What Lil Durk Had To Say About His Friendship With Morgan Wallen

When Lil Durk released the song "Broadway Girls" featuring Morgan Wallen in December 2021, it surprised some fans. Leading up to the song's video release, the rapper and country singer gave shout-outs to one another on Instagram. "Broadway Girls with my friend @lildurk out now!!! Country [handshake emoji] Trenches," Wallen wrote alongside behind-the-scenes photos from their video shoot. The reason the collaboration between the two chart-toppers was so unexpected was that earlier that year, in February 2021, Wallen was embroiled in controversy when a viral video leaked of him using the n-word. Wallen issued an apology at the time but still received serious backlash.

Not long after they released a song together, Durkio defended Wallen. "Nah, he ain't no racist," the Chicago-born rapper told TMZ in January 2022 when asked about his thoughts on Wallen's use of the racial slur. "We had [a talk] behind closed doors, and I'll vouch for him," Lil Durk added.

The year that Wallen's controversial viral video leaked was