Phonk grew out of 1990s Memphis hip-hop and trap, resurfacing in the late 2010s as drift phonk, the aggressive, cowbell-driven sound behind countless TikTok and YouTube car edits. Short rips like Yaya circulate as phonk edit tracks shared between creators, prized for their heavy bass and instantly recognizable dark loops. Like many meme edits, the clip works because listeners already associate the style with speed, confidence and late-night energy, so it keeps getting reused in new montages years after the wave first broke.