DURK

    "I'll be home soon, Baby. I promise. I just gotta finish this last verse and imma be there." I said. Royale, my girl, needed me home so she could rest. She just had our daughter India a few weeks before. But, my grind never stops. I hung up the phone and resumed my meeting with Monami Productions. "I'll do it. Under one condition."

    "What's that?" Mona said. She leaned into the white conference table that departed us. Her long brown nails tapped against the case of her IPhone.

    "You gotta cast Royale too." I said. My manager smacked his lips, and I heard a heavy deep breath behind me.

    "Yo, you wildin'." my brother Vinnie whispered as he stood behind me, giving me a nudge.

    "Who?" Mona asked. Shawn let out a chuckle and shook his head.  He leaned forward with his fingers squeezing the bridge of his nose.

    "His girlfriend," he said. Mona and her team of 5 all furrowed their eyebrows at me. Mona also shook her head and let out a chuckle. She closed her binder and placed her hands on the contract in front of her.

    "I'm not sure you understand how this works," she said. She gathered her paperwork and stood up. "I came here to offer you a once in a lifetime opportunity. You could be the first cast member of the new Love & Hip Hop Chicago franchise. But, if you don't not want to accept this offer, I will find someone else. No disrespect to you, nor your girlfriend. But unless you're dating Cardi B herself, your girlfriend has nothing to bring to my show."

    "Miss Scott, he WILL be taking the offer. But, is there any way we can find a common ground here?" Shawn said. Mona squinted her eyes and sucked her teeth.

    "You have a record label, is that correct?" She asked. I nodded and she sat back down in the black rolling chair. "Do you have any female artists?"

    "Nah-"

    "We are currently looking for one. OTF will be signing their first female artist before you even start filming the show." Shawn said. I cleared my throat and buried my face in my hands. I ran them through my dreads, giving them a tug.

    "You have one week." She said.

    "One week it is." Shawn replied.

    "Great, then we'll cast you and your new female artist. If Royale wants to be on the show, make her interesting." Mona said. She stood up and walked out of the conference room with her team.

    "Shawn, what the fuck did I tell you?" I said. I stood up and placed my phone in my pocket. My team emptied the room, including Vinnie. "I don't wanna do this TV shit that bad. We currently looking for a female artist, really? Are you aware of what OTF stand for?"

    "Durk, this is just another stepping stone. Just give Mona what she want and you and Royale can play the Queen and King of Chicago all you want." He said. He stood up, pushing his chair in. I walked towards the door with my back facing him.

    "Let me do my job as man, and you do yours as my manager. But never forget, you work for me." I said. With that, I walked out of the conference room.

    "Hey Vinnie," Royale said. I walked into the living room to see her breast feeding India while laying on the couch. "Hey baby!"

    "Wassup, Baby." I said. I leaned down to kiss her lips. Megan, her best friend, walked out of the kitchen. She handed Royale a bottled water and bowl of freshly cut fruit, then sat next to her.

    "Meg, do that again." Vinnie said. He sat at the kitchen island on a stool, biting his bottom lip. Megan smiled and looked at Royale who had a smirk on her face.

    "Do what?" She asked. She pretended to scroll on her phone but Royale nudged her and  they burst into laughter.

    "That lil walk you did from the kitchen." He said. Megan's cheeks got red and she covered her face with her phone as she looked at Royale.

     "Ooooooh!" Royale exclaimed. Her and Megan shared another laugh and Vinnie smiled as he shook his head.

    "Y'all muhfuckas need to stop playing and just fuck already." I said. Grabbing me a bottled water of my own, Vinnie & I pounded fists. Whole time , them two were sneaky linking already. But, Royale ain't need to know that.

    "Okay, here Daddy," Royale said. She placed  a sleeping India in my arms and walked passed the couch to the hallway. "I'm bout to go get dressed, Girl. I'll be right back!"

    "Wait," I said. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at Megan. "Where y'all bout to go? Royale was just talm bout she tired."

    "Tired, where?" She said. She laughed and put her hand on her chest."We bout to go do bald head hoe shit!"

