Chapter 2 Life after death

Def Jam. Once the powerhouse trendsetting label that gave us artists from LL to X, now was one that chased trends. One such trend that was garnering attention was Drill. In swooped the labels. King Louie signed to Sony/Epic, Chief Keef signed to Interscope, and Lil Durk signed to Def Jam. Mixtape Durk was supposed to become a charting hitmaker, an acclaimed album dropper and Def Jam would see to it. That's why people sign to major labels, right? I think you know what really happened. The I'm Still a Hitta mixtape was the door opener.

Backed by the strength of the song "L's Anthem," Durk went from buzz to heat. ENTER: Def Jam. "We were thinking once I got signed, we would be rich. But we were young and didn't know we had to put in the groundwork," the Chicago rapper remembered. That was April of 2012. "Dis Ain't What You Want" was his first Def Jam release...but it was for a mixtape. Durk would release two mixtapes before putting out his major label debut, Remember My Name. He was under the impression that there would be some big push. It wasn't. They released "Like Me" and let the chips fall where they may. Def Jam did the same with Lil Durk 2x. "She Just Wanna" was put out...and scene. Outside of the fact that their approach to releasing Durk's albums was moribund, and outside of the fact that they wanted pop singles from him, things were also changing at Def Jam. "Def Jam is making changes in their offices and trying a new direction." So Durk left. "I didn't want to be a part of another regime change." Then, just as quickly, Durk signed to Todd Moscowitz's Alamo Records/Interscope. "I went somewhere that made me feel like I was a top priority; a place that needed me just as much as I needed them," Durk told Billboard. Since that move, Durk's been Grammy nominated, had over 33 songs on the charts in 2021 (which fattened the Alamo calf for a Sony sell), and his last three albums have reached the top 5. Seems there's life after Def (Jam).