🚀 5 Key Takeaways: The Phonk Executive Summary ⚡📝
Before we dive into the neon abyss, here’s the high-speed download of what you need to know about the Phonk phenomenon in 2026. 🏎️💨
- From Memphis to the Metaverse: Phonk originated from the gritty, lo-fi rap tapes of 1990s Memphis but has mutated into a global digital aesthetic. It’s no longer just a regional sound; it’s the heartbeat of the internet. 🌍📼
- The Physics of Distortion: The genre is defined by specific sonic rules: distorted 808 cowbells that play melodies, aggressive sidechain compression that “pumps” the audio, and simulated tape hiss. It’s audio designed to clip. 🔊🔔📈
- A Fractured Multiverse: It’s not just one vibe. The genre has split into distinct factions: the high-speed aggression of Drift Phonk, the atmospheric sadness of Wave Phonk, and the chaotic party energy of Brazilian Phonk. 🏎️🌊🇧🇷
- Culture is King: Phonk is the official soundtrack for modern subcultures, fueling “Sigma” gym transformations, JDM car drifting, and the immersive worlds of games like GTA VI. It’s a lifestyle, not just a playlist. 🏋️♂️🎮🚘
- The AI Future: As we move through 2026, Phonk is evolving into “Adaptive Audio.” AI tools are beginning to generate infinite, reactive tracks that adjust to your driving speed or heart rate. The music is becoming alive. 🤖💓♾️
Introduction: Welcome to the Neon-Soaked Reality of 2026 🎆🌃
Happy New Year! We’ve arrived in 2026, a year where the digital and physical worlds have irreversibly collided, and the soundtrack to this collision is the distorted, bass-heavy phenomenon known as Phonk. 🎧💥
What started decades ago as a niche regional sound in the American South has mutated into a global cultural juggernaut. It’s no longer just a genre of music; it’s a comprehensive aesthetic, a philosophy of resilience, and a digital ecosystem that permeates our video games, our fashion, and our very perception of online reality. 🌐✨ If you’re reading this, you’re likely looking to understand the pulse of the current zeitgeist—a rhythm defined by the rattle of an 808 cowbell and the ghostly wails of a Memphis tape deck. 👻📼
This guide is your ultimate companion. We won’t merely list songs. We’ll deconstruct the Phonk universe. We’ll treat Phonk as a living, breathing world with its own history, physics, and factions. We’ll explore the “Phonkoverse”—a realm where JDM cars drift through purple fog, where “Sigma” warriors lift iron to the sound of industrial decay, and where the spirits of 1990s rap legends haunt the algorithms of 2026. 🏋️♂️🏎️🌫️
Whether you’re a producer seeking the secrets of the perfect sidechain, a gamer looking for the ultimate high-BPM playlist for Grand Theft Auto VI, or a philosopher pondering the meaning of digital hauntology, this report is for you. We’ll traverse the timeline from the analog past to the AI-generated future of 2027 and 2028. Buckle up. The bass is clipping, and we’re driving fast. 🚔🔊🚨
1. Genealogical and Sonic Analysis: The DNA of Distortion 🧬🎚️
To understand the Phonk of 2026, we must perform a sonic autopsy on its ancestors. The genre is a chimera—a beast stitched together from the limbs of Funk, Hip-Hop, and Horrorcore. 🧟♂️🎶
1.1 The Ancestral Roots: Memphis Rap (1990s) 🇺🇸📼
The genealogy of Phonk begins in the humid, dark studios of Memphis, Tennessee, in the early 1990s. While the East Coast had Boom Bap and the West Coast had G-Funk, Memphis developed a sound that was uniquely sinister. 🏚️🌑
Pioneers like Three 6 Mafia, DJ Squeeky, DJ Spanish Fly, and Tommy Wright III created the blueprint. They utilized low-fidelity recording equipment, often recording directly to cassette tapes. This technical limitation became an aesthetic choice. The tape hiss, the saturation, and the murky low-end created a claustrophobic, horror-movie atmosphere. The lyrics matched the sound: tales of crime, occultism, and despair, delivered in a relentless triplet flow (a rhythmic pattern that would later conquer modern trap). 🎤🔪