    "Bro, she going out with Megan." Vinnie said. He raised an eyebrow at me. Him & I both know that any time Royale goes out with Megan it's definitely some hoe activities going on. Baby gotta find some new friends. It's always the thick light skinned ones. Vinnie loves it, he get to see Megan whenever he wants.

    "Don't be having her out too late, She gone need her rest." I said. Megan ran towards me and squeezed her arms around me and India tight.

    "Thank you, Brotha Banks." She said and then giggled. My phone vibrated in my back pocket, so I pulled it out to see that Shawn was calling me. Vinnie looked up from his phone and laughed.

    "Mm, must be somebody important." Megan said. She shook her head and walked over to Vinnie as he continued to laugh.

    "Fuck is funny?" I said. I sat down on a stool next to Vinnie as I held India in my arm.

    "Why you always making that face when he call?" He said.

    "Ion know what you talking bout," I said as I answered the phone. "Hello?"

    "Aye man, Mona sent over the contract. Imma send it over to you." Shawn said.

    "What happened to the deal you made with her earlier?" I asked.

    "I'm finna go to the store real quick, Meg you wanna ride?" Vinnie said. She nodded, grabbed her things, and they both left.

     "She said if you sign the contract tonight she'll keep her end of the bargain. But, you have to keep yours." He said. I took a deep breath and heavily exhaled. I gotta respect her hustle.

    "Royale is not gone go for this shit, man." I said.

    "Go for what?" Royale asked. She walked into the livingroom while putting the back on her left earring. I hung up the phone immediately and stood up with India still snuggled in my arms. "Where Meg go?"

    "Uhh, she went to the store." I said. I started walking towards my room and Royale followed.

    "Bae, you still ain't answer my question." She said. I laid India in the bassinet next to our bed. Royale sighed, and grabbed her keys. "Never mind." Before she could leave the room, I hurried after her and grabbed her arm.

    "Baby, chill out. It's not that serious. I was on the phone with my manager. That's it." I said. My hands pulled her closer to me by her waist and she rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms.

    "What you talking to him about me for?" She said. I looked away and paused for a moment to think of any thing to tell her BUT the truth. Royale smacked her lips and pressed her hand against my chest as she slipped out of my grip. "Forget it."

    "I got a job offer." I said. She sat on the bed and furrowed her eyebrows.

    "Why wouldn't I go for that? You don't think I'll support you or Is it out of town?" She said.

    "Nah, it's none of that." I said. I sat next to her on the side of the bed and my eyes came in contact with the urn of Royale's mother that sat in the corner of the room on her bookshelf. I got chills just thinking about the last thing her  mother said to me. Ain't no way in hell Royale is gonna be stable enough to handle any drama, and no time soon. "Mona Scott is bringing Love and Hip Hop to Chicago and she wants us to be part of the cast."

    "Durk, don't play with me." She said. She grabbed my chin with her small hand and squinted her eyes as she examined me. "You lying."

    "Bae, I swear. I can show you the contracts right now. Shawn emailed them to me like 10 mins ago." It wasn't long before she grinned like a Cheshire Cat, only to let out a screech. "You can't tell anyone yet, though. Not until we're finished filming. That means, this is a secret. DO NOT TELL MEGAN, Okay?"

    "Okay, okay, okay!" She said. Letting out another screech, she jumps up and down before sitting on my lap. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she squeezed me tight. "Oh, I can't wait to finally have my voice be heard. I'm so tired of being your shadow, baby. I feel like having our wedding on the show will be the highlight of our careers."

    "Yeah, me too." I said. Taking another glance at that urn, I held my tongue. I placed a kiss on her forehead and rubbed her left thigh with my thumb. "You enjoy yourself tonight, I love you."

    "I love you too." She said. She scrunched her nose as she rubbed it against my cheek. We sat in silence for a moment. She was probably daydreaming about being on the show. I was contemplating about how I was going to find a female artist to sign to OTF, and what the fuck I was gone do if Royale finds out about it before we actually signed the contracts.

