Federal prosecutors are flatly rejecting Lil Durk’s “false narrative” that they’re unfairly using his lyrics against him, arguing in court filings that the rapper is indicted because of a “brazen murder plot” and not because of his music.
Weeks after the feds removed all musical references from the case, they urged a federal judge Monday to reject Durk’s bid to dismiss the charges, arguing there are still more than enough in the allegations beyond the now-deleted lyrics.
“The indictment charges that defendant directed and financed six hitmen to travel across the country to hunt and kill his rival,” prosecutors write. “Defendant is not on trial for his lyrics or his music; he is on trial because he directed, orchestrated, and financed the brazen murder plot at issue in this case.”
Durk (Durk Banks) was arrested in October on murder-for-hire and gun charges over allegations that the Chicago drill star ordered members of his Only the Family (OTF) crew to carry out a 2022 attack on rival rapper Quando Rondo (Tyquian Bowman) that left another man (Saviay’a Robinson) dead.
Lawyers for the rapper have argued that prosecutors used the lyrics as “false evidence” to persuade a grand jury to indict him – and his family has spoken out that he’s latest rapper to be “criminalized for their creativity.” The use of rap lyrics as criminal evidence is a controversial practice that has drawn backlash in recent years.
But in Monday’s response, prosecutors call Durk’s arguments “meritless” and “moot” in light of the new indictment with the lyrics removed, which a grand jury also endorsed.
“The [new indictment] makes clear that the grand jury indicted defendant for his conduct, not for his status as a rapper or because of the violent lyrics,” the feds say. “These allegations make clear that defendant used his power, his wealth, and his control over OTF to exact deadly revenge on his rival.”
When Durk was first indicted last year, prosecutors cited lyrics from a song called “Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy,” claiming they referenced the shooting: “Told me they got an addy (go, go)/ Got location (go, go)/ Green light (go, go, go, go, go),” Durk raps in the disputed track. “Look on the news and see your son/You screamin’, “No, no” (pu–y).”
But Durk’s lawyers sharply pushed back — arguing that “Wonderful Wayne” could not have referenced the Rondo shooting because the rapper wrote and recorded his verses “seven months before the incident even happened.” In April, prosecutors filed a so-called superseding indictment that removed the lyrics.
Monday’s court filing, while focused on the removal of the lyrics, also strongly defends their use in the first place. The feds say Durk has “repeatedly used his pulpit to promote violence” and that the lyrics bear a striking resemblance to the facts of the case.
“Whether or not defendant’s lyrics about ‘greenlighting’ a rival were written before or after S.R.’s death, the release of the song after the murder gave defendant’s fans fodder to associate him with the murder — a claim that defendant himself seemed to admit during an interview on a popular podcast,” the feds write.
In addition to seeking to dismiss the case, Durk is also continuing to seek pre-trial release. Though it was denied by a magistrate judge earlier this month, his attorneys have indicated they will ask a district judge to reconsider the issue. The rapper is currently scheduled to face trial in October.