👉 Sonic Marker: The “Lo-Fi” texture of modern Phonk isn’t an affectation; it’s a simulation of these original degraded cassette tapes. It’s audio rust. 📉🕸️
1.2 The Chopped and Screwed Mutation (Houston) 🥤🐢
Simultaneously, in Houston, Texas, DJ Screw was innovating the “Chopped and Screwed” technique. By slowing down records to a crawl and repeating (“chopping”) specific phrases, he created a psychedelic, narcotic soundscape designed to mimic the effects of codeine syrup (lean). 🥴🌀
This manipulation of time is crucial to Phonk. It transforms human vocals into monstrous, deep drawls. It strips away the human element, turning the voice into an instrument of texture rather than communication. 🗣️🤖
1.3 The Resurrection: Raider Klan (2010s) 🏴☠️✨
The term “Phonk” was popularized in the early 2010s by SpaceGhostPurrp and his collective, the Raider Klan. SpaceGhostPurrp used “Phonk” as slang for “Funk,” explicitly referencing the G-Funk lineage. 🌴😎
However, this revival—often called “OG Phonk” or “Rare Phonk”—was distinct from the 90s originals. It was cleaner, jazzier, and more focused on the “vibe” than the violence. Artists like Soudiere and DJ Smokey blended the aggressive Memphis acapellas with smooth jazz samples and trap drums. It was music for driving slow, not for drifting fast. 🎷🚙💨
1.4 The Drift Mutation (Russia, Late 2010s) 🇷🇺🏎️
Then, the virus mutated. The sound traveled to Russia and Eastern Europe, where it collided with car culture and drift videos. The jazz was stripped away. The tempo was accelerated. The bass was distorted to the point of clipping. 📈🔥
And the 808 Cowbell took the throne. 🐄🔔👑
This new subgenre, Drift Phonk, detached itself from Hip-Hop and aligned with EDM. It was loud, abrasive, and designed for short-form video content on platforms like TikTok. It prioritized high energy over groove, becoming the soundtrack for “Sigma Grindset” montages and JDM car edits. 🎥💊💪
1.5 The Modern Hybrid: Brazilian Phonk (2020s-2026) 🇧🇷🥁
By the mid-2020s, Phonk found a new host in Brazil. Funk Automotivo (Brazilian Funk), with its aggressive “Tamborzão” rhythms, merged with the distorted aesthetics of Phonk. This hybrid, controversial among purists but undeniable in its popularity, utilizes extreme bass, metallic percussion, and aggressive Portuguese vocals. It’s the sound of the 2026 party scene—chaotic, loud, and undeniably physical. 💃🕺🎇
2. Technical Analysis: The Physics of the Phonk Sound 🎛️📉
What exactly makes a track “Phonk”? It isn’t just a vibe; it’s a specific set of music theory rules and production techniques. 📏🎹
2.1 Music Theory: The Phrygian Dominance 🎼😈
Phonk rarely utilizes major scales. It lives in the shadows of the Phrygian Mode.
The Phrygian scale is a minor scale with a flattened second degree (e.g., E – F – G – A – B – C – D). That half-step interval between the first and second note creates an immediate sense of tension, darkness, and mysterious menace. It’s the musical equivalent of a furrowed brow. 😠🖤
- Chromaticism: Phonk melodies often ignore traditional key constraints entirely. Producers will use chromatic passing tones (playing adjacent notes in sequence) to create a dissonant, “wrong” sound that unsettles the listener. This dissonance resolves into the heavy bass, creating a cycle of tension and release. 🔄🧘
2.2 Production Techniques: The Art of Clipping ✂️🔊
In traditional audio engineering, “clipping” (pushing the volume until the waveform distorts) is a mistake. In Phonk, it’s the goal. 🥅🎯