    The next day, Vinnie and I was having lunch in my red Bentley as we sat in the parking lot of the studio. Ever since the pandemic began, we'd spent more time in the car than the studio itself. My hard drives had and always have 200+ unreleased music on them. So, I sometimes just use my studio time to chill with my homies as my engineer and producer works on their music. More specifically, my lil bro Vinnie.

    "Shawn just sent me a text." I said. After saying my fatiha, I bit into my chicken sandwich. I dipped a few cheese fries in ranch and hot sauce then shoved them in my mouth. "Talm bout, six more days." Vinnie chuckled like he always do and nearly choked on his fries. "That's what you get."

    "Shawn just doing his job, bro. He got you an opportunity and you should just do what you gotta do. Take it." He said and took a sip of his lemonade.

    "How the hell imma find a female to sign in six days? Bro, SIX days?!" I said. I wiped my lips and fingertips with a napkin as I sucked my teeth for any debris.

    "Ion know, but you sure do got a lot of baby mommas.. ion think just finding a female looking to get signed is gone be that hard for you. You more scared about what Royale gone say about it." He said. He shrugged his shoulders and bit into his last wing.

    "It ain't bout what she gone say, it's bout how she gone feel." I said.

    "Same shit. You still scared." He said as he sucked his fingertips and the food out of his teeth. I flipped down my sun visor and pulled out my dental floss. "You kiss her ass and feet. Just sickening, bro."

    "What's wrong with that? I love my lady." I said. I wiggled the floss between each tooth as I looked in the mirror, going through my grillz a second time.

    "She don't love you, ma nigga." He said. He tilted his seat back as he shook his head.

    "Yeah, aight." I said. I smacked my lips and tossed the floss in the Harold's Chicken Shack bag. "Now you just talking."

    "How many times did you have to stop doing something you genuinely wanted to do just to make her happy? You turned down the baddest bitches in the industry who only hit you up about business. You could be sitting on double the money you have now if you took that movie deal but you refused to do a sex scene. You trippin." He said.

    "But that's my woman. What you, Shawn, and everybody else who got a problem with our relationship, don't understand is that I make decisions for US. Not just me. It's not about what I want."

    "My point exactly. It's not about what SHE wants or don't want. It's about what's gone benefit y'all in the the long run. She can't be out here choosing yo battles for you and she ain't the one fighting."

    "This my family we talking bout, the life I live when all else fails-"

    "See, that's yo problem, bro. This not you. Durk don't talk like this. When all else fails? Nigga, what happens if it does? Are you gonna still love her the same knowing you would've been solid had you not turned down half of the offers you were given to achieve longevity in this industry, FOR HER? Will you be at peace in your spirit, bro? Be honest."

    "I'd have to be."

    "Yeah... you not feeling me. But you gone feel me when she asks you to give up something you know yo soul can't live without."

    "What you mean?"

    "You'll know when it happens." He said. He grabbed the paper bag that now had trash in it and opened the car door to step out. "Come on, let's finish this track. You got me getting all deep and shit. Love you, bro. Make the right decision."

    After spending the day with Vinnie, I needed some time alone. Time to think. Usually, I'd make a decision by now without hesitation. I believe in not questioning myself, because I follow my intuition. But, that was the most confused I've felt. I had to put my faith in Allah to use the universe to help me. Although, time wasn't really on my side. I had no choice but to be patient and watch for the signs I'd be given.

    On my way home from Vinnie's, I encountered some traffic. So, I was able to listen to my thoughts. No music, no texting, no calls, just me. The car in front of me had Ohio plates that read "222". At the same time that I noticed that, a car drove past blasting music.    

    "You only live once, that's the motto, nigga, YOLO
And we 'bout it every day, every day, every day
Like we sittin on the bench, nigga, we don't really play.."

    I didn't realize what was going on until I was watching that license plate disappear, yet I didn't move. In fact, I had zoned out so long that the cars started swerving around me.

