Lil Durk’s Deep Thoughts is his ninth studio album, following Almost Healed (2023) and Nightmares in the Trenches, a collaboration in 2023. With a March 28th, 2025 release, Deep Thoughts is produced by Benny Blanco, Southside, and Metro Boomin, giving the album a live feel that goes beyond behind-the-scenes efforts and features a versatile flow of Lil Durk’s vulnerable ideas. Speaking of features, top features on the album include Future, Lil Baby, Hunxho, and Jhené Aiko. The album comes after the release of five singles throughout 2024: “Turn Up a Notch,” “Monitoring Me,” “Late Checkout,” “Opportunist,” and “Can’t Hide It.” These singles allowed the album to debut at number three on the US Billboard 200 with 64,000 album-equivalent units in its first week (1,000 in pure album sales and 85 million streams) upon release and anticipation.
The project was pushed back several times due to Lil Durk’s legal troubles. He was arrested in October 2024 for murder-for-hire. This is Lil Durk’s album of rhyme and life in the midst of all the drama surrounding the release. Lil Durk has a lot to say, and he says it through his lyrics across a project that focuses on his trauma but also healing and growth as an artist. He progresses consistently, excelling in the genre while staying true to himself. The album being a mix of drill music and love songs sets the mood for his fans that prefer either.
“Late Check Out” featuring Hunxho is a song that everyone should listen to. This song has a great beat, good lyrics, and the theme of the album will reach many different audiences.
Let me tell you a little about LIl Durk, Lil Durk (Durk Derrick Banks) was born on October 19, 1992. He is an American rapper and singer known for his extensive contributions to the rap game. His role as one of the founding fathers of Chicago drill music has made him an influential voice in the genre. He is known as the founder of Only the Family (OTF). He started making music in the early 2010s, and his mixtape series “Signed to the Streets” gave him a voice in underground rap before he got signed to Def Jam Recordings, which allowed him to release his first studio albums “Remember My Name” and “Lil Durk 2X” in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Throughout the anticipation of the album, the album was leaked on popular platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram, and Twitter, some songs came out before they were officially released. That situation created tension throughout the rap community and fans, some saying it’s good they leaked some songs and others saying people shouldn’t be leaking music, and should just be patient for the album to release on its own. Personally, I wanted to hear the album as soon as possible of course because Lil Durk is my favorite artist. The album gained a lot of hype and popularity due to the fact Durk was in jail and it was being leaked. Hopefully, there will be a deluxe in the album, giving the fans more songs.
“This album was one of his best releases, prove me wrong” stated by Lamar Jennings. You can listen to the album on Apple Music, Spotify, or any music streaming service.