- The 808 Cowbell: The Roland TR-808 drum machine included a cowbell sound. In Phonk, this percussive element is pitched up and down to play melodies. It creates a metallic, industrial tone that cuts through the mix like a knife. 🔪🏭
- Extreme Sidechain: Phonk producers sidechain the bass to the kick drum aggressively. This means every time the kick drum hits, the volume of the bass (and often the entire track) drops to near silence for a split second. This creates a “pumping” or “sucking” sensation, mimicking the physical rush of adrenaline or the compression of a car engine. 💓🚘
- Bitcrushing: To simulate the lo-fi sound of 90s tapes, producers use “bitcrushing” effects to reduce the sample rate and bit depth of the audio. This adds a layer of digital grime and “aliasing” noise, making the track sound like it was recovered from a corrupted hard drive. 💾👾
2.3 Morphological Analysis Table 📊🧪
| Element | Sonic Characteristic | Technical Origin | Metaphorical Function |
| The Kick | Punchy, distorted, overwhelming | Roland TR-808 / Distorted Samples | The heartbeat of the machine; physical impact. 💓🔨 |
| The Cowbell | Metallic, melodic, piercing | Pitch-shifted TR-808 Percussion | The sound of industry; cold, unfeeling melody. 🏭❄️ |
| The Vocals | Ghostly, repetitive, unintelligible | Chopped & Screwed / Memphis Tapes | The voices of the dead; haunting the digital present. 👻🌐 |
| The Bass | Sliding, clipping, mono | Sine wave saturation / 808 Glide | Uncontrollable power; the suppression of silence. 🌊🔇 |
| The Hiss | Constant background static | Tape emulation plugins / Noise floor | The passage of time; the decay of memory. ⏳🥀 |
| Tempo | Varies (100-170 BPM) | Trap (Slow) to Drift/House (Fast) | The shifting pace of modern life; from lethargy to panic. 🐢🐇 |
3. The Phonkoverse: A Comprehensive World Building Guide 🌍🏗️
You asked to cover all aspects of world-building. Phonk is more than sound; it implies a setting. Let’s construct the Phonkoverse—the lore, factions, and reality implied by the music and its community. 🗺️📖
3.1 The Setting: Neo-Memphis / The Drift 🏙️☔
Imagine a world where it’s always 3 AM. The sky is a static-filled void of dark purple, mirroring the visuals of a VHS tape on a dead channel. 📺🟣
- Visual Style: High contrast neon noir. The architecture is Brutalist concrete covered in bioluminescent graffiti. Rain is constant, reflecting the red taillights of passing cars. 🌧️🚦
- The Environment: The air tastes of ozone, burnt rubber, and menthol. The city is a labyrinth of highways (The Drift) and decaying urban centers (The Trap). 🛣️🏚️
3.2 Factions and Cultures 🎎⚔️
In the Phonkoverse, society is divided by BPM and aesthetic allegiance.
The Drifters (Drift Phonk Faction) 🏎️💨
- Philosophy: “Momentum is Truth.” They believe that clarity is only found at high speeds.
- Lifestyles: Nomadic. They live in their highly modified JDM vehicles (The Chariots).
- Rituals: The Tandem. A synchronized drifting ritual where two or more cars move in perfect unison, symbolizing spiritual connection. ☯️
- Combat: Vehicular warfare. They don’t fight on foot; they fight on the asphalt using the physics of their machines. 🛡️🚗
- Aesthetics: Racing suits, helmets with LED emotion displays, grease-stained techwear. 👷♂️📟
The Tape Heads (OG/Rare Phonk Faction) 📼🧙♂️
- Philosophy: “The Past is Alive.” They are the archivists and historians. They worship the “Three 6” ancestors.
- Lifestyles: Sedentary and subterranean. They inhabit smoke-filled studios and record stores in the city’s underbelly. 🏚️🚭
- Magic: Necromancy. By sampling old tapes, they can summon the “ghosts” of the past to speak through their music. 🕯️👻
- Aesthetics: Vintage 90s streetwear, bucket hats, oversized hoodies, cassette players. 🧢🧥
The Automotivos (Brazilian Phonk Faction) 🇧🇷🔊
- Philosophy: “Volume is Power.” They are the hedonistic rulers of the mega-towers.
