Rapper Lil Durk is the stage name of Derrick ‘Durk’ Banks, a Chicago native from the Englewood area.
His melodic rap style and songs about his life, relationships, street experiences, and losses is how he became prominent through Chicago’s drill scene before developing into a major mainstream hip-hop artist.
Although Lil Durk has also had major legal issues, including a current federal case, his legal situation is separate from his father’s history.
His father, Devontay ‘Big Durk’ Banks, was involved in Chicago’s drug trade in the early 1990s and was eventually sentenced to life in federal prison. He knew and was mentored by Larry Hoover.
In a 2025 interview, he specifically discussed his relationship/mentorship with Hoover, stating after Big Durk was arrested, federal authorities offered him a deal to cooperate against Hoover. He says he refused and ultimately spent about 26 years in prison.
Lil Durk has referenced Hoover in his music and has publicly expressed respect for him, despite the complicated history between the Gangster Disciples and the Black Disciple factions.
So basically, Big Durk and Larry Hoover were connected through Chicago street organizations, and Big Durk says Hoover was a mentor to him. The claim that prosecutors specifically offered Big Durk a deal to testify against Hoover comes from Big Durk’s own account; I’d distinguish that from facts independently established in court records.
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