Lil Durk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lil Durk
Lil Durk in 2022
Background information
Birth name	Durk Devontay Banks
Also known as	The Voice Smurk Durkio Vulture Mustafa Abdul Malak
Born	(1992-10-19) October 19, 1992 (age 32) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop drill trap gangsta rap
Occupations	Rapper songwriter
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Only the Family Alamo Geffen Interscope Def Jam Coke Boys

Durk Devontay Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. He is known for being a key artist in the Chicago hip hop style called drill music. Many see him as one of the most successful rappers in this music style.

He first became popular in his local area with his Signed to the Streets mixtape series (2013–2014). This success led him to sign with Def Jam Recordings. This record label released his first album, Remember My Name (2015), and his next one, Lil Durk 2X (2016). These albums did fairly well, and he later left the label in 2018.

After releasing his independent mixtape Just Cause Y'all Waited in March 2018, Banks signed with Alamo Records in July of that year. His 2020 song, "Viral Moment", was his first song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as the main artist. This marked his big breakthrough that year. Other successful songs included "3 Headed Goat" (with Polo G and Lil Baby), "Backdoor," and "The Voice". He also appeared as a guest on Drake's "Laugh Now Cry Later" and Pooh Shiesty's "Back in Blood".

He ended 2020 with his sixth album, The Voice, which reached number two on the Billboard 200 chart. The next year, his album with rapper Lil Baby, The Voice of the Heroes (2021), became his first album to reach number one on the chart. His seventh album, 7220 (2022), also reached number one. His eighth album, Almost Healed (2023), reached number three. This album featured the song "All My Life" (with J. Cole), which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. This song also won a Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, making it his most successful song yet.

Banks has been nominated for a Grammy Award four times. In 2010, he started a music group and record label in Chicago called Only the Family (OTF). This group included the late 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 had a lot of responsibility at home from a young age. He remembered times when his family didn't have enough food. He started to become known on social media sites like Myspace and YouTube. As his online fans grew, he became very interested in becoming a rapper.

Career

2010–2014: Early Music and First Big Steps

In 2010, Durk released a freestyle song called "Lamron Wasted." After plans to sign with other labels didn't work out, he decided to make rapping his full-time job. This was after his songs "Sneak Dissin'" and "I'ma Hitta" got good local feedback. On August 26, 2011, Durk released his first mixtape, I’m A Hitta. He followed this with I’m Still A Hitta on April 3, 2012. On October 19, 2012, Durk released his third mixtape, Life Ain't No Joke. This mixtape was downloaded over 216,000 times by September 2012. In December 2012, Durk released the song "L's Anthem." A remix of this song, featuring French Montana, was also released.

In 2013, because "L's Anthem" and "Dis Ain't What U Want" were so popular, Durk signed a deal with his group Only the Family and Def Jam Recordings. After some delays, Durk's fourth mixtape, Signed to the Streets, came out on October 14, 2013. It featured Lil Reese on two songs. The mixtape also had music made by Paris Bueller and Young Chop.

Eight music videos were made to promote Signed to the Streets. These included "Bars Pt. 2," "Oh My God," and "Dis Ain't What U Want." Rolling Stone magazine later called Signed to the Streets the eighth best mixtape of 2013. In October 2013, Durk told XXL that he was working on his first album with Def Jam Recordings. He was also named one of the 2014 XXL Freshmen Class artists. Later that year, 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 his first album would be called Remember My Name. He also said it would come out on May 12. On the same day, the album's first song, "Like Me", featuring Jeremih, was released. However, on April 20, 2015, Durk announced that the album's release was delayed. He also showed the official album cover and said it would now come out on June 2.

On June 2, 2015, Durk's first album, Remember My Name, was released. The album reached number fourteen on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 24,000 copies in its first week. Later that year, Durk released his sixth mixtape, 300 Days, 300 Nights, on December 15, 2015. The only song released to promote the mixtape was "My Beyoncé", which featured Detroit rapper Dej Loaf. This song came out on November 20, 2015. A music video for "My Beyoncé" was released in early 2016. On June 5, 2017, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. This means it sold over 500,000 copies.

