Chicago Rapper Lil Durk Sketches His Future From the Luxury Box
That’s not to say that he’s escaped the effects of the old ways, though: In May 2014, Durk’s cousin, rapper McArthur Swindle (also known as Nuski), was shot and killed while sitting in an SUV. In March of this year, his manager Uchenna Agina, who went by the nickname Chino, was murdered just hours after meeting with Noah to discuss his foundation’s anti-violence work.
“[Chino] inspired me and Nuski inspired me to keep going harder and do me,” says Durk. Around this time, he began to question of the sustainability of what he calls his earlier “hardcore rap”: “Even though the music’s still like what’s going on and being real and just keeping it 100, it’s still like I do positive things.”
Durk says he’s stopped beefing with other rappers, too, and that includes the rows he’s had with fellow Chicagoan Chief Keef. The pair even hit the studio together to lay down some tracks. “Me and him talked on the phone for like three hours, and man, we put that in the past,” he continues. “This is what it is, we on a whole other time right now, know what I’m saying? We gotta give the fans what they want. We have like three or four songs; we’re gonna have more.”
Where Twitter has been a breeding ground for fights, Durk used the medium to reach out to positive-minded rapper Logic, which resulted in their “Tryna Tryna” collab on Remember My Name. Upon first listen, the album sounds more melodic than the most of the Chicago drill scene he came up in: Lead single “Like Me” could work on radio or in clubs outside the rapper’s hometown.
Yet when the game ends and the entourage hits the town, Durk doesn’t join the party. Those present suggest that it would be too dangerous for him to go out, and some believe he should leave Chicago for his own safety. The rapper, however, still appears positive, and when we finish our chat at United Center, he’s happy to pose with fans who recognize him in the crowd.
“I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t rap right now,” he says. “I’d still be negative – I’m just glad where I’m at.”