    "GO!!" some random driver said. They honked their horn, demanding me to go again. I snapped out of my trance and hit the gas. I was supposed to make a right at the light, but for some reason I was going in the direction of the car that was once in front of me. Thinking about it now, I never saw that car again. But, I had a feeling I was looking for something. Turns out, it was somewhere. I couldn't stop driving, because it felt like I had to be somewhere. Like, that feeling you get when you're late for something important to you. So, I kept driving. I had no idea how long I had been on the road. Honestly, I didn't care. The longer I drove, more satisfied I was. Then, I stopped. Looking around, I was confused. I was no longer in Chicago, nor was I in Illinois. I checked my current location on my phone and I was in Cleveland, Ohio! 5 whole hours away from home.

    Most people, I assume, would be upset that they've ended up several hours from home. Well, most people don't just end up several hours from home.. so, scratch that. Needless to say, I had no choice but to call it a night. I found the nearest hotel. I put on my mask, shades, and parked far in the back. I booked a one bedroom suite.

    "Would that be for just tonight, or?" said the receptionist.

    "Umm," I said. Trusting my gut feeling, I shook my head. "No. Until friday, please."

    "Yooo, what's the word?" Shawn answered the FaceTime. "You look like you been up all night. Got da bags and shit, India ain't giving you a break!"

    "Nah man, I haven't been getting enough sleep. But I ain't been at home either." I said. I opened the blinds to the hotel's window and flipped my camera to show the view.

    "Nigga, where da hell is you at? Royale kicked you out?! Damn, I ain't know she was crazy like dat." He said. He squinted his eyes to see the view. "Look like Ohio or some shit."

    "Yeah,I'm in Cleveland." I said. I ran my fingers through my blonde dreads, giving my scalp a scratch.

    "Awe, you ain't tell her. Did you?" He said. I shook my head. "Well, you got 3 more days. The show is still going to be filmed with or without you. You and I both know this is the biggest opportunity of your career right now. Come next year, they'll hear Love and Hip Hop Chicago, and they'll be thinking of you. It's up to you to make this shit happen. I did my part, B."

    "Ion know man, this shit is stressful" I said.

    "Look, if you don't want to do it. I'll leave it alone. But you have to say OUT OF YOUR MOUTH that you don't wanna do it." He said. For a moment I was stuck in my head just staring out the window. Looking for a reason why I don't want to take this offer besides the fact that Royale might kill me if she knew of the ultimatum I was given. Royale has been mad at me before, she'll get mad about something again. It's inevitable. But getting on this show is a one time offer with major conditions. "I'm on my way, right now."

    "What?"

    "If it takes that long for you to say no, you don't really wanna say it." He said. "I'm on my way, send me yo location."

    Nearly 6 hours later, Shawn made it to the hotel. He had two fifths of Peach Crown Royal and a stack of paperwork. Vinnie decided to come thru after his club event in Detroit.  Unfortunately for them, I had decided not to go through with the deal. So, we drank to that.

    "I want y'all to see this drip," I said. I set my phone up against the lamp on an end table near the window. Comments started flooding in and hearts bounced off the phone screen. "cause Vinnie and Shawn over here hatin'."

    "Tell him to take them damn shoes off with them pants and put on a different jacket. It don't match!" Vinnie said. He tugged at the bottom of my custom stacked jeans showing my cream chunky balenciagas.

    "Hating ass niggas!" I said. Shawn had finished rolling a wood, laughing so hard he started slapping the dining table. "What y'all think? Cause these niggas hatin'."

    "All they gone do is dick ride," Vinnie said. "They be lying."

    "Look, the shirt match the shoes and my skin. The jacket match the patches in the shirt and the pants." I said. I pulled up my jean jacket sleeves and smacked my lips. "Come on, stop playing!"

    "That's some shit Royale told you, huh?" Shawn said. He exhaled smoke and burst into to laughter again, Vinnie dapped him and  joined him.

    "Don't let her dress you no more, bro. This ain't it." Vinnie said.

    "Y'all got jokes I see." I said. I chuckled and pulled my chains from under my shirt as I lean into the camera.

    "Nah, for real tho." Vinnie said. He scoot his chair into the view of the camera. "Royale be running shit. He be kissing her ass and feet."

