Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I just moved to Atlanta so the change of scenery and environment put me in a different mood and a different vibe, both good.
I grew as an artist and a person. I'm just ready to work, get this money, get this new fan base and tour all over the world.
See what I do is I book a studio that's closed down and I go by myself. No one's in there, literally just me and the engineer.
Death can happen anywhere, but kids in Chicago, like 4 years old, can get shot. You don't really hear that in too many places.
I would say I grew without a doubt. My whole energy in life - as an artist and as a person - has definitely got me smarter and wiser.
You've got Lil Uzi Vert - you do a song with him, you ain't doing nothing but gaining new fans. You gotta keep up with the time and the pace.
When I do shows, I take pictures and make the fans feel like family. All of that really matters. That's the cheat code if you ain't got a hit.
We came from nothing really. One house. Ten people. Even days the lights was off. The worst days was not eating. Surviving off rice and toast.
I let my team pick what order the records go. I don't pick my own records. I'm a fan of my music regardless so you have to think outside of the box.
'Trap House' is one of my favorite songs off '300 Days 300 Nights' mixtape, I sent it to Thug, he loved it and knocked it out on the spot in Atlanta.
I was 17 when I first started rapping and 18 before I started taking it seriously - when I really knew I could rap and have fans and be a trendsetter.
I worked with Ty Dolla Sign, YG, Nipsey Hussle, Metro Boomin - I build relationships, and I try to stay afloat with everyone who is hot or cool, period.
When you in the studio you don't need everybody calling your phone telling you about what's going on outside the studio. I don't need those distractions.
'L's,' it represents life. That's what I represent it as, life. When you throw the L's up for life, you can't go wrong. Like, no gang-banging, nothing like that.
I wasn't really into music. I was into the streets. I was too worried about the streets and how I was going to eat and how I was going to make the streets happen.
I just wanted to speak to the streets and give them motivation on making it out. Whatever situation they're in, know that they can make do and have a better life.
My father being incarcerated for 25 years, 26 years, so I had a rough past, but me moving to Atlanta, I just thought that changed my whole identity - my thinking.
Something happened in the studio that was between me and Tyga that ain't supposed to escalate, but it did. Something happened with a song we did, and he ain't like it.
Once upon a time, I was really lost. I was 18 going on 19, and I was shy. All I want to do is get money, and the way I was thinking I was going to do that was a negative route.
I don't want my kids to be on the streets period. I want my kids to be nerds. I want them to be book smart or playing sports - I don't want them to know nothing about the streets.
Stay working. Stay busy. It should be motivation instead of down time because down time is like being depressed. It shouldn't be like that. It should really be motivation to keep going.
I let my partners and my DJ listen to my songs and if they say, 'Oh yeah I felt that one' or 'I am feeling that' then I write it down and we just continue building the album from there.
In Chicago, a lot of people don't really got nothing to live for. Everybody can't ball. Everybody can't rap. Nobody is really doing those activities. There's nothing to do but the streets.
I'm a good guy at the end of the day, you know what I'm saying? A lot of people will believe what they see in the media from a long time ago. I'm just growing as an artist and as a person.
You got to have a strong mind if you fall back. When you fall back, they going to count you out. So you got to have a strong mind and know your worth. When you come back, you've got to be different and even more better.
Growing up in Chicago is hard. I'd say 80 percent of the people ain't really got no daddies. Their household wasn't right. All they know is the streets and getting some money to support each other and support their family.
I was 17 and out of school, living with my mom, starving, not eating, getting locked up, no focus, no guidance. When you ain't got no guidance, you can't do too much. But then I had my first son and started working. I got the right people around me.
My thing is to get new fans. So I love when people say, 'Oh, I've heard of him before.' Or 'I've never heard of Durk.' Or 'I'm a fan of Durk today.' This is what I like to see, because it lets me know when I come out with something that it's going to work.
You got to want to evolve. It's something you can practice on but it just came to me. I wasn't really sitting there like, 'What can I do to get better?' It just came to me, talking to my people and my crew. They just tell me what my strongest and weakest points are at.
I'm always going to be able to touch fans and get new fans because everybody goes through something everyday. I just keep touching different subjects by talking to the streets and reaching out to my fans by telling them a story instead of just giving them music to listen.
It's either you finna create your own wave, you finna sound like me or you finna sound like G Herbo, you finna sound like Chance The Rapper, you finna sound like Juice Wrld. You ain't gonna get too far 'cause you sound like somebody. So, create your own lane and do your own style.
What really broke it down was I had my son while I was locked up, so that really affected me. I can't really have this, knowing my father was locked up when I was small. So that really out of everything - through the fame, the money, everything - that really put the toll on me: 'Oh yeah, I gotta change.'
I been living down in Atlanta, but everyone back home has been in my thoughts, especially those doing something for the community and all the neighborhood heroes. I thought about all the first responders putting their lives on the line to help out and it inspired me, so I took a jet back to Chicago to show my thanks.
