Lil Durk drops highly anticipated prison album 'Deep Thoughts': A Review
As Lil Durk continues to remain behind bars, awaiting trial for his murder-for-hire charge stemming from a 2022 shooting, the rapper continues to deliver his fanbase with new music.
This past Friday (March 28), Durk Banks released his highly anticipated ninth studio album, Deep Thoughts, which was uploaded to streaming platforms via Alamo Records LLC and Sony Music Entertainment.
"I WASN’T GON PUT THIS OUT BUT THEN I REMEMBERED THE STREETS NEED THIS. NOT BEING OUTSIDE WITH Y’ALL WHEN I DROP IS HARD, BUT I KNOW I WILL FEEL Y’ALL LOVE AND ENERGY THROUGH THESE WALLS," Lil Durk stated.
With Lil Durk incarcerated inside MDC Los Angeles, the OTF CEO's team of producers has worked hard on putting together his latest outing. Prior to the album's release, Banks uploaded a teaser where he shared his appreciation for his team over a prison phone call.
"I like the energy of what y'all been putting together, you know what I'm saying. Even the list of songs that y'all sent me is good, so I know y'all putting better changes on that sh*t. So I know its gonna be bigger and better you know what I'm saying," Durk stated.
Marking his first album since 2023's Almost Healed, Durk's Deep Thoughts hit streaming platforms hosting features from Future, Lil Baby, Hunxho, and Jhené Aiko, after facing multiple delays since its originally scheduled 2024 release.
Deep Thoughts is a cohesive project that tackles an interesting sonic direction and multiple themes. Several songs find the 32-year-old rapper contemplating his life and career, best evidenced in records like Soul Bleed and Wonderin' Again.
Durk's team also released a mini-documentary that gives his fanbase an inside look into the OTF CEO's creative process while working on Deep Thoughts, including his unique communication process from prison.
“It’s gonna be more than just is a song good or great? You gotta be like, ‘Boy, the album is nominated for a Grammy.’ We gotta start thinking in that box and get out the little box of thinking. This sh*t deeper than that. This sh*t really Deep Thoughts,” Lil Durk stated in the documentary.
Top Picks from Lil Durk's latest album 'Deep Thoughts'
Lil Durk's ninth studio album was finally delivered to all major streaming platforms last Friday after missing multiple release dates, a delay which likely stems from his arrest in October 2024.
Durk's Deep Thoughts is a 45-minute long LP that hosts a total of 17 full-length records as part of its tracklist. Many of these songs delve into his mental anguish resulting from King Von's murder as well as the various career struggles he faces as a successful artist.
Notable themes Lil Durk's latest album explores have been listed out below:
- Family
- Brotherhood
- Betrayal
- Luxury
- Excess
- Desire
- Love
- Relationships
- S*x
- Intimacy
- Death
- Gang Violence
- Incarceration
Disclaimer: This review is rated explicit. Reader discretion is advised.
Shaking When I Pray
(Production Credits: TouchOfTrent, Desro, and Isaiah Valmont)
Durk's ninth LP opens with an emotional melodic production that samples the first chapter of the Quran, called Al-Fatiha, which comprises seven verses acting as a prayer for guidance and forgiveness.
On Shaking When I Pray, Durk spends both his verses recounting his troubled youth, with references to living off food stamps and losing close friends and family to gang violence. Notable bars from this record include lines like:
"I went rose Patek 2023, Phillipe / That's a closed casket, why that b*stard still lookin' like he sleep? / I told brodie, he do it for molly, he fall, he turnt up as we speak / I told Herm I need more horses, I ain't jump up out the Jeep / Well, I did, when I seen— shh, I jumped up out the seat / I be shakin' when I pray 'cause I don't be stretchin' out my knee"
They Want To Be You (feat. Future)
(Production Credits: Will A Fool)
Durk collaborates with Future on the record titled They Want To Be You where both rappers explore themes of legacy and influence, as they deliver straight forward bars over a simple trap production.
"Hey Smurk, all the kids rap, they wanna be just like you / Hey, Durk, my family hurt me, they did me just like you / Hey, rapper, I know a street n***a live just like you / The name, the fame, the game, they just like you / When I'm hurt, I don't wanna vent, mama, I'm just like you," Lil Durk raps on 'They Want To Be You'.
Soul Bleed
(Production Credits: John Lam, Brutei, and Aye Peewee)
Following They Want To Be You, listeners are immediately introduced to Soul Bleed, which stands out for Durk's emotional vocal performance as he recounts all his past traumas that leave his soul bleeding.
With references to death and incarceration, notable bars delivered on Soul Bleed have been provided below:
"I'd drop all my ho*s, you could never match up with my queen / And I've been slackin' lately, I've been studyin' judgement for my dīn / I've been slackin' lately, I've been puttin' n****s before my team / Ten toes, ask the county how many times my phone ring / You be sniffin' around my business, that's gon' make your nose bleed"
1000 Times (feat. Lil Baby)
(Production Credits: J Thrash On The Track, Ayo Bleu, and Xclusive)
On 1000 Times, Lil Durk teams up with Atlanta rapper Lil Baby for an iconic collaboration that explores themes of pain, struggle, betrayal, death, philandering, and incarceration, best evidenced in bars like:
"One of my brothers popped too many pills, can't come around me high / When I was down, you weren't on my side, can't come around me now / Thought you was slick, I seen that sh*t come from a thousand miles / I sat in the courtroom for a day, I seen a thousand trials / And I'm around the same n****s who I started with / And I support the same hood who I started with"
Turn Up A Notch
(Production Credits: Southside, Smatt Sertified, and Oscar Zulu)
Listeners are reintroduced to the September 2024 release, titled Turn Up A Notch, where Durk Banks seemingly recounts his early-day struggles, citing how nobody believed in him back in 2012.