    "That's how it's supposed to be." I shrugged and grabbed the wood from Shawn.

    "You gone be a miserable muhfucka." Shawn said. He raised his shot glass and looked at me. "Cheers, to being pussy whipped."

    "You crazy." I said. All the comments were agreeing with what he was saying, and I started to get agitated. I passed the wood to Vinnie.

    "Nigga, you can get mad all you want but you not bout to sign a female to OTF. Royale wont dare let that shit happen." Vinnie said.

    "Right." Shawn said.

    "What he say, what he say?" Vinnie said. He  tapped him on the shoulder as he stood next to him, then passed him the blunt.

    "Royale ain't going for that shit!" Shawn mimicked.

     "It ain't bout what she gone say, it's bout how she gone feeeeeel." Vinnie mimicked. They shook hands and passed me the wood. "It's all love, bro. But you know, I know, and we all know that YOU ain't making the decisions around this muhfucka."

    "How much y'all niggas wanna bet?" I said. I hit the wood one last time and passed it to Vinnie as I blew out smoke.

    "A separation agreement." Shawn said.

    "That Bust Down Richie, right there." Vinnie said.

     "Bet, Shawn put cho fucking papers down." I said. I took a shot of Crown Royal before taking off my watch and setting it on top of Shawn's departing contract. "I'm going to need y'all to clean up this mess when she finds out."

    "Yeah, yeah." Shawn said.

    "Since these niggas think shit sweet, and don't think I can sign a female artist by Friday. Let's make shit shake!" I said. I leaned down to see that my views went up since I made the bet. "I'm having auditions for OTF, right now! Females only & no bullshit. Go tag y'all homegirls, reach out to y'all peoples cause y'all got TWO hours. Imma add you to the live and you give me yo performance. Nun more, nun less. Tap the fuck in!"

    It took about half an hour to get ladies who were actually serious about signing to me to join the live. The first handful were just fans seizing the opportunity to talk to me. But, I meant it when I said, "Nothing more, nothing less." Vinnie was gassing shorties up, only for me to hang up on them. Shawn wasn't really paying attention, on his phone doing him. The Artists who started rolling in didn't give me the vibe I was looking for. You'd be surprised how many times I've heard the word "Pussy" in one bar. No talent, none whatsoever. As many singers I listened to, not one could really sing. Around the last 10 minutes of the 2 hours I was planning on being on Live, I was ready to tap the fuck out. We ain't have no more liquor, we was high as fuck, and none of the females gave me what I was looking for.

    "Alright, that's it. I tried." I said. I shrugged my shoulders and Shawn shook his head.

    "One mo', lets do one mo'" Vinnie said. He was reading the comments from his phone. "They telling you to look at the comments." I grabbed my phone and unplugged the charger connected to it. Scrolling through the comments I can see people tagging the same person. The higher I scrolled, I could see she had tagged herself over 10 times. Then, I came across her first comment.

calymichigan: I made a freestyle to one of your songs and MURDERED it. It's on my feed if anyone wants to see it. Tag me in this live if you liked it.

    "If I should add shorty, comment "YES, right now" I said. Within seconds the comments started flooding with yeses. "Bet, shorty send that request." A few minutes passed, no request. So, I assumed she was no longer online. "Alright, I'm finna get off this live. It was fun while it lasted. But, OTF will not be signing a female." As soon as I was finished talking, @calymichigan requested to join my live. I froze and completely lost my train of thought while I continued to stare at my phone.

    "What's wrong?" Vinnie said. He leaned over my shoulder as I accepted the request, furrowing his eyebrows.

    "Wow, I- umm. It's really you." She said. She covered her cheeks with her hands as she bit her bottom lip. "I sent a request about an hour ago. I gave up."

    "That's his problem," Shawn said. "He ain't trynna sign nobody for real."

    "Oh, I don't wanna get signed." She said. She tied her braids into a big bun behind her head exposing her light brown eyes and chubby cheeks. Her cheeks reddened the longer we looked at each other. I licked my lips trying to find the words to say. It was the look in her eyes that had me mesmerized. I felt like I'd found what I was looking for all that time."I just wanted you to hear my remix."

