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Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is a rapper and singer from Chicago, Illinois. He is the lead member and founder of the collective and record label, Only the Family (OTF). Durk garnered a cult following with the release of his Signed to the Streets mixtape series (2013–2014), leading to a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. The label would release his debut studio albums, Remember My Name (2015) and Lil Durk 2X (2016), before dropping the artist in 2018. In April 2020, Durk made his first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single "Viral Moment" off his fifth studio album, Just Cause Y'all Waited 2 (2020). Lil Durk's commercial resurgence continued with singles such as "3 Headed Goat" (featuring Polo G and Lil Baby), "Backdoor," and "The Voice"; his features on Drake's 2020 single, "Laugh Now Cry Later" and Pooh Shiesty's song, "Back in Blood", as well as his LPs, The Voice (2020) and his joint album with Lil Baby, The Voice of the Heroes (2021)—which became his first release to debut atop the Billboard 200.

Chicago rapper Lil Durk began to catch on in the early 2010s when he was still a teenager, bringing pop touches to a raw lyrical style and helping set the pace for the melodic sound that Chicago became known for as the decade progressed. His fame grew as he grappled with various legal troubles, and he released multiple albums that charted in the higher regions of the Billboard 200, with Love Songs 4 the Streets 2 (2019) and The Voice (2020) both reaching the Top Five.

Lil Durk grew up in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago's South Side. Durk grew up with a great deal of responsibility at home as his father was incarcerated when he was seven months old. He recalls that there were times when he did not have enough food at home when he was younger. He started his first breakthrough on social media channels like Myspace and YouTube, and grew fond of the idea of being a rapper as his online fan base started to expand. Durk took his career more seriously after becoming a father at 17 and dropping out of school at, Paul Robeson High School, in order to join the Black Disciples, a street gang in Chicago. Soon after joining, he began to get into trouble with the law and served time in October 2011 due to gun charges, including possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number. He later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated unauthorized use of a weapon, according to court records.The rapper/singer started issuing mixtapes through his collective OTF (Only the Family) in August 2011 with I'm a Hitta and quickly followed it with I'm Still a Hitta (April 2012) and Life Ain't No Joke (October 2012), the latter of which came out just after the typically melodic and kicked-back "L's Anthem," his debut single for Def Jam. The same year, he was featured on a string of tracks with fellow Chicago natives and close associates like Lil Reese, Fredo Santana, and Chief Keef. "Dis Ain't What U Want," his second Def Jam single, was released in May 2013, just before his affiliation with French Montana's Coke Boys was made official.

Durk's debut album, Remember My Name, followed in 2015 and featured Logic, Jeremih, and King Popo as guests. DeJ Loaf, Yo Gotti, and Young Thug landed on his 2016 LP 2X, which also featured the single "She Just Wanna" (with Ty Dolla $ign). In 2017, Durk teamed up with DeJ Loaf for the single "The One." Several mixtapes arrived during the year, including Love Songs for the Streets, Supa Vultures (with Lil Reese), and Bloodas (with Tee Grizzley). He continued into 2018 with Just Cause Y'all Waited -- which peaked just outside the Top 50 -- and Durkio Krazy, a collaborative tape with 808 Mafia's DY. Third studio album Signed to the Streets 3 appeared in November and reached the Top 20 of the Billboard 200.

Career and rise to popularity

In 2011, Banks would start taking music seriously. After plans to sign with Chief Keef and French Montana's labels fell through, he considered rapping as "a full-time career" after the releases of his two singles, "Sneak Dissin'" and "I'ma Hitta", each of which received generally positive feedback. On October 19, 2012, Durk released his third mixtape, Life Ain't No Joke. As of September 22, 2015, the mixtape has been downloaded over 216,000 times on DatPiff. In December 2012, Durk released the track, called "L's Anthem", which was remixed, featuring French Montana, as a re-release.

2013–2015: Signing to OTF and Def Jam Recordings and Signed to the Streets

Main articles: Signed to the Streets and Signed to the Streets 2

Due to the popularity of "L's Anthem" and its follow-up single, "Dis Ain't What U Want" in 2013, Durk accepted a joint venture deal with his collective Only the Family and Def Jam Recordings.

After a small number of delays, Durk's fourth mixtape Signed to the Streets was released on October 14, 2013, exclusively on DatPiff. It features two guest appearances from former Glo Gang affiliate Lil Reese, along with production credits from Paris Bueller and Young Chop, among others. Eight music videos were released to promote the mixtape: "Bars Pt. 2", "Oh My God", "100 Rounds", "Dis Ain't What U Want", "Bang Bros", "Traumatized", "Hittaz" and "Times". Signed to the Streets would later be named the eighth best mixtape of 2013 by Rolling Stone. On October 22, 2013, in an interview with XXL, Lil Durk said he was working on his debut album under Def Jam. Also, Durk was named part of the 2014 XXL Freshmen Class.

On July 7, 2014, Durk released his fifth mixtape, the sequel to Signed to the Streets.

2015–2016: Remember My Name and Lil Durk 2X

Main articles: Remember My Name (album) and Lil Durk 2X

On March 25, 2015, Durk announced the title of his debut studio album Remember My Name and revealed its original release date, May 12. On the same day, the album's first single, "Like Me", featuring Jeremih, was released. However, on April 20, 2015, Durk announced that the May 12 release date of Remember My Name was delayed; he also revealed the official album cover and announced that its release had been pushed back to June 2.

