Phonk grew out of 1990s Memphis rap samples, chopped vocals and lo-fi production, then was revived online in the 2010s and reshaped into drift phonk by producers sharing tracks on SoundCloud and YouTube. The shorter, bass boosted style spread widely on TikTok in the early 2020s, where editors paired it with car drifting, street racing, gym training and anime edits. This short version is used as a quick burst of that sound, giving creators the recognisable cowbell and heavy groove without needing a full song.