    "Of course she does." Shawn said. "NEXT!"

    "Bro," Vinnie said. He tapped my shoulder and snapped his fingers. "Fam, you good?"

    "Yeah," I said. I cleared my throat, and straighten up my posture. She walked out of the view of the camera and the beat from my song Prada You started to play. She sat down in front of the camera and tucked her hands under her lavender oversized sweater that said CALY on the front in a dark yellow. Rubbing her glossy lips together, she rocked side to side with her eyes closed as she listened to the beat. I was so focused on her, I forgot we were even on live. When she rapped her freestyle, I was speechless. I felt every word, every syllable, every letter. Yet, I don't remember the words she said. I just... felt her. We sat there and stared at each other for a good thirty seconds, dancing with our eyes, and just smiling. Not too much, though. You know, that face you make when you're day dreaming. The silence was so peaceful.

    "Okay, now. What the fuck is going on?" Vinnie said. He laughed with an awkward tone in his voice as he walked away from me.

    "Ion want no parts of this," Shawn said. "See you tomorrow." He grabbed his contract and put it back into his binder then left.

    "Um.." I said. "that was... amazing."

    "Shut up!" She said. She pressed her lips together as she tried not to smile but her dimples already gave it away. "Did you like it, really?"

    "I loved it, actually." I said. "Where you from?"

    "Michigan, but I live in Ohio." She said.

    "Say swear to god." I said. I smacked my lips. My heart fell to my stomach and I got chills. "Where?"

    "See, I told you." Vinnie said. Referring to the conversation we had the last weekend. "What I tell you?!"

    "I swear," she said. She grabbed her phone and showed the view from her back window. "Tremont, baby."

    "Shit, you got a friend?!" Vinnie said.

    "Yeah, she told me she saw Lil Durk at her job earlier." She said. Every time she spoke I got butterflies in my stomach. I loved the way she giggled and covered her smile, even though I could still see it.

    "Just call me Durk, lil mama." I said.

    "Lil mamaaa? Oooh! How old is you?" She said. She held her hand on her chest as she laughed.

    "28, you?"

    "22"

    "What about yo friend?!" Vinnie said.

    "She old enough. Hold on." she said. She left the camera and came back with an iPad. "Here's a picture of her." Vinnie walked back over to me and examined the picture. Then, nodded his head and pushed his bottom lip up.

    "Tell shorty to slide through!" He said.

    "Alright, I got you." She said. "Matter fact, DM her. I'll send you her handle. I'm texting her right now though."

   "Aight, bet." He said. I skimmed over the comment to see people dragging me and threatening to tell Royale, some tagged her. Vinnie peeped too, and nudged me. At that point, I was already in trouble.

    "If I DM you, you gone answer?" I said. She shrugged slowly and looked away from the camera with a smirk.

    "If I say yeah, is you gone DM me?"

    "Depends."

    "On what?"

    "If you really what you rap about."

    "Are YOU really what you rap about?"

    "Come find out." I bit my bottom lip with a smirk and ended the live.

    "Yo... you wildin!" Vinnie said. "Royale really gone kill you."

    "And Megan gone kill you." I said.

    "Megan not my bitch, though." He said. He shook his head and finger at me. "I got cho back. But, be careful."

    "Ion know what you're talking about." I said. I shrugged my shoulders and left into the bedroom, shutting the door behind me. Yeah, I'm in trouble.

🌻🌻🌻

LIL DURK as Himself

INDIA WESTBROOKS as Royale

TYRESE GIBSON as Shawn

KING VON as Vinnie

ARI FLETCHER as Megan

💭💭💭

Is Shawn a good Manager?

Is Vinnie right about what he told Durk in the car?

Should Durk DM Calypso?

Do you think Megan and Vinnie will get together?

What are your thoughts on India & Durk's relationship so far?

🕊🕊🕊

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Dayvon Daquan Bennett
AKA: King Von
August 9th, 1994 - November 6th, 2020