Lil Durk - American rapper Derek Banks is the founder of Only The Family Entertainment, touring and recording under the pseudonym Lil Durk. Throughout his career, he experienced ups and downs, but managed to maintain a reputation, having withstood a series of attacks from ill-wishers who criticized his work.
Childhood and youth
Derek Banks was born in Chicago on October 19, 1992 and was raised in a dysfunctional African American family. At the time of the boy's admission to high school, his father was sent to prison for actively participating in showdowns and street wars.
Taking care of his mother, Derek made his own food and ended up dropping out when his senior year arrived. He began to be creative, having mastered the popular Internet channels, and at first he plunged headlong into the musical whirlpool.
A negative role in the early biography of the aspiring American rapper was played by the Chicago street gangs, which were at war with each other. In the early 2010s, the singer had problems with the law, but Banks did not pay attention to this until there was a breakdown in his life rhythm.
It happened when the guy was arrested for possession of weapons. Miraculously escaping punishment, he hid the combat pistol away. Not knowing about the close supervision of the police, the musician was subsequently caught again. He was threatened with a term of 5 to 7 years.
There is very little information about Derek Banks' personal life, but it is known that in his early youth he suddenly became a father. The rapper is 180 cm tall, weighs about 85 kg and has an appearance that allows women to like and be a distinctive African American singer.
It was to such qualities that Nicole Konove, who was the wife of the musician and the mother of his children, reacted. According to rumors, the marriage quickly fell apart due to problems with the police, and Lil Durk temporarily postponed the romance, avoiding unnecessary passions.
Now on the rapper's Instagram sometimes photos with a girl appear, but it is not clear from the signatures and comments whether this is a friend or a wife. Either way, this relationship ended the gossip about the relationship with Dej Loaf, who once stated that she was engaged and in love.
Despite everyday difficulties, Banks managed to start a career and record the first hip-hop and trap mixtapes. He hoped to sign a contract with any recording studio, but at that moment he did not get a single lucky ticket.
Spinning songs Sneak Dissin and I'ma Hitta on his own, the rapper hid his real name and used the pseudonym Lil Durk.
He received thousands of wiretaps using the internet platform and was glad he didn't have to sign a pile of official papers.
In early 2013, Derek met colleagues in the profession and, in close collaboration with Glo Gang and Lil Reese, presented hit mixtapes. The clips for the songs Oh My God, Bang Bros, Times and Hittaz came to the attention of producers and the famous Rolling Stone edition.
This brought the young musician to the professional studio Def Jam Recordings, where they got acquainted with the material and agreed to release their debut album. Remember My Name appeared in mid-2015 with a note that the release of individual singles will take place sometime later.
The album hit the American charts and took the 14th place on the Billboard, which, together with a lot of positive reviews, meant an undoubted success. Therefore, the rapper replenished his discography with a collection with the song My Beyonce and became the owner of a gold certificate, impressed by his friends and colleagues.
Then came the release of the studio album in 2016, on which a bright photo cover was written Lil Durk 2X. To the author's chagrin, the disc received neither recognition nor accolades, despite fruitful collaboration with Dej Loaf and Donis Beats.
Ideas for subsequent mixtapes helped Derek survive the setback, and he plunged headlong into work on Supa Vultures and Love Songs for The Streets. He also contemplated independence from producers and rejected Def Jam Recordings' services, which allowed him to return to his creative peak as a free agent.
Projects presented on Apple Music easily hit the charts and, due to the large number of downloads, were duplicated on the iTunes Store. Then Lil Durk suddenly realized that because of such presentations he was losing his earnings, and signed a lucrative contract with the Alamo & Interscope label.
At the same time, Banks created his own company Only The Family Entertainment, which successfully promoted the solo album Signed to the Streets 3. After that, the musician focused not only on the ratings and public opinion, but also on the analysis of the processes that were continuously taking place inside.
In 2020, Lil Durk planned to promote an album called Love Songs 4 the Streets 2. He is also working on a new mixtape for Durkio Krazy in the hopes of winning a Grammy and fulfilling his dream.
Discography
2015 - Remember My Name
2016 - Lil Durk 2X
2018 - Signed to the Streets 3
2019 - Love Songs 4 the Streets 2
