Happy Birthday, Lil Durk!
Today, Oct. 19, is the birthday of Chicago rapper Durk Banks, better known to the rap world as Lil Durk. He is now 26.
Years ago, Durk signed to French Montana’s Coke Boyz and has continued to build his status in hip-hop. Around that same time, he signed to Def Jam and released his Signed To The Streets mixtape in 2013 as one of his strongest prjects to date. Getting in the studio with collaborators Paris Beuller, Zaytoven, and Young Chop, Durk weaves in straight-up rapping tracks and Auto-Tune anthems. Durk followed that up with Signed To The Streets 2 and 300 Days 300 Nights, only further cultivating his subgenre drill sound.
His consistent work and loyal-to-the-streets sound landed Durk a spot on the 2014 XXL Freshman cover alongside upstarts like Vic Mensa, Kevin Gates, Rich Homie Quan and more. Back in 2015, Durk dropped his debut album, Remember My Name, under Def Jam Recordings. The album debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 200, selling 24,000 copies in the first week. In July of 2016, Durk dropped his official follow-up, Lil Durk 2x, which peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
In 2018, Durk was busy as hell. He dropped Love Songs for the Streets in February, then teamed up with Lil Reese for the Supa Vultures EP in August before releasing his Signed to the Streets 2.5 project for his birthday.
In June 2018, Durk, who'd recently left Def Jam, signed with Alamo Records and Interscope. In August 2018, he dropped off Lil Durk Presents: Only the Family Involved, Vol. 1 project.
Happy Birthday, Durk!
Here's the Ultimate Guide to Rappers With Acronyms in Their Name