Emerging from the tough streets of Chicago, Lil Durk helped birth one of the most important Hip Hop movements of the last 10 years: drill music. After building a buzz through independent mixtapes and street anthems like “L’s Anthem,” Durk signed with Def Jam in 2012. Despite label woes, he maintained a steady stream of mixtapes and in 2019 the OTF frontman found a new level of success as his ‘Love Songs 4 the Streets 2’ album soared to No. 4. Since then, Lil Durk has gone from strength to strength with an appearance on Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later,” the gold-certified ‘The Voice’ LP and his first No. 1 album with the Lil Baby collabo ‘The Voice of the Heroes.’
PROPS
Key member of the 2010s Chicago drill scene
1x No. 1 album (‘The Voice of the Heroes’ with Lil Baby)
4x top 10 albums
Released 12 mixtapes
Released 4 OTF compilation albums
Appeared on Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later” (3x platinum, No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100)
Founded his label OTF (Only The Family) in 2010 + discovered King Von (RIP)
Signed to Def Jam in 2012 + Alamo Records/Interscope in 2018
No. Lil Durk and King Von aren’t related. The two rappers were close friends and collaborators, though. Durk signed Von to his OTF label and helped guide his career.
Yes. Lil Durk has gone platinum twice with the singles “Home Body” and “3 Headed Goat.” He also appeared on Drake’s 3x platinum hit “Laugh Now Cry Later” and Pooh Sheisty’s 2x platinum single “Back In Blood.”
No. Lil Durk has never won a Grammy. He did receive two nominations at the 2020 Grammy Awards, though: Best Rap Song (“Laugh Now Cry Later”) and Best Melodic Rap Performance (“Laugh Now Cry Later”).
Lil Durk is affiliated with the Black Disciples street gang, the rival of the Gangster Disciples. However, on Boosie Badazz’s 2016 song “Get Straight to It,” Lil Durk claimed that Larry Hoover, founder of the Gangster Disciples, gave him his stage name. “On that strip with that gun on me / Got my name from a gangster / Talking Larry Hoover / Close killer, no wankster,” he rapped.
Yes. Lil Durk has six children: Angelo Banks (born 2011), Bella Banks (born 2013), Zayden Banks (born 2013), Du’mier Banks (2014), Skyler Banks (born 2014) and Willow Banks (born 2018).
Lil Durk rose to fame in 2012 with “L’s Anthem,” which earned him a deal with Def Jam. In 2020, he appeared on Drake’s hit single “Laugh Now Cry Later” and scored his first No. 1 album the following year.
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