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.....read more
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. In April 2020, Durk made his first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single "Viral Moment" off his fifth studio album Born Durk D. Banks on October 19, 1992 , Lil Durk grew up in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago's South Side. 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.