Too Close For Comfort Lil Durk has done some soul searching over the last few years. “When I first started recording this is the life I live,” he remembers. “So much shit happened because I’m just trying to follow other people’s steps. If you don’t know what you want to do, you can’t be yourself. I was following everyone’s path.” Despite his best attempts at balancing fame and fortune, it felt like a life where he always stayed three steps ahead of his own past. At one point, Lil Durk thought that his mother would be his only family member to visit him in prison. “I thought that my aunt and uncle, they cared about me. They didn’t. My momma really cared about me. Her and my daughter, they were the ones who saw my potential,” he says. “When she went to see me, it was like if I ever go to jail, she’ll be there. That meant a lot to me. She was trying to see where I was, if I was okay. I was blessed.” At the age of 18, he got popped for a drug charge, even though his mom wasn’t a person he could actually turn to for guidance. “I was doing everything to impress her,” he admits. “You know how parents think. Your momma, she got a certain image of what your life should be like. She’s thinking ‘the day you turn 18, the day you’re old enough to start, what will you become?’” When Lil Durk got locked up, she called his cousin who lived about 15 minutes away from the jail to bring money and food because she couldn’t make it down for him. “A lot of people think that’s cool because you can send money to them and get it from them. If they locked up, the only thing they get is a phone call,” he remembers. Lil Durk ended up fighting his case for a while and eventually pleaded guilty in exchange for a six-month sentence. “I told myself if I got six months, I won’t be in prison no more. The moment I did that, I was like ‘thank God I don’t have to stay in prison no more,’” he says. Lil Durk made his way to Chicago for his sentence. Because of his plea bargain, he didn’t spend much time behind bars. It was only two years, but when he got there, he discovered it wasn’t as easy to turn his life around as he thought. Once he got out, he wanted to change everything about the way he carried himself—which ended up being a mistake. “Because of what happened in prison, my image got messed up. But at that time, I didn’t think of my image,” he says. “But then it started getting messed up because of certain people. I was just doing my thing and hanging with bad people.” Lil Durk got locked up again for more weed charges and eventually ended up in Illinois State Prison where he served close to two years. By the time he was out, he knew he couldn’t keep running away from his problems. “When I got locked up, that’s when I really came to my senses. I told myself I don’t want to see another wall, another jail, another fight,” he says. “I had a lot to give.” The first step was to work with a new management team. He hooked up with YelaWolf Records, which allowed Lil Durk to start recording his music without a label, which meant he would own 100% of his music. “I wanted to start from scratch,” he remembers. “I never wanted to play my old stuff ever again. All the times I’ve listened to it, it was in a messed-up way. Now I want to make music that people can relate to.” “I want to be a real artist. I want to be the next big artist in the game” — Lil Durk, age 27 Before his deal with YelaWolf, Lil Durk was working with Eif, one of Chicago’s most established managers. While it felt good to have someone else working on his music, when Eif left, Lil Durk realized that he had to step up himself. With all the changes he’d been through, the rapper says he finally found himself. “I just went through a lot of stuff, but this is what I live for now,” he says. “This is what I love to do. Everything I learned, I learned it from the streets. I’ve got to put in hard work. Sometimes you get a chance at your dream, but if you don’t put in the work, the other person who did put in the work will be the one who gets the credit. That’s why I got to work with YelaWolf, get the real work. I don’t think I’m doing bad.” Lil Durk’s music may have changed, but so has his image. At his core, he’s a storyteller who will always wear his emotions on his sleeve. When he’s performing, he might be rapping about gun violence or talking about how much he loves his daughter, but when you get to know Lil Durk, you understand that there’s more to his music than what’s being played on the radio. “I don’t rap with a lot of metaphors or anything like that. I talk about what’s going on. I want people to know that it’s not easy,” he says. “When I was rapping, I was rapping real gangster, real street, but now I’m rapping about what’s going on in my life. I want people to know that I’m just being me.” There’s a lot more personal growth to come, too. He’s moving from Illinois to his hometown of Miami and back again. He’s even getting married. Lil Durk has some things in his past to be forgiven for and new things to experience, but as long as he keeps his heart and mind focused on himself and his music, Lil Durk has a promising future ahead of him. “I look back now, the hard times and shit I went through, I can look at it as good learning experiences. I’m better now,” he says. “I’m better because of those experiences.” While he’s still figuring out what he wants to be in five years, he’s in a better place than he’s ever been before. “Everything I’ve learned, I plan on making it work for myself and my kids,” he says. Despite the obstacles that have slowed his growth, Lil Durk says he still has the same love and motivation for his music as he did years ago. “As a kid, it’s something I always wanted to do. I always wanted to be a rapper. Now I’m here,” he says. “But I really appreciate all the love I get. It’s unbelievable. People from all over love my music. I’m really grateful.” This weekend, Lil Durk performs at the Moth Mainstage at Rothbury, MI alongside rap stars Vic Mensa, Joey Bada$$ and Freddie Gibbs. He says he’s still nervous about the show, but he feels like he’s in a good place. “It’s a risk, but it’s worth it. I’m just gonna make the best of it, the best show, and make sure it’s an experience that everyone else will enjoy,” he says. “I’m not trying to be something else. I’m just gonna go in there and make the best of it. It’s my first time. I just want to put on a good show.”