Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is the lead member and founder of the collective and record label Only the Family (OTF). Durk garnered a cult following with the release of his Signed to the Streets mixtape series (2013–2014), which led to a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. The company would release his debut studio albums, Remember My Name (2015) and Lil Durk 2X (2016) before parting ways with the label in 2018.
Parents and family
Lil Durk’s parents are Dontay Banks Sr. (father) and Mrs Dontay Banks (mother).
Born on October 19, 1992, in Englewood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, Banks grew up with a great deal of responsibility at home, as his father was incarcerated when he was seven months old.
Throughout his childhood, his father, Dontay Banks Sr had been serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole, with no disclosed details. He had an older brother, Dontay Banks Jr, who was known as DThang. Durk has 6 children.
He recalled that there were times when he did not have enough food at home when he was younger. He began to establish a presence on social media channels like Myspace and YouTube, and grew fond of the idea of being a rapper as his online fan base started to expand.
Lil Durk has a brother, Dontay Banks, Jr., who is better known by his nickname, DThang.
The brother of Chicago rapper Lil Durk was killed in 2021 in a shooting that also wounded a police officer.
News broke on Sunday (June 6 2021) that Lil Durk’s older brother OTF DThang passed away over the weekend.
Father
Lil Durk’s father’s story is that of Chicago street legend. Dontay Banks was infamously sentenced to life in prison in the early 1990s for cocaine distribution. The rapper’s dad recently revealed he received the lengthy sentence after he refused to snitch on Gangsta Disciple cofounder Larry Hoover.
Last month, Dontay Banks appeared on The Chi Podcast and gave a two-part interview that began to go viral on Wednesday (May 25). During the talk, Banks recounted the day he was arrested and the ultimatum he was allegedly given.
“‘You give us Larry Hoover, we’ll put you back on 26th [Street] and you’ll work for us,'” Banks said the authorities told him. “I went in my pocket, pulled out the card to my lawyer, slid it on the table and said, ‘Call my lawyer.’ And, from then on, here I am, 26 years later, a free man. Without telling, without compromising, without being something I’m not. Rats, stool pigeons, people who tell things to get out…We don’t live this type of life. I’m a Muslim first and foremost. No doubt about it. But, even in Islam, we don’t believe in telling. We don’t believe in rats. We don’t believe in stool pigeons.”
He further drove home his point by referencing a line from Jeezy’s 2005 song, “Soul Survivor.” “I think it’s Jeezy, I like the little saying he said in his little rap song,” Banks added. “‘If you ever get caught up, don’t mention my name.’ That’s one of the slogans I like.”
Lil Durk’s dad was arrested in 1993, after being caught up in a cocaine distribution ring. At the time of his arrest, he reportedly had $8 million in his possession, which was seized by authorities. In July of 1994, he was sentenced to life in prison along with three other men. He served 22 years before he was able to appeal the life-long bid. He was released in 2019, after nearly 25 years in prison, and reunited with Lil Durk
Wife and Children
He was once married to Nicole Covone in 2008. Lil Durk and his ex-wife Nicole Covone were married for 5 years before they separated in 2013.
Durk has 6 children. Since 2020 Durk has been engaged to his longtime girlfriend, India Royale.
LIL Durk proposed to India Royale in December 2021, but unconfirmed rumors are circulating that the couple has broken up.
The pair’s relationship has been on and off since they first started dating in 2017.
India Royale is known for her relationship and engagement to Lil Durk, whose legal name is Durk Derrick Banks.
Royale is a model and Instagram influencer from Chicago, Illinois where she grew up with her three older siblings.
Lil Durk and Royale started dating in 2017 and he proposed to her on stage at his concert in Chicago in December 2021.
He stood in front of a watching crowd and thanked Royale for being “the realest” and said: “You know I love you to death.
“You’ve been holding me down when I was going through a lot. You’re the realest and I just love you to death.”
He then asked Royale: “Do you want to be my wife?”
The crowd began cheering as Royale said: “Yes.”
Lil Durk discussed why he cares about his fiancé on Gillie The King and Wallo’s Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast in March 2022.
The mother-of-two also runs her own beauty businesses – India Royale Beauty and India Royale’s Hair Vendor.
He was asked on the podcast what attracted him to Royale, and he responded that is was her low “body count,” authenticity, and loyalty.
“I’m petty as hell,” Lil Durk said, adding: “Like, if you fed a lot of n*s and all that, I ain’t gonna wife you. But that’s me.
“… But it’s, like, everything about her. Being real, not cheating, she ain’t been passed around. It was, like, her body count. That’s what really did it.”
Criticism of Lil Durk’s comments quickly sprung up on social media with one person writing on Twitter: “Imagine ur fiancé being asked what he love about u & the first thing he brings up is ur body count etc.
In the early hours of July 11, 2021, Durk was targeted in a home invasion, where he and his girlfriend India exchanged gunfire with the suspects. Nobody was harmed, and the suspects fled the scene.
Royale gave birth to her and Lil Durk’s first child together, Willow Banks, in 2018.
Lil Durk has also fathered five other children in addition to Willow, and welcomed his first child Angelo when he was 17 years old.
Royale also has one other child from a previous relationship and has said she and Lil Durk had talked about having one more baby.
“I want my next two kids back to back. Then I’m done,” she tweeted.
“He would love that. He was never more obsessed with me when I was pregnant. Like on me, on me.”
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