Lil Durk released his second album, Lil Durk 2X, on July 22, 2016. Before that, he released the first song for the album, "She Just Wanna", featuring Ty Dolla $ign, in May. Other songs from the album included "Money Walk", featuring Yo Gotti, and "True". This album did not do as well as his first album, Remember My Name. It reached number twenty-nine on the Billboard 200.

Later that November, Durk released his seventh mixtape, They Forgot. This mixtape featured other artists like Lil Reese, Meek Mill, and 21 Savage. The music was made by various producers. The mixtape was supported by the song "Baller". On December 7, 2016, Durk's song, "Like Me", from his first album, was certified gold by the RIAA.

2017–2019: New Mixtapes and Albums

Lil Durk in 2019

In 2017, Durk released several mixtapes. These included Love Songs for the Streets (February 28, 2017), Supa Vultures (a collaboration with Lil Reese released on August 11, 2017), Signed to the Streets 2.5 (October 19, 2017), and Bloodas (a collaboration with Tee Grizzley released on December 8, 2017). Bloodas was the only one of these four mixtapes to appear on the Billboard 200 chart, reaching number 96.

On March 29, 2018, Durk announced that his twelfth mixtape, Just Cause Y'all Waited, would be released the next day. This was his first mixtape to be sold digitally. At the same time, he confirmed that his contract with Def Jam Records was finished. The next day, Durk became an independent artist. He released Just Cause Y'all Waited on Apple Music and the iTunes Store. This mixtape later became available on other platforms. Just Cause Y'all Waited was Durk's second mixtape (after Bloodas in 2017) and his first solo mixtape to appear on any Billboard chart. It reached number 57 on the Billboard 200.

Durk also announced a project with producer DY called Durkio Krazy, but it has not been released. On May 3, 2019, Durk was featured on a new version of "Crazy Story" by rapper King Von. This new version, called "Crazy Story 2.0", later became part of Von's first mixtape, Grandson, Vol. 1. The song reached number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On July 27, 2018, Durk announced he had signed with Alamo Records and Interscope Records. He released his third album, Signed to the Streets 3, on November 9, 2018. It featured guest artists like Young Dolph, Gunna, and Lil Baby.

Love Songs 4 the Streets 2, Lil Durk's fourth album, was released on August 2, 2019. It was a follow-up to his 2017 mixtape Love Songs 4 the Streets. It featured guest artists such as 21 Savage, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, and Nicki Minaj. The album reached number four on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. This was his first album to reach the top ten on that chart.

2020–2022: Chart-Topping Success

Lil Durk in 2020

To start 2020, Durk released the song “Chiraq Demons” with G Herbo on March 21, 2020. He then released “All Love” on March 29, 2020. Durk then released songs for his upcoming fifth album, Just Cause Y'all Waited 2, which came out on May 8, 2020. The album included the song “Viral Moment”, released on April 8, 2020, which reached number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another song, "3 Headed Goat", featuring Polo G and Lil Baby, was released on May 7, 2020, and reached number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100. Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 debuted at number five on the Billboard 200. A deluxe version of the album was released on June 26, 2020, with seven more songs. This helped the album reach a new high of number two on the Billboard 200.

On August 14, 2020, Durk was featured on the song “Laugh Now Cry Later” by Canadian rapper Drake. This song was very successful, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It was Durk's first song to reach the top 40, top 20, and top 10, and his highest-charting song until his own song “All My Life” matched that position in 2023.

On August 28, 2020, Lil Durk confirmed that his next album would be called The Voice. This would also be the title song for his sixth album, The Voice. Durk first hinted that The Voice would be released in October 2020. The title song was released as the first single from the album on September 4, 2020. It reached number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100. He later released the album's second song, "Stay Down" with American singer 6lack and American rapper Young Thug on October 30, 2020. This song reached number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. On November 5, 2020, Durk was featured on Pooh Sheisty’s song “Back In Blood”. This song reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 after becoming very popular online. He then released "Backdoor" as the third and final song, on December 21, 2020. “Backdoor” also reached number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Voice was released on December 24, 2020. It is a tribute to his friend, King Von, who is on the album cover. King Von was also featured on the song "Still Trappin", which reached number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On March 3, 2021, Durk, King Von, Booka600, and Memo600 released the song “Jump”, which reached number 9 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. On June 4, 2021, Lil Durk released a song with fellow rapper Lil Baby called “Voice of the Heroes”. This song reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the only song from his album with Lil Baby, The Voice of the Heroes, which also came out on June 4, 2021. This album became Durk’s first number one album on the Billboard 200 chart. On August 29, 2021, Durk was featured on Kanye West's song “Jonah” from West's album Donda. On September 3, 2021, Durk was also featured with Giveon on Drake's song "In the Bible", from Drake's album Certified Lover Boy. “In the Bible” reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Durk's second top-ten song after “Laugh Now Cry Later” in 2020.

