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Lil Durk isn’t shy when it comes to discussing street politics. He made it clear he thinks Gunna told on Young Thug.
As spotted on HipHopDX the Chicago, Illinois native recently paid a visit to DJ Akademiks’ Off The Record podcast. As his first sit down with the controversial media personality the two discussed his career, future plans and more. During the chat Durkio was asked on Young Thug’s ongoing RICO trial and ultimately drew a line in the sand regarding the plea deal Gunna took.
“Now I don’t sit up here and play games, man,” Durk explained. “That man told. You should have went in there and kept your mouth closed.” He went on to express his love and respect for Young Thug before doubling down on his disdain for snitches. “If you a rat, you a rat,” he added. “If you rewind this clip a little bit, I looked into the camera and told you, if you a rat, I f***ing hate you. Because I love Thug.”
In May 2022 Gunna and several members of the YSL crew were charged on a 56-count racketeering RICO indictment. Gunna eventually pled out to one charge of racketeering and was sentenced to five years in prison but through his plea deal he got time served. According to the paperwork he declared YSL as a gang.
You can see the clip of Durk discussing Gunna below.
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Vic Mensa went deep in depth about solidifying his spirit, and the beef he had with DJ Akademiks in the past, via a new interview.
The Chicago native sat down for a lengthy profile with Paper, in which he spoke heavily about his creative and personal journey to this point. Going back to Ghana, where his father’s family still resides, has been vital. “I’ve been able to build some pretty phenomenal things using that privilege and treat it as an opportunity to play that role to be the bridge between Black America and Africa,” Mensa said.
While the There’s A Lot Going On artist has been striving towards bettering himself on all fronts, he did touch upon a recent moment where a clip where he publicly called out media personality DJ Akademiks for exploitation of the Chicago drill scene and violence re-emerged. Mensa said it came from a personal connection.
“Because a kid that I grew up with and went to karate with when we were five years old ended up being a street n***a, gang banging, et cetera. He was also a very talented rapper. When he got killed, there was music involved, there were big drill artists involved, and I heard about it on Akademiks’ parasitic platform. So that’s why I was upset,” he said.
Mensa prefaced that by speaking at length about the differences between the emerging drill scene in Ghana and what already exists in Chicago. “Their music largely reflects their realities, which are not the same as American drill realities. Ghana is a very peaceful place. People don’t get killed like that. There’s a lot of struggle though, so their music is rooted in struggle,” he remarked.
The former Ye collaborator also spoke about his commitment to sobriety, which helped him confront various moments in his past and recalibrate his relationships. He also talked about how he’s come to accept being labeled a conscious rapper: “I can never be mad at the idea of being a conscious rapper. The truth is just that I’m a multifaceted person.”
Vic Mensa also spoke about his foray into punk music, and how he and Chance The Rapper linked up along with Erykah Badu and other artists to organize and perform at the Black Star Line Festival that took place in January.
—Photo: Momodu Mansaray / Getty
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