Acting as a powerful message for perseverance, Durk's hook on Turn Up A Notch perfectly captures the emotional themes explored on this record, rapping:
"Back in 2012, they counted me out / I had to turn up a notch / Back then, them ho*s fu*kin' for clout / I had to turn up a notch / I'm thinkin' you happy, but low-key you doubted me / I had to turn up a notch / Sleepin' on porches, I served off the balcony / I had to turn up a notch"
Monitoring Me
(Production Credits: Southside, TooDope, T9C, KblessOfficial, and CuBeatz)
Over a single verse on Monitoring Me, Lil Durk delivers an aggressive vocal performance over a hyper-trap production. The rapper's bars appear fueled with themes of violence, gang affiliations, and death, best evidenced in lines like:
"I be with the n****s who take the rapper's sh*t and make 'em buy it back / I done charged a ball player a thousand dollar line just to say he drinkin' Act' / Half them n****s who rap that be in the 'Raq don't even be in the 'Raq / One of the opps lil' fast a**, you can tell his a** used to run laps / I can merch on all my kids, lil' boy, you ain't make a gun clap"
Notebook (No Hook)
(Production Credits: John Lam, James Maddocks, and Haze)
On Notebook (No Hook), Durk appears to be dealing with a supposed fallout between himself and another individual within his close circle. The production easily sets the tone for the Chicago rapper's vocal delivery and cadence which perfectly captures the feeling of a friend breaking one's trust.
From highlighting his generosity to citing instances of "snitching," the following bars stand out on Notebook (No Hook):
"He ain't support like he used to, he said I'm garbage (Garbage) / Now he at my shows, askin' for tickets like we partners / I'll check on my partner mom before I ever check on my followers / I fu*k with a throat GOAT, but she graduated to a swallower / You know who you is, you know what you did / You know who you was, you know, dirty b***h"
Can't Hide It (feat. Jhené Aiko)
(Production Credits: Steven Shaeffer, hakz music, benny blanco, Cashmere Cat, SAINT MINO, Matty Michna, and Halfway)
Lil Durk is in his romantic bag on Can't Hide It, teaming up with singer Jhené Aiko for an extremely memorable collaboration on Deep Thoughts.
Both artists effortlessly highlight emotions of selfish desire and love throughout the record's 3-minute runtime, with lyrics that express their longing for a fulfilling and private relationship.
"Call you out the blue 'cause she don't send nudes, I wanna see your body again / And I'm so selfish, I cannot deny it, that’s why I don't trust none of your friends / Turn your location on just for safety reasons or I'ma start callin' your friends / I'm too insecure, I'm not crazy, I be tellin' her to change her pants / No NDA, then she probably gon' tell," Lil Durk raps on 'Can't Hide It'.
Wonderin' Again
(Production Credits: Ayo Bleu and KD6)
Opening as the 12th record on Durk's Deep Thoughts, listeners are introduced to an emotional melodic record titled Wonderin' Again.
The song primarily revolves around his longing for love, matched with lyricism that highlights the difficult decisions he's had to take as a superstar which includes distancing himself from his friends and his old ways.
"My life for real, a couple nights, I felt like dyin' for real (Yeah) / And if I die today, my family really gon' be ashamed (Ashamed, ashamed) / We wasn't talkin' on the daily, but some vibes can't change / I can’t make nobody love me, I know you feel the same / Black cloud over my city, ninety percent of chance to rain," Lil Durk raps on 'Wonderin' Again'.
Late Checkout (feat. Hunxho)
(Production Credits: Vory, Lily Kaplan, YEGR, and Peeb)
With a melodic trap production led by Vory, listeners are delivered the final collaboration on Deep Thoughts which finds Lil Durk teaming up with rapper Hunxho for a record titled Late Checkout.
The sensual nature of the trap production sets the score for both artists to explore themes of love, relationships, desire, luxury, s*x, and intimacy. Notable bars included on Late Checkout have been provided below:
"Vegetarian, she mix my stir fry with the leaf / But she eat beef, I'm tryna order her MrBeast / S*x don't feel the same when you in love / S*x don't feel the same leavin' the club / Arguin' back and forth, you know I hate this sh*t / I hate you got some friends ain't in relationships / They pretend to be your friend, but that's a basic b***h"
Opportunist
(Production Credits: DJ Bandz, Jimmy Meech, STG Beats, and Jonah Little)
The production of Opportunist is highly energetic, with Durk's production team mixing electric guitar riffs into his trap composition. Throughout the record, the rapper tackles themes of depression, death, and loss, with references to the many people he's lost to gang violence.
"Even though he dead, I read our thread 'cause I miss him / I been takin' shots of Hi-Tech, I don't want no Percocets / Ten n****s on one pound, how you gon' work with that? / I'll do anything in this whole world to get my circle back / Bulletproof the Brabus, them Forgiatos, I'm the first with that," Lil Durk raps on 'Opportunist'.
Lil Durk's Deep Thoughts finds him revisiting past traumas, reflecting on his career and the sacrifices he's made over his career. Before the project's release, the OTF CEO was awarded 53 certifications from the RIAA.
Durk is currently scheduled to face trial in October 2025 for his murder-for-hire charges. The case reportedly revolves around his alleged involvement in a 2022 shooting, targeting rapper Quando Rondo, as a supposed retaliation for King Von's murder in 2020.