On June 2, 2015, Durk's debut album, Remember My Name, was released as planned. The album peaked at number fourteen on the Billboard 200 with 28,000 equivalent album units; it sold 24,000 copies in its first week, with the remainder of its unit count attributed to streaming activity and track sales. Later that year, Durk released his sixth mixtape, 300 Days, 300 Nights, on December 15, 2015. The only single released in promotion for the mixtape was "My Beyoncé", which features Detroit rapper Dej Loaf. The single was released on November 20, 2015. A music video for "My Beyoncé" had been released in early 2016. On June 5, 2017, the single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for single-equivalent units of over 500,000 copies.

Lil Durk released his second album, Lil Durk 2X, on July 22, 2016. Previously, he released the first single for the album, "She Just Wanna", featuring Ty Dolla $ign, in May. Other follow-up singles for the album include: "Money Walk", featuring Yo Gotti, and "True". The album, unfortunately, failed to meet the same standards as his previous album, Remember My Name, peaking at number twenty-nine on the Billboard 200.

Later that November, Durk released his seventh mixtape, They Forgot. The mixtape features guest appearances from Lil Reese, Meek Mill, Mozzy, OTF Ikey, 21 Savage, Hypno Carlito, Dej Loaf, YFN Lucci, and BJ the Chicago Kid. While the production was handled by C-Sick, ChopSquad DJ, Donis Beats, DP Beats, LeekeLeek, Kid Wonder, London on da Track, TY Made It, and Young Chop. The mixtape was supported by the single "Baller". On December 7, 2016, Durk's single, "Like Me", from his debut studio album, Remember My Name, was certified gold by the RIAA.

2017–2019: Mixtapes, new label and albums

Throughout 2017, Durk released several mixtapes: Love Songs for the Streets in February, Supa Vultures, a collaborative mixtape with Lil Reese, in August, Signed to the Streets 2.5 in October and Bloodas, a collaborative mixtape with Tee Grizzley, in December.

On March 29, 2018, Durk announced his twelfth mixtape would be released the next day at midnight and his first mixtape to be released for digital retail, Just Cause Y'all Waited. That same time, he also wished Def Jam Recordings the best of luck while revealing that he had "quarantined" his contract with the label. Finally, the following day after he left Def Jam, Durk, now a free agent, released Just Cause Y'all Waited exclusively on Apple Music and the iTunes Store. Just Cause Y'all Waited had since been available for stream or download on other platforms. The mixtape has since become Durk's first non-album project to peak on a Billboard chart, charting at number fifty-seven on the Billboard 200, twenty-eight on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and twenty-two on the Rap Albums chart, respectively.

Durk has also announced a collaborative project with 808 Mafia producer DY, Durkio Krazy, which is yet to be released.

As of July 27, 2018, Durk announced that he signed to Alamo Records and Interscope Records and released his third studio album Signed to the Streets 3 on November 9, 2018, under Alamo/Interscope. It features guest appearances from Young Dolph, Gunna, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Future, Kevin Gates, Lil Baby, Lil Skies, TK Kravitz, and Ty Dolla Sign.

Love Songs 4 the Streets 2, Lil Durk's fourth studio album, was released on August 2, 2019, serving as a sequel to his 2017 mixtape Love Songs 4 the Streets. It features guest appearances from 21 Savage, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Key Glock, King Von, Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj. The album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

2020–present: Just Cause Y'all Waited 2 and The Voice

His fifth album, Just Cause Y'all Waited 2, followed on May 8, 2020. The album contains his second highest-charting song, "3 Headed Goat", featuring Polo G and Lil Baby. It debuted at number five on the Billboard 200. A deluxe edition of the album was released on June 26, 2020, with seven additional tracks, helping the album climb to a new peak of number two on the Billboard 200.

On August 14, 2020, Lil Durk was featured on Canadian rapper Drake's single, "Laugh Now Cry Later". It debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Durk's first top 40 and top 10 entry, and his highest-charting song.

On August 28, 2020, Lil Durk confirmed that a future project of his would be called "The Voice", which would eventually turn out to be the title track for his sixth studio album The Voice, first hinting at an October 2020 release. He initially stated he would release new music on the same day as rapper 6ix9ine's second studio album, TattleTales, amid their feud. The title track was released as the lead single from the album along with the music video on September 4, 2020. He later released "Stay Down" with American singer 6lack and American rapper Young Thug as the second single along with the video on October 30, 2020. Finally, he released "Backdoor" as the third and final single along with the video on December 21, 2020. The album was eventually released on December 24, 2020. It is a tribute to his labelmate and late close friend, King Von, who is on the cover and on the song, "Still Trappin'".

Durk made a guest appearance on Kanye West's tenth studio album Donda, which was released on August 29, 2021.

In February 2019, Lil Durk was involved with a shooting in Atlanta and faced criminal charges. While out on bail he released his fourth studio album, Love Songs 4 the Streets 2, in August of that year. Featuring guest spots from 21 Savage, Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill, and many others, the release became his first to chart in the Top Five. Before the year ended, Durk gathered his OTF crew for the Family Over Everything mixtape. The core group of OTF rappers were joined on some songs by artists like NLE Choppa and Polo G. Just Cause Y'all Waited 2, Durk's fifth studio album, appeared in May 2020, again charting in the Top Five. 2020 proved to be yet another prolific year for Durk, and he closed out the year with sixth studio album The Voice. Released in December, The Voice featured guest appearances from King Von, Young Thug, YNW Melly, and others. The album again rose to the top of the charts, peaking at the number three position.

Sources: Wikipedia, AllMusic

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