Lil Durk

Durk Devontay Banks, known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. Regarded as a pioneer of the Chicago-based hip-hop subgenre drill music, he is often considered the subgenre's most commercially successful rapper.

Lil Durk transformed drill from Chief Keef's atmospheric blueprint into something more melodic and introspective, making the Chicago subgenre palatable to mainstream radio without sacrificing its street credibility. Founded Only the Family as both a creative collective and operational power structure—launching King Von into stardom and establishing OTF as drill's most organized label imprint—Durk proved that rap entrepreneurship mattered as much as bars. His 2019 collaboration with Polo G on "Pop Out" became the template for Chicago drill's commercial peak, a song that dominated playlists by leaning into sung hooks and emotional vulnerability rather than pure aggression.