On Friday (Nov. 10), Lil Durk announced the upcoming release of his new OTF (Only The Family) compilation titled Nightmares In The Trenches. It’s currently scheduled to debut on Nov. 17.
It will serve as a follow-up to 2022’s Lil Durk Presents: Loyal Bros 2. The 23-song project boasted features from King Von, Kodak Black, Future, Lil Zay Osama, Icewear Vezzo and several more. OTF staples like Doodie Lo, Boonie Mo, and Booka600 also contributed to the body of work.
The lead single from the LP, “Smurk Carter,” also dropped yesterday. Directed by Jerry Production, the accompanying visuals paid homage to Lil Wayne’s The Carter era. Since it came out, the video already amassed a whopping 1 million views on YouTube.
In the second verse, Durk spat, “Back in 2010, I went to school with a Desert Eagle / Sean John hoodie, with Shawn Carters in my Evisu’s / Family treat me different, I had to walk ’round like I’m see-through / N**gas treat me like family, I just told you what the streets do / Young age, I used to run the streets ’cause I’m a bad boy.”
“Smurk Carter” followed a string of other singles and guest appearances for the Chicago rapper. He appeared on Ayra Starr and David Guetta’s “Big FU” in October. The previous month, he teamed up with Sexyy Red for “Hellcats SRTs 2,” followed by Kid Cudi for “Guitar In My Room.”
In May, Durk liberated his Almost Healed album. It contained the standout cut “All My Life” featuring J. Cole, which was nominated for the 2024 Grammy Awards yesterday (Nov. 10).
The Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. spoke to Billboard about the inclusion of the record. He explained, “I think the type of records that Grammy voters like is probably evolving as our membership is evolving. And we really intentionally got into a lot of communities – Black music, hip hop. The membership has really evolved over the last two or three years. So, I think the outcomes in those types of music is going to continue to change and evolve. It will be hard to determine what is going to be a Grammy-style of hip hop record.”