Get To Know Lil Durk, Rapper Denied Entry Into The Bahamas Thanks To His Pending Murder Charge
He's making headlines for an entirely different reason.
Getty Images Who is Lil Durk?
Durk Derrick Banks is a Chicago native who first broke through into the hip hop industry when he began uploading his songs to MySpace. As the founder of his own record label and rap collective called Only The Family, Lil Durk went through more than his fair share of drama — including incarceration — before making a bit of a name for himself amongst rap music fans. His breakthrough single was a song called "Dis Ain't What You Want," which was released in 2013, and created a joint venture deal with Only The Family and Def Jam Records.
Now, however, he's making his way into the mainstream for an entirely different set of reasons. Let's look at what we know about Lil Durk and why he's making headlines today.
1. Who is Lil Durk? He's recently started feuding with French Montana.
Lil Durk just released a new song in which he discusses his feud with French Montana. The song, whose title has not yet been confirmed, was previewed on Durk's Instagram account and features lyrics like, "When I fell out with French Montana that s**t did me damage/I learned the rules of a contract but I was planning on signing/He picked me up when Def Jam didn’t, he turned me diamond/Now I’m the voice of the streets, perfect timing."
2. This isn't the first time he's talked about his rift with French Montana.
Before Lil Durk signed a joint venture with Def Jam Records, he was interested in signing a contract with French Montana and his Coke Boys record label. (Incidentally, contrary to popular opinion, Montana's label isn't in reference to cocaine — it's an anagram for "Creation Of Kings Everywhere.") However, they were unable to come to terms that were agreeable to both parties, and for a time, the duo were very much at odds with one another. Though Durk said they didn't have a good relationship back when the Coke Boys deal fell through, he was glad he was a Coke Boys affiliate today.
3. But Montana and Lil Durk seemed to be on good terms not long ago.
When Lil Durk posted the snippet of the song on his Instagram page, French Montana took to the comments to compliment the young rapper. "Brothers 4Life — let's finish what we started!" Khloe Kardashian's ex-boyfriend wrote.
4. He's currently facing very serious charges.
In the summer of 2019, Lil Durk was allegedly involved in a deadly shooting outside of The Varsity nightclub in Atlanta, GA. <---SOURCE FOR THIS? *SOURCE IS IN THE STORY LINKED BELOW* Reportedly, he was caught on video firing a gun. Durk and his co-defendant, DeaVonte Bennett, are currently facing a slew of charges, including criminal intent to commit murder. (Reportedly, too, Lil Durk is a member of a gang, which he denies.)
5. Lil Durk was recently denied entry into the Bahamas because of these pending charges.
Lil Durk was scheduled to play a show in the Bahamas on December 28th. However, Bahamian officials turned him away at their borders because of his pending murder charges in Atlanta. Some fans were wondering how, exactly, Durk was able to gain a visa to go to the Bahamas, considering he'd had these charges hanging over his head. Some fans even speculated that he'd bribed government officials to gain entry!
6. He addressed the entry denial on social media.
Though Lil Durk hasn't issued an official statement about the Bahamian denial — including whether he'll be booking a makeup show — he did take to his Twitter page to suggest that he was in a good place, and not even the worst accusations could keep him down. He also played a show in Miami on New Year's Eve, so it doesn't sound like he's hurting for work.
When you in a good space can’t nobody break that - ENERGY
— DURKIOOO (@lildurk) December 29, 2019
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.