Lil Durk

Background

Lil Durk was born on October 19, 1992, in Englewood, Illinois, on the south side of Chicago. His father was incarcerated when he was seven months old, so he learned to shoulder responsibilities early in life. Following the popularity of his two singles ‘Sneak Dissin’ and ‘I’ma Hitta,’ he began to contemplate rap as a full-time career. Durk became more serious about his career after having a baby at 17 and stepping out of Paul Robeson High School to join the Black Disciples, a Chicago street gang.

He was affiliated with the Glo Gang label early in his career but was not signed to it. He began to carve out his own niche in the music industry and released a mixtape titled “Life Ain’t No Joke” after the success of his first two tracks. This mixtape was downloaded 216,000 times on DatPiff, an online mixtape distribution network. Durk released a new song, ‘L’s Anthem,’ in December 2012, featuring French Montana, and it quickly became a hit. Because of the success of ‘L’s Anthem,’ he was able to form a joint venture with Def Jam Recordings. With the release of his first album, “Remember My Name,” in 2015, he took a major step forward in his career. The album was a smashing hit, debuting at number 14 on the Billboard 200 chart. He released his sixth mixtape, “300 Days, 300 Nights,” on December 15, 2015. To promote the mixtape, a track called ‘My Beyonce’ was released. “Life Ain’t Joke,” his third mixtape, is still considered one of his best efforts. It gave him the courage to make music a full-time profession.

Durk is the father of six children and since 2017 has been engaged to Instagram model India Royale. The two have a daughter named Willow, whom they welcomed in October 2018.