On November 5, 2021, Durk released the song “Lion Eyes”, which reached number 3 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. On December 17, 2021, Durk worked with country musician Morgan Wallen to release the song “Broadway Girls”. This song was very successful and reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the second song for Durk's album 7220.

On February 22, 2022, Lil Durk released a new song, "Ahhh Ha". He initially said his seventh album, 7220, would be released on the same day, but it was moved to March 11. The album was released then, with 17 songs, including guest appearances from Future, Gunna, Summer Walker, and Morgan Wallen.

On July 31, 2022, Durk announced that he would stop performing and recording for a while to recover from injuries. This happened after an accident on July 30, where his head was hit by a stage effect during his show at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. Durk had injuries to his face and right eye. On November 14, 2022, Durk was featured on American rapper Roddy Ricch's song Twin. The song reached number 1 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.

2023: Almost Healed and Nightmares in the Trenches

After appearing on the cover of XXL magazine, Lil Durk talked in an interview about his eighth album. He said it would be a follow-up to his sixth album, The Voice (2020). When asked about the album, he said it was about "Growth." He explained that "2.0" meant being on another level, not just in music, but also growing from the people around him and doing big charity events. However, on May 5, Durk announced that the title had been changed to Almost Healed. The album was released on May 26. It featured guest artists like Alicia Keys, J. Cole, Future, 21 Savage, and Morgan Wallen.

The main song, "All My Life" featuring J. Cole, was released on May 12. This song reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Durk's highest-charting song as the main artist. The second song, "Pelle Coat", was released on May 25, along with "Therapy Session" with Alicia Keys. "Pelle Coat" reached number 35 on the Hot 100. The album itself reached number three on the Billboard 200. Durk later shared that he would release a new album soon with thirteen songs.

On August 18, 2023, Durk released a song called "F*ck U Thought". On November 10, 2023, he released another song called "Smurk Carter". On November 17, 2023, Durk released his fifth album with other artists from his label Only the Family, called Nightmares in the Trenches. This project featured guest appearances from OTF Boonie Moe, Rob49, and others. On October 27, 2023, David Guetta featured Ayra Starr and Lil Durk on a song called "Big FU".

2024–Present: Grammy Win and New Music

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

On February 4, at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, Lil Durk won his first Grammy Award after being nominated three times before. He won for Best Melodic Rap Performance with the song "All My Life" featuring J. Cole. This was the main song from his eighth album Almost Healed.

In late January 2024, Durk announced that his next album would be called Love Songs 4 the Streets 3. This album would be a follow-up to his 2017 mixtape Love Songs 4 the Streets and his 2019 album Love Songs 4 the Streets 2. On February 23, 2024, Durk released the first song for this new project, an emotional song called "Old Days". A music video for the song was also released that day. On June 28, 2024, Lil Durk released another song called "Went Hollywood for a Year". He also planned to release a new album called Deep Thoughts.

Only the Family

Only the Family (OTF) is a music group and record label that Lil Durk started in 2010. Artists like the late King Von, Doodie Lo, and Booka600 are part of this label.

Personal Life

Durk is a Muslim. He has seven children. Since 2017, he has been married to his longtime girlfriend, India Royale.

In July 2023, it was reported that Durk was in the hospital because he was very dehydrated and tired.

Discography

• 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)
• Deep Thoughts (2025)
• The Voice of the Heroes (with Lil Baby) (2021)

Awards and Nominations

Images for kids

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  Lil Durk's signature

See also

In Spanish: Lil Durk para niños