Lil Durk makes trap-inflected rap about sex, pills, drug-dealing and wealth, with plenty of autotune, twitchy beats and semi-ominous cinematic backing tracks. He doesn’t stand out in that regard. But there is a simple clarity to his rags-to-riches raps, like on “Public Housing,” the first track off of “Just Cause Y’all Waited,” his latest mixtape, he raps, “I came from public housing to a mansion.” The record is his first after leaving Def Jam.
“When I Was Little” is a variation on a recurring theme: He didn’t have much when he was a kid, know he’s rolling in it. “I came from the bottom, I felt the neglect,” goes a line on “Durkio Krazy.”
On “1(773) Vulture,” Durk remimagines Logic’s suicide-prevention hit “1-800-273-8255.” Durk’s version is about homicide and street violence. It’s not the most sensitive and delicate appropriation of a song about mental health. But sensitivity and delicacy aren’t Durk’s thing. The Chicago rapper is fairly offensive and misogynistic. Every once in a while he writes what amounts to a love song, though, like “India” from “Signed to the Streets 2.5” from last year.
Lil Durk is at Webster Theater, 31 Webster St., Hartford, on Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 to $80. 860-525-5553 and webstertheater.com
![Dust off your finest hats—it’s Derby day. This year marks the 150th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The horse race has occurred annually on a Saturday in May since it began on May 17, 1875, with the only exceptions being 1945 due to World War II and 2020 because of […]](https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/202405040611TMS_____FASTCOMP_19685_ctnfc_media.jpg?w=620 "Dust off your finest hats—it’s Derby day. This year marks the 150th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The horse race has occurred annually on a Saturday in May since it began on May 17, 1875, with the only exceptions being 1945 due to World War II and 2020 because of […]")