Lil Durk is asking a federal judge in Los Angeles to reconsider his pretrial detention, arguing that prosecutors misrepresented key evidence.
The embattled rapper is denying a rap verse and fan-made videos are proof he profited off a murder he’s accused of orchestrating.
The rapper has been behind bars since his October 2024 arrest on federal charges tied to a murder-for-hire plot targeting rival rapper Quando Rondo.
Prosecutors claim Durk financed a deadly ambush in Los Angeles that left Rondo’s cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pabb” Robinson, dead in August 2022.
Durk has pleaded not guilty.
Now, his legal team says the government misled the court during a December detention hearing by tying him to a music video he didn’t make and lyrics recorded months before the killing.
“It is unfair, misleading and just flat-out wrong for the government to suggest that Mr. Banks is responsible for these video/audio edits or that they evidence his purported commercialization of a murder that he supposedly ordered,” attorney Drew Findling said in a new court filing.
At the center of the dispute is the song “Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy,” a track by Babyface Ray featuring Lil Durk.
Prosecutors argued the lyrics referenced the murder of Robinson and included audio from a news clip where Rondo screamed “no, no” after witnessing his cousin’s death.
But defense attorneys submitted an affidavit from the song’s producer, Justin Gibson, confirming the verse was recorded about seven months before the shooting.
Despite that, prosecutors told the court the lyrics were paired with news footage in a video allegedly showing Rondo’s reaction. That video, however, was not created or posted by Durk but rather by unaffiliated social media users, including accounts like @otf_edit and @mymixtapez.
“‘Wonderful Wayne’ has nothing to do with the shooting at issue in this case,” Findling said. “Rather than just concede this at the initial detention hearing, the government instead chose to speculate about an alternative theory of criminal liability connecting the videos to Mr. Banks.”
Durk’s lawyers say the government has not produced evidence that Durk directed or approved the videos. His team argues the clips were made by fan pages with no connection to him or his label, Only the Family, Inc.
Durk’s lawyers are now offering a bond package they say eliminates any risk if he’s released.
The proposal includes $900,000 in real estate equity, $1 million in cash from Alamo Records, $150,000 from a business associate, 24/7 private security, electronic monitoring and strict reporting requirements.
“Mr. Banks respectfully requests that the Court reconsider its previous detention order and permit his release secured by a robust bond package and subject to substantial conditions,” Findling added.
Durk is facing multiple federal charges, including conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death and using a machine gun in a violent crime.
If convicted, he could face life in prison or possibly the death penalty.
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