Lil Durk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lil Durk
Lil Durk in 2022
Background information
Birth name	Durk Derrick Banks
Also known as	The Voice Smurk Durkio
Born	(1992-10-19) October 19, 1992 (age 31) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop drill trap gangsta rap
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Only the Family Alamo Geffen Interscope Def Jam Coke Boys

Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper and singer from Chicago, Illinois. He first garnered a regional following with the release of his Signed to the Streets mixtape series (2013–2014), which led to his signing of a recording contract from Def Jam Recordings. The company would release his debut studio album, Remember My Name (2015) and its follow up, Lil Durk 2X (2016) before he parted ways with the label in 2018.

Following the independent release of his Just Cause Y'all Waited mixtape in March 2018, Durk signed a deal with Alamo Records in July of that year. In April 2020, Durk made his first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist with his single "Viral Moment." He gained further commercial success throughout that year with his singles "3 Headed Goat" (featuring Polo G and Lil Baby), "Backdoor," and "The Voice;" his features on Drake's "Laugh Now Cry Later" and Pooh Shiesty's "Back in Blood;" as well as his album, The Voice (2020). The following year, his joint album with Lil Baby, The Voice of the Heroes (2021) became his first release to debut atop the Billboard 200. His seventh album, 7220 (2022) became his second project to do so, while his eighth album, Almost Healed (2023) contained his most successful single to date, "All My Life" (featuring J. Cole) peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

Durk founded the Chicago-based collective and record label Only the Family (OTF) in 2010, for which he serves as the lead member. The group, having released six albums, included slain rapper King Von.

Early life

Durk Derrick Banks was born on October 19, 1992, in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. He grew up with a great deal of responsibility at home, as his father was incarcerated when he was seven months old. He recalled that there were times when he did not have enough food at home when he was younger. He began to establish a presence on social media channels like Myspace and YouTube; he grew fond of the idea of being a rapper as his online fan base started to expand.

Career

Early career and rise to popularity

In 2010, Durk released a freestyle to Gucci Mane & Plies’ "Wasted" titled, "Lamron Wasted". 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

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. In addition, Durk was named part of the 2014 XXL Freshmen Class.

On July 7, 2014, Durk released his fifth mixtape, Signed to the Streets 2.

2015–2016: Remember My Name 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 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 that his twelfth mixtape would be released the next day at midnight, and his first mixtape was to be released for digital retail, Just Cause Y'all Waited. That same time, he also confirmed that he fulfilled his contract with Def Jam Records. The following day, Durk, 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. On May 3, 2019, Durk appears in a remix of Crazy Story with fellow rapper King Von, with a related music video, the remix is called "Crazy Story 2.0" which will later be part of the album Grandson, Vol. 1. The song peaked at number 81 on the Billboard hot 100.

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.

2020–2022: Just Cause Y'all Waited 2, The Voice and 7220

Lil Durk in 2022

Durk's 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 Banks' 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 who was featured on the song, "Still Trappin'". On December 17, 2021, Durk decided to try something different that benefitted him in the long-run, he decided to work with country music singer Morgan Wallen to put out a hit single, "Broadway Girls". The song was a huge success, and it was unexpected friendship between the two of them still to date.

Durk made a guest appearance on Kanye West's tenth studio album, Donda, on the song "Jonah", which was released on August 29, 2021. As with all other guest appearances on this album, Durk was not acknowledged directly. He was also featured on Drake's sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy, on the song "In the Bible", which was released on September 3, 2021. On February 22, 2022, Lil Durk released a new single, "Ahhh Ha", produced by Southside. He initially stated that his seventh studio album, 7220, was due to be released on the same day, but it was pushed back to March 11; it was released then, consisting of 17 tracks, including guest appearances from Future, Gunna, Summer Walker, and Morgan Wallen.

On November 14, 2022 Durk was featured on American rapper Roddy Ricch's single titled, ''Twin'', The song was number 1 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, and it was number 35 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the song later appeared on Feed Tha Streets III, the third commercial mixtape by Roddy Ricch.

2023–present: Almost Healed and Nightmares in the Trenches

After appearing on the cover of XXL, Lil Durk appeared in an interview in which he teased the release of his eighth studio album, a sequel to his sixth studio album, The Voice (2020). When asked about the album, he stated: "Growth. That’s what the "2.0" stand for, just be on another level. Just not only music-wise, like the things around me like I told you, growing from the friends around me, management. Sitting with the mayor. We doin’ big charity things. Neighborhood Heroes, the foundation I got." However, on May 5, Durk announced that the title had been changed to Almost Healed. The album was released on May 26 and features guest appearances from Alicia Keys, J. Cole, Chief Wuk, Future, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, Rob49, the late Juice Wrld, and Morgan Wallen. The lead single, "All My Life" featuring J. Cole, was released on May 12. The song debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Durk his highest-charting song as a lead artist. The second single, "Pelle Coat", was released on May 25 respectively, alongside the promotional single "Therapy Session", a collaboration with Alicia Keys. The former song debuted and peaked at number 35 on the Hot 100. The album debuted and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. Durk later shared that he would be releasing a new album soon, which would have thirteen tracks after his previous couple solo albums had a few more tracks than that and ran for longer.

On August 18, 2023, Durk released a single titled, ''F*ck U Thought", which is the lead single to his deluxe edition of Almost Healed. And on November 10, 2023, he released another single titled, "Smurk Carter", which is a collaboration with his label Only the Family and serves as a lead and only single to his fifth compilation album, Nightmares in the Trenches. On November 17, 2023, Durk released his fifth compilation album titled Nightmares in the Trenches, which is also a collaboration with artists from his label Only the Family and the project features guest appearances from OTF Boonie Moe, Rob49, THF Zoo, Cokilla, Chief Wuk, Doodie Lo, YTB Fatt, Icewear Vezzo, Deeski, and Booka600. The album debuted at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[2]

On January 12th, 2024, Durk made a guest appearance on 21 Savage's American Dream on the song "Dangerous".

Only the Family

Only the Family is a collective formed by Lil Durk in 2010. Artists such as the late King Von, the late OTF Nuski, Doodie Lo, Booka600, and OTF Boonie Moe are associated with the label.

Personal life

Durk is Muslim. Additionally, he is a pescatarian. He had an older brother, Dontay Banks Jr, who was known as DThang. Durk has 6 children. Since 2020, Durk has been engaged to his longtime girlfriend India Royale. Throughout his childhood, his father, Dontay Banks Sr., had been serving an extended prison sentence. He was released from federal prison on July 19, 2017.

In July 2023, TMZ reported that Durk was hospitalized due to severe dehydration and exhaustion.

Tour

In July 2023, Durk cancelled a number of tour performances due to health issues. His headlining performance Rolling Loud Miami as well as Sorry for the Drought performance were cancelled. He is only set to perform in his hometown Chicago on the 11th and 12 August.

Discography

Studio albums

• Remember My Name (2015)
• Lil Durk 2X (2016)
• Signed to the Streets 3 (2018)
• Love Songs 4 the Streets 2 (2019)
• Just Cause Y'all Waited 2 (2020)
• The Voice (2020)
• 7220 (2022)
• Almost Healed (2023)

Collaborative albums

• The Voice of the Heroes (with Lil Baby) (2021)

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Lil Durk para niños