic top line that drill relies on. Keep the melody sparse so the 808s carry the track.
Build a Drill prompt visually
The free Suno Profiler turns genre, tempo, mood and vocal choices into a clean prompt you can copy and save.
Open the Suno Profiler →