Skrilla: How the 6-7 craze from his drill rap hit almost didn’t happen

By CLIFF BRUNT, AP Sports Writer

Skrilla said the “6-7” craze connected to his drill rap hit almost didn’t happen.

His 2024 release, “Doot Doot (6-7),” became popular in TikTok videos with basketball players last year. Now, young people all over the world are shouting the non-sensical phrase seemingly non-stop, often pairing it with an up-and-down arm motion with upward palms.

Skrilla said he nearly didn’t publish the song and considered it “a throwaway.” He never saw any aspect of it becoming popular, much less inspiring a global phenomenon.

“It didn’t even cross my mind,” he told The Associated Press. “It was an unreleased song. I had just leaked it and it went crazy off of a leaked song. I leaked it because I didn’t really have too much faith in it. I didn’t really care too much about the song.”

The initial popularity caused him to officially release it in 2025, and now, “6-7” is everywhere. Athletes use it to celebrate big plays. It’s popular in classrooms, at sporting events and at his concerts.

He said it all has caused him to view his work differently.

“Now when I’m recording in the studio, when I’m making a song and I feel like I don’t like it, I force myself to like it,” he said. “And when I’m making a song and I’m like ready to be over, done with the song, I’ll finish it just cause — just out of the respect for ‘6-7.’”

FILE – Tori McCray, left, and her grandmother Alberta Tolliver look over a 6-7 T-shirt in a merchandise shop inside the Smoothie King Center during the second half of an NBA basketball game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Memphis Grizzlies, Jan. 30, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, file)

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Skrilla said ‘6-7’ means whatever people want it to mean, and he loves the joy the trend has brought to people. But anything popular draws scrutiny. He said he’s heard it all when it comes to what ‘6-7’ means.

“I’m not a bad person,” he said. “And ‘6-7’ is not a demonic cult or whatever people be making up — these stories, these crazy stories people be making up. It’s just crazy. Yeah, it’s a lot of crazy stories about ‘6-7’ and demonic and devil worshiping, and I’m not a devil worshiper at all either, as well. And ‘6-7’ isn’t a cult.”

Despite the critics, Skrilla is excited that the emergence of the trend at college and pro basketball games has kept it fresh. And he’s glad that it has made him more visible — even if it has outgrown him.

“Everything that ‘6-7’ has brought to me excites me,” he said. “Every door it opens excites me.”