"Backdoor" is a song by American rapper
Lil Durk
Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. Regarded as a pioneering artist in the Chicago-based hip-hop subgenre drill music, he is often considered the subgenre's most commercially suc ...
, from his sixth studio album, ''
The Voice''. It was released as the third single, on December 21, 2020, three days before the album. The song is a tribute to Durk's labelmate and friend,
King Von
Dayvon Daquan Bennett (August 9, 1994 – November 6, 2020), known professionally as King Von, was an American rapper and gangster from Chicago, Illinois, who was affiliated with the Black Disciples gang. He was considered a preeminent figure ...
, who was shot and killed outside an Atlanta nightclub in November 2020. The video sees Durk wearing Von's signature O'Block chain, which Von approved of before his death.
Background
Lil Durk and King Von were frequent collaborators, starting with 2019's "
Crazy Story" remix and "Twin Nem", and 2020's "
All These Niggas", "Baguette's" and "Down Me".
Both artists hail from Chicago's
O'Block section. Von garnered notoriety through his affiliation with Durk.
"Backdoor" honors Von who died in November 2020 at the age of 26 after being shot outside the Monaco Hookah Lounge in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
following a reported argument.
The shootout resulted in the deaths of Von, along with two other men.
"Backdoor" was released following Durk's one-month social media hiatus.
He promoted the song with the hashtag #DoIt4Von.
Composition
Apart from the song being a tribute to King Von, it also sees Durk touch on his own personal struggles and cautioning on the dangers of running the streets.
Over the piano-led instrumental, Durk references his success, fake love,
and promises to make Von proud in the years to come.
Critical reception
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''s Rania Aniftos deemed it a "stirring" song.
''
The Fader
''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture.
History and work
It is owned by T ...
''s Jordan Darville noted the video for being "an appropriately melancholy sight for a song with disappointment and betrayal simmering beneath the flexing".
Music video
The song's video accompanied its release. Directed by Jerry Production,
it features a "subtle but touching" tribute to King Von. In the visual, Durk wears Von's signature O'Block chain, flaunting it in front of the camera.
Prior to the song's release, Durk revealed in an
Instagram Stories
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
a text message conversation he and Von had, in which Durk informed Von that he would be filming the music video with the chain on that day, and Von replying that he will get it cleaned for him.
Durk also sports the chain on the song's cover art.
Furthermore in the video, he is also seen flaunting his riches,
and pays tribute to his late cousin, OTF Nunu.
Charts
Certifications
References
{{Lil Durk
2020 songs
2020 singles
Lil Durk songs
Geffen Records singles
Songs written by Lil Durk