Video: Lil Durk – “No Auto Durk”

The Chicago Street Hero Drops the Auto-Tune and Forsakes Melody For Bars in This Lyrical Workout Over the Beat from G Herbo’s “Never Cared”

9.11.2018

Critical Praise:

“Unshackled from any kind of outline, Durk’s pen game shines. His rise was dotted with blood-soaked tales that summarized much of drill’s appeal: ground-level glimpses at Chicago’s South Side that colored in the outline offered by grim murder statistics.” –Pitchfork

“Lil Durk continues to be one of the most consistent rappers out.” – The FADER

“the rose that blossomed from the concrete of Chi-Town’s drill music scene” – Billboard

The Video:

One of the most acclaimed and successful alumni of Chicago’s drill movement, Lil Durk combines rhythm, lyricism, and melody into a style that’s all his own. Forsaking his usual auto-tune acrobatics, Durk strips down on “No Auto Durk,” a no-nonsense lyrical workout. Adopting a halting flow above the eerie instrumental from G Herbo‘s “Never Cared,” Durk silences critics who decry his rhyming skills, proving that he does not need to flex his considerable melodic muscles to be a great rapper: “Never cared so much, ran out the woods to pass the dutch/Your homies died, you’ll never slide, it ain’t addin’ up/Get caught with a pipe, get out same night, you fed or what?” “No Auto Durk” is another step on the road to Signed to the Streets 3, hitting stores this fall, following the Future-featuring single “Spin The Block.”

A tireless and prolific emcee, Lil Durk has already had a busy 2018. Leveling up from a rap star into a rap mogul, Lil Durk introduced his OTF all-stars on Lil Durk Presents: Only The Family Involved Vol. 1, unleashing a crew of fellow melodists and emotional realists. Featuring several brand new songs by Lil Durk, including the Complex-premiered“Remembrance,” the mixtape finds the Chicago native sharing the limelight with his most talented OTF signees, including eccentric trap melodist Yung Tory, heavy-hitter Booka600, warble-voiced drill emcee OTF Ikey, and the aggressive Doodie Lo. An impressively hooky project that conveys the realities of street life with expert songcraft, Lil Durk Presents: Only The Family Involved Vol. 1 finds the labelmates feeding off each others’ styles, relentlessly stacking infectious melodies into verses, hooks, and ad-libs. Featuring the dramatic and emotional single “Play Yo Role,” Lil Durk Presents Only The Family Involved Vol. 1 is available to stream via EMPIRE.

In March, he released his first project since departing Def Jam, Just Cause Y’all Waited, an important transitional record for Durk. Praised by Pitchfork, who wrote “Lil Durk writes about Chicago the way Joan Didion once captured California,” Just Cause Y’all Waited features tracks such as the buzzing “1-773 Vulture,” a street remix to Logic’s hit single “1-800-273-8255” that reached the 9 million view mark on YouTube, and the Lil Baby-featuring lead single “How I Know,” which earned prominent placement on Spotify’s Most Necessary playlist. Featuring additional appearances from PartyNextDoor, Ty Dolla $ign, Gunna, and TK Kravitz, and with production from 808 Mafia and others, Just Cause Y’all Waited EP is a formidable appetizer for Signed to the Streets 3, due later this year. Lil Durk turned heads when he performed his hits in a prime time slot, and later joined Tee Grizzley onstage at the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami (catch a few clips from this performance and from backstage in the “Remembrance” video).