Lil Durk

Durk Devontay Banks, known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He is widely recognized as a pioneer and commercially successful artist within the Chicago drill music subgenre. In 2010, Banks established the Chicago-based collective and record label Only the Family, which has featured artists including the late rapper King Von.

Banks was born on October 19, 1992, in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. His father was incarcerated when Banks was seven months old, and his family experienced periods during his youth without sufficient food. He initially developed a fan base through social media platforms like Myspace and YouTube, deciding to pursue rapping full-time after becoming a father at age 17. He left Paul Robeson High School, joined the Black Disciples street gang, and subsequently encountered legal difficulties, including serving time in 2011 for gun possession charges.

He began his music career in 2010, releasing early singles such as "Sneak Dissin'" and "I'ma Hitta," followed by mixtapes including I'm A Hitta and Life Ain't No Joke. The popularity of his singles "L's Anthem" and "Dis Ain't What U Want" led to a joint venture deal between Only the Family and Def Jam Recordings in 2013. Under Def Jam, Banks released the mixtapes Signed to the Streets in 2013 and Signed to the Streets 2 in 2014, and he was named to the 2014 XXL Freshmen Class.

Def Jam released Banks's debut studio album, Remember My Name, in June 2015, which reached number 14 on the Billboard 200. His second studio album, Lil Durk 2X, followed in 2016. After completing his Def Jam contract in early 2018, Banks released the mixtape Just Cause Y'all Waited independently. He signed with Alamo Records later that year, releasing his third studio album, Signed to the Streets 3, followed by Love Songs 4 the Streets 2 in 2019, which became his first top-ten entry on the Billboard 200.

Banks achieved a major commercial breakthrough in 2020 when his single "Viral Moment" became his first song as a lead artist to enter the Billboard Hot 100. He earned further national prominence as a featured artist on Drake's "Laugh Now Cry Later," which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and Pooh Shiesty's "Back in Blood." His sixth studio album, The Voice, was released in late 2020 and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.

His follow-up projects topped the charts, starting with his 2021 collaborative album with Lil Baby, The Voice of the Heroes, which became his first project to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. His seventh album, 7220 (2022), also debuted at number one. In 2023, Banks released Almost Healed, which reached number three on the Billboard 200; its lead single, "All My Life" featuring J. Cole, peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Banks released his ninth studio album, Deep Thoughts, in 2025, which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. In October 2024, Banks was arrested by federal authorities on a conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charge against rapper Quando Rondo. He is also suspected in a separate 2022 murder-for-hire plot, with legal proceedings ongoing.