Chicago gang banger-turned-rapper Lil Durk returns with a new single and music video entitled “All My Life” feat. J. Cole, out now on Only the Family and Sony Records.
The song is off Lil Durk’s eighth studio album, Almost Healed, set for release on May 26, 2023.
In the video, directed by Steve Cannon, rappers Lil Durk and J. Cole are surrounded by children, while a youth choir sings an uplifting chorus, “All my life, they’re never gonna keep me down. All this time, they never thought I’d make it out.”.
Durk, real name Durk Derrick Banks, plays the victim of an unforgiving society that frowns on his violent background. Durk is desperate to put his violent image behind him. But his dark past follows him like the grim reaper.
He recently sat down with Chicago’s mayor-elect Brandon Johnson who takes office on May 15.
Footage from their meeting was to be included in the music video, but the mayor-elect was edited out of the scene, probably after receiving backlash from voters who live in fear of gang bangers like Durk.
In “All My Life,” Durk complains that he’s still viewed as a killer:
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I decided I had to finish
But the media called me a menace
I done sat with the mayor and politicians
I’m tryna change the image
You can’t blame my past no more
I come from the trenches
Some said I’d never be a superstar,
But I know I’m different
Lil Durk – “All My Life” Featuring J. Cole
SR rated: 1/5 roses