Lil Durk, All My Life | Bangerz N Bopz 🔥

In the 1^st edition of Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 (2024), we highlight “All My Life” performed by Lil Durk featuring J. Cole. 

Bring on the bold, fierce songs! Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 serves up background info and insight into songs of various styles, especially songs that raise eyebrows and/or stir the pot.  Featured records can be classic or brand new. In the 1st edition of Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 (2024), we break down “All My Life” performed by Lil Durk featuring J. Cole.

“Hard times don’t last, ‘member when cops harassed / Talkin’ out my ass, boy, you ain’t shit but a bitch with a badge.” WOAH! And the best track from the 2023, Lil Durk album, Almost Healed, goes to… “All My Life”, of course! “All My Life” was released as a promo single and appears as the fourth track on the LP.  Notably, the Grammy-nominated melodic rapper is assisted by Grammy-winning rapper, J. Cole on the intro and second verse. Dr. Luke serves as the producer, bringing warm backdrop set in a major key.  In addition to writing credits for Lil Durk, J. Cole, and Dr. Luke, there are five other songwriters credited. There may be lots of cooks in the kitchen, but the result is a rap song that is as delicious and scrumptious as they come!

The melodic rap verse by Lil Durk are terrific. His flow is running on all cylinders here. Furthermore, what he raps about is on-point. “Some said I’d never be a superstar, but I know I’m different,” he asserts, continuing, “I’m The Voice, but the system ain’t give me a choice.” Deep! Also, the conclusion of the verse stands out too: “I know some kids wanna hurt theyself / Stop tryna take drugs, I refer to myself / Tryna better myself, tryna better my heath.” I love the contrast that J. Cole brings in the second verse with mostly un-pitched rhymes (he does dip into his melody briefly). Like Durk, he’s charged up, dropping numerous lyrical gems, whether it’s, “If you ain’t never posted a rapper when he was alive / You can’t post him after he get hit,” and “Fuck ‘em all like I’m goin’ through a ho phase / Young nigga shoot out the whip like road rage / I pray all of my dawgs say so paid / and the only thing that kill ‘em is old age.” Woo! With all the electrifying bars, the best moment from “All My Life,” hands down, is the chorus, which features a choir:

“All my life

They been tryin’ to keep me down

All this time

Never thought I would make it out.”

A glaring omission from 51 Best Songs of 2023, this Grammy-nominated song is nothing short of stellar.

🎙 Lil Durk • 💿 Almost Healed • 🏷 Alamo / Sony Music Entertainment • 📅 2023

Lil Durk, All My Life: Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 No. 1 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Alamo / Sony Music Entertainment; cottonbro studio, Harry Shelton, Kool Shooters, Lucas Pazeta, Mavluda Tashbaeva, Teddy Yang, Wesley Souza from Pexels]