Cannibalism Rituals of Desire Pairs Lylantz and Cassandra Fowler Across Drill and Gothic Folk
A Genre-Fluid Gothic Collaboration Folds Drill and Folk Into Something Operatic
Chicago’s Lylantz has never treated genre as a fence. Cannibalism: Rituals of Desire is his clearest proof yet. He released it on 16 January 2026 with his wife and creative partner, Cassandra Fowler. The single folds drill and hip-hop into gothic folk, rock, and flashes of classical and metal. It carries all of that with an operatic seriousness most cross-genre experiments never attempt.
You can listen to our full playlist which contains the artist’s music, and know more about the artist’s work by scrolling down the page.
A Chicago Genre-Fluid Single That Lets Drill, Gothic Folk, and Rock Coexist
On paper, drill and folk rock share almost nothing. Drill grew up in Chicago before it crossed to London. It is a rhythm-first, rap-rooted style built on cold, driving beats. Folk and folk rock, however, pull the other way, toward acoustic songwriting and older storytelling forms. Instead of choosing, Lylantz treats that distance as an invitation. Working under a self-styled gothic banner, he keeps the forward push of drill in play. Around it, he then layers folk phrasing, rock weight, and touches of classical and metal. As a result, Cannibalism: Rituals of Desire feels tense and songful in the same breath.
The genre tags here work as method, not decoration. Each style, in turn, complicates the others. For example, the drill rhythm stops the folk writing from turning gentle, while the folk keeps the drill from pure aggression. For a hip-hop readership, the drill and rap DNA is the natural way in. Still, the gothic folk and rock framing is what keeps the record from sounding like anything else in rap right now. In short, a Chicago artist folding drill into something this theatrical earns a closer listen.
Cassandra Fowler and a Self-Directed Video Built Across Illinois and Michigan
The partnership with Cassandra Fowler sits at the centre of how the song works. She is Lylantz’s wife and creative foil. Two voices trade space, so the writing can move between tenderness and threat. Meanwhile, Fowler’s presence pushes the piece past a solo turn into a duet with real stakes. It is the detail most of the early coverage returned to. Above all, it gives the title its charge: a record about desire that treats intimacy as consumption.
That idea runs through the visuals too. The pair, for instance, directed and shot the video themselves, across Illinois and Michigan, on a 75mm anamorphic lens. In addition, they cast friends and family and leaned into a gothic, cinematic look. As a result, the themes hold from sound to screen. Cannibalism turns into a symbol here: the absorption of energy, and a ritual reclaiming of power. Still, it is a lot of concept for one single, and the track carries it without buckling.
None of this arrives from nowhere. Lylantz has spent years building a gothic body of work, from the Vampyre album to his recent full-length ZERO. Because of that, Cannibalism: Rituals of Desire reads as the next step in a project, not a detour. In the end, an artist with a defined world is inviting new listeners in through one of its sharper singles.
Who Cannibalism Rituals of Desire Is For, From Rap Listeners to Gothic-Folk Heads
This is music for people who follow the experimental edges of more than one genre at once. In fact, if your rotation already crosses between drill and darker folk and rock, the track will feel familiar. It sits beside artists who treat genre as a starting point, not a rule. The clearest reference points come from gothic songwriting. For example, Nick Cave turned dread into narrative decades ago through his murder-ballad tradition. Similarly, Chelsea Wolfe works where acoustic hush meets metal weight. Lylantz and Fowler, though, add a rap and drill pulse those artists rarely touch.
Reception has backed that framing up. Music portals, in fact, kept writing about the single well after release. For example, Music Earshot covered it in detail and called it an expansion of the pair’s gothic universe. Italy’s Frequenze Musicali reviewed it too. As a result, the write-ups have kept coming in the months since, a sign the record has a longer tail than most promotional cycles. At-N Ausara-Lasaru of Lylantz put the response plainly: “We’re thrilled by the continued reception and how it’s resonated with audiences and critics alike since its release, especially those drawn to the experimental edges of music.”
RapStar.News’s curator team: “What holds Cannibalism: Rituals of Desire together is restraint. Two singers circle the same unsettling subject without ever oversinging it, and the rap and drill underpinning gives all that gothic drama somewhere hard to stand.”
Where to Hear Cannibalism Rituals of Desire and Follow Lylantz
First of all, Cannibalism: Rituals of Desire is out now across the major services. You can stream Lylantz on Spotify and Apple Music. The official video, meanwhile, sits with the rest of his work on his YouTube channel. To keep up with what comes next, follow him on Instagram.
The single also anchors a wider run of releases. As a result, first-time listeners have a full catalogue waiting once the track takes hold. Nearly six months on, it still reads as a genuine cross-genre swing, not a passing novelty. In the end, it makes a clear case for Lylantz and Cassandra Fowler as a partnership worth following into whatever comes next.
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