- Lifestyles: Communal and chaotic. They host the Baile—massive, block-shaking parties that last for days. 🎉🏢
- Combat: Sonic warfare. They use massive “Sound Systems” (Walls of Speakers) to physically push back enemies with bass pressure. 📢💥
- Aesthetics: Bright colors, soccer jerseys, gold chains, expensive sunglasses, intricate hairstyles. ⚽🕶️
The Void Walkers (Wave Phonk Faction) 🌌🚶
- Philosophy: “Dissociation.” They seek to upload their consciousness to the digital cloud to escape the pain of reality. ☁️🧠
- Lifestyles: Solitary. They wander the neon rainy streets alone, headphones permanently attached. 🎧🌧️
- Superstitions: They fear “Data Corruption” (memory loss/forgetting who they are). 📉🤯
- Aesthetics: Cyberpunk techwear, face masks, hoods, reflective materials that glow in the dark. 🧥✨
3.3 Magic, Physics, and Lore 🔮⚛️
- The Glitch: Reality in the Phonkoverse is unstable. “Glitching” is a magical ability where an individual can teleport short distances or phase through walls, visually represented by datamoshing (pixels smearing). 👾🔳
- The Drop: A physical phenomenon where the gravity of a local area intensifies in sync with the bass drop of a song. ⬇️🪨
- Hauntology: The central religion. The belief that the future has been cancelled, and we’re doomed to repeat the aesthetics of the past. The “ghosts” (vocal samples) are venerated as saints. ⛪👻
4. Subgenres and Crossovers: The Phonk Spectrum 🌈🔊
Phonk has fractured into a multiverse of sounds. Here’s how they contrast and coexist in 2026. 🤜🤛
4.1 Drift Phonk 🏎️🔥
- Contrast: Unlike the laid-back OG Phonk, Drift Phonk is anxious and aggressive. It shares more DNA with Hardbass and Techno than Hip-Hop.
- Vibe: Aggression, Focus, Competition. 😡🏆
- Key Artists: Kordhell, DVRST, MoonDeity. 🎹🤴
4.2 Wave Phonk 🌊😿
- Contrast: It removes the aggression of Drift and replaces it with atmosphere. It blends Phonk with “Wave” and “Witch House.”
- Vibe: Melancholy, Ethereal, Cinematic. 🎬🌌
- Key Artists: Skeler, Lxst Cxntury. 🌫️🎶
4.3 Brazilian Phonk / Funk Automotivo 🇧🇷💣
- Contrast: It introduces a completely different rhythmic structure (the Tamborzão) and is much more “party” oriented than the introspective Wave or aggressive Drift.
- Vibe: Vibrant, Intense, Rhythmic, Chaotic. 🤪🎆
- Key Artists: DJ K, VØJ. 🎧🤴
4.4 Cosmic / Ambient Phonk 🚀✨
- Contrast: Strips away the drums almost entirely to focus on the samples and synths. It borders on “Vaporwave.”
- Vibe: Space travel, Isolation, Peace. 🧘♂️🛸
- Key Artists: Soudiere (ambient tracks). 🎹😴
4.5 Horror / Dirt Phonk 🔪💀
- Contrast: Turns the distortion up to painful levels. It creates a “wall of noise” similar to industrial metal.
- Vibe: Terror, Disgust, Power. 😱💪
- Key Artists: 99zed. 👺💿
5. Phonk Media Guide: 2026-2028 Edition 📺🎮🍿
To truly understand Phonk, you must consume the media that feeds its aesthetic. Here are the essential recommendations for the coming years. 🗓️👀
5.1 Video Games: The Interactive Phonk Experience 🕹️👾
Gaming is the primary vessel for Phonk culture. The high-BPM tracks are perfect for twitch-reflex gameplay.
- Grand Theft Auto VI (2026): This is the main event. Released in late 2026, the game features a fictionalized Florida (Leonida). Rumors and leaks confirm a “Drift Phonk” radio station, possibly curated by Kordhell. The game’s car customization and street racing mechanics are the ultimate playground for the Phonk lifestyle. 🌴🚗🔫
- Resident Evil Requiem (February 2026): For the fans of Horror Phonk. The survival horror atmosphere, set in a reimagined Raccoon City, pairs perfectly with the eerie, dissonant samples of early Memphis tapes. The tension of the “Nemesis” mechanic mirrors the anxiety of a Phonk build-up. 🧟🧟♀️
- Frame Zero (2027): An upcoming psychological horror game set for 2027. Its focus on exorcism and “hidden entities” resonates with the “Hauntology” and “Ghost” themes of Phonk lore. 👻🕯️
- Need for Speed (2027/2028 Rumors): The franchise that embraced Phonk early on (with Unbound) is expected to double down in its next installment, likely featuring AI-generated adaptive Phonk soundtracks that react to your driving speed. 🏎️💨🤖
- Reanimal (2026): From the creators of Little Nightmares. Its grotesque, “Traumacore” visuals are a visual match for the darker, more disturbing side of the Phonk aesthetic. 🧸🐽
5.2 Anime and Animation: Visualizing the Vibe 🇯🇵🎨
- Sparks of Tomorrow (2026): A Kyoto Animation project set in a steampunk/electric 20th century. While the setting is historical, the “electric” and “smoke” themes fit the Wave Phonk aesthetic of “nostalgic futures”. ⚡🚂
- Devil May Cry Season 2 (2026): High-octane action, demons, and style. The “Stylish Action” of Dante fits the aggressive “Sigma” energy of Drift Phonk perfectly. ⚔️😈
- Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Classic): Though released earlier, it remains the visual bible for Phonk. The neon colors, the system overload (glitching), and the tragic storylines are pure Wave Phonk. 🦾💊🌇
5.3 Movies and Cinema 🎬🍿
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026): Surprisingly, the Phonk community has latched onto Mario. “Mario Phonk” remixes are a massive sub-trend. This movie will inevitably spawn thousands of Phonk edits on TikTok. 🍄⭐🎵
- Return to Silent Hill (2026): The psychological horror and fog aesthetics are synonymous with the “Doomer” and “Wave Phonk” vibes of isolation and depression. 🌫️🔼
6. Philosophical Insights: The Ghost in the Machine 👻🧠🤖
Why does this music resonate so deeply in the 2020s? We must look beyond the bass and find the philosophy. 🤔💭
6.1 Hauntology and the Lost Future 🏚️🕰️
Phonk is the ultimate expression of Hauntology, a concept by philosopher Mark Fisher. It’s music about a future that never happened. It takes the optimism and raw energy of the 90s and distorts it through the lens of modern digital depression. 📉
When you listen to Phonk, you’re listening to “audio ghosts.” The vocal samples are often from artists who are long dead or forgotten. By looping them, Phonk producers are keeping these spirits in a state of digital purgatory. It’s a refusal to let the past die because the present feels empty. 👻💿
6.2 The “Sigma” Grindset and Male Loneliness 🐺💪
Phonk (specifically Drift Phonk) has become the soundtrack to the “Sigma Male” internet subculture. While often memed, this connection reveals a sociological truth: Male Isolation. 🧍♂️🚫
The aggressive, solitary nature of the music appeals to young men who feel disenfranchised. It provides a soundtrack for “building oneself” in isolation—lifting weights, working late, driving alone. It transforms loneliness into a cinematic “lone wolf” narrative. It validates the struggle and turns despair into aggression. 😠🏗️
6.3 Nihilism vs. Vitalism ☯️💥
There’s a profound duality in the genre:
- Nihilism (Wave/OG): “Nothing matters, so let’s just vibe and watch the world burn.” This is the passive acceptance of urban decay. 🤷♂️🔥
- Vitalism (Drift/Brazilian): “Nothing matters, so I’m going to scream and conquer.” This is the active rebellion against the void. It’s the refusal to go quietly. It’s Rage against the Dying of the Light. 🗣️👊
7. Lifestyle: Fashion, Trends, and the 2026 Look 🧢👟🕶️
Living the Phonk lifestyle requires looking the part. The fashion of 2026 Phonk culture is a blend of Techwear, Goth, and Gym Enthusiast. 🏋️♂️🖤
7.1 Phonk Core Fashion 🧥🔗
- The Silhouette: Oversized on top, tapered on the bottom. Think massive, graphic hoodies (representing the hidden self) paired with tight compression pants or cargo joggers (representing readiness for action). 🥋🏃
- Techwear: Straps, buckles, and utility pockets are essential. The “Urban Ninja” look implies that the wearer is prepared for the collapse of society. Brands like Machine56 and Holy Grail are staples. 🥷🎒
- Masking: Face masks (a relic of the 2020 pandemic turned aesthetic) are common. They anonymize the individual, turning them into a “NPC” or a “Void Walker”. 😷👤
7.2 Gym Culture Crossover 🏋️♂️👹
“Gym Phonk” is a massive sub-category. The aesthetic here is “Pump Covers”—oversized t-shirts that hide the muscles until the “reveal.” This ties back to the “Sigma” philosophy of hidden power. The music is purely functional: it’s performance-enhancing audio. The distorted bass increases heart rate and adrenaline, allowing for heavier lifts. 💪💊
8. Future Outlook: 2027 and Beyond 🔮🚀
Where is the Phonk train heading? 🚄💨
8.1 AI and Infinite Phonk 🤖♾️
By 2026, AI tools are generating Phonk tracks in real-time. Apps like “Phonk Music: EDM Gaming Radio” are evolving into generative platforms where the music never stops and never repeats. We’re approaching “Adaptive Phonk”, where the music in your car or game reacts to your biometrics (heart rate, driving speed) to create a personalized soundtrack for your life. 💓🛣️🎧
8.2 The Festival Circuit 🎡🎟️
Phonk has graduated from SoundCloud to the main stage. Festivals like EDC Las Vegas 2026 and Ultra Miami now feature dedicated Phonk stages or takeovers. The genre is no longer just for headphones; it’s a communal, stadium-filling experience with mosh pits and drift cars performing live on stage. 🏟️🤘🚗
8.3 Global Hybridization 🌍🤝
The future is Afro-Phonk and Phonk-Ton (Reggaeton Phonk). As the genre spreads to Africa and Latin America, local rhythms are being assimilated. The “Phonk” sound is becoming a universal texture that can be applied to any regional genre to make it “darker” and “cooler.” 😎🌑
Conclusion: The Eternal Loop 🔁💀❤️
Phonk is the zombie of music genres. It’s composed of dead parts—old vocals, obsolete drum machines, forgotten jazz loops—sewn together and shocked into life with modern distortion. It shouldn’t work. It should be ugly. 🧟♂️💔
But it’s beautiful. 🌹
It’s beautiful because it’s honest. It admits that the world is broken, that the future is haunted, and that sometimes the only appropriate response to modern existence is to turn the bass up until your vision blurs. It’s the sound of resilience. It’s the sound of a generation that decided if they’re going to live in a dystopia, they’re at least going to have a killer soundtrack. ✊🔥
So, crank the volume. Glitch the reality. Drift the corner. 🔊👾🏎️
Keep it Phonk. 💜
Appendix: Phonk Data Tables 📊💾
Table 1: Phonk Emotion & Vibe Matrix 🎭🎶
| Emotion | Subgenre Match | Recommended Track (2026) | Context |
| Rage / Anger | Drift / Dirt Phonk | FATALITY – Kill Dyll | Hitting a PR in the gym; Road rage. 😤🏋️♂️ |
| Despair / Sadness | Wave Phonk | Desolation – Yavomag | Walking alone in the rain; 3 AM reflection. 🌧️😢 |
| Hype / Party | Brazilian Phonk | Automotivo Bibi Fogosa | The peak of the rave; The drop. 🎉🥳 |
| Focus / Flow | OG / Rare Phonk | Always Proper – Soudiere | Coding; Studying; Long highway drives. 💻🛣️ |
| Fear / Horror | Horror Phonk | Murder in My Mind (Distorted) | Playing survival horror games; Halloween. 🎃😱 |
Table 2: The Phonk Armory (Weaponry of the Phonkoverse) ⚔️🛡️
| Weapon Name | Type | Effect | Lore Description |
| The Bass Cannon | Sonic Emitter | Structural Damage | A modified subwoofer array capable of shattering concrete with low frequencies. 📢🧱 |
| The Cowbell Disruptor | Frequency Jammer | Disorientation | Emits a high-pitched, metallic ring that scrambles enemy communications. 🔔🌀 |
| The Glitch Blade | Melee | Phase-Shifting | A sword that exists between digital and physical states, bypassing armor. 🗡️👾 |
| The Tape Deck | Artifact | Summoning | An ancient device used to summon the “Voices of the Three 6” for buffs. 📼✨ |
Table 3: SEO Keyword Synthesis for Content Creators 🔑📈
| Keyword | Density Strategy | Context |
| “Phonk” | High (Primary) | Use in every H2 header and intro/outro. 🔝 |
| “Drift Phonk” | Medium | Use in gaming and car culture sections. 🏎️ |
| “Aggressive Phonk” | Low | Use in gym/workout contexts. 🏋️ |
| “Brazilian Phonk” | Medium | Use in trend/social media sections. 🇧🇷 |
| “Music for Gaming” | Low | Use in media recommendations. 🎮 |
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