In the face of grave accusations, Chicago-based rapper Lil Durk has affirmed his innocence in front of a federal court. The Chicago Sun-Times reported on November 14 that he pleaded not guilty to charges of organizing a murder-for-hire operation. The musician’s legal name, Durk Banks, is at the center of a federal inquiry into the 2022 attempted retaliatory murder of rival rapper Quando Rondo.
Banks has been detained without bail since his arrest on October 24 after prosecutors deemed him a flight risk and a threat to public safety. His trial is slated for January 7, 2025. Three weeks earlier, Banks was arrested in Miami for allegedly trying to escape the country, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
The picture that federal prosecutors are drawing of Banks’ record label, Only the Family, is bleak. According to court documents that the Chicago Sun-Times was able to obtain, the label is charged with operating as a criminal organization and planning violent incidents, such as assaults and murders, under Banks’ supervision. Also, according to the indictment, Banks has previously set bounties on people, including those connected to recent high-profile shootings in the rap scene.
The accusations stem from a complicated web of gang violence and vengeance that has tarnished Chicago’s music industry. The murder of King Von, a protégé of Banks, set off a chain of violence that resulted in the death of his cousin due to the botched attempt on Quando Rondo, whose true name is Tyquian Bowman. In 2020, Bowman’s group was involved in an incident outside an Atlanta restaurant that claimed the life of Von, whose true name was Dayvon Bennett. Banks, who was previously connected to past shootings, now faces the possibility of spending time behind bars, bringing this history full circle. Prior to the main trial in January, his detention hearing is scheduled for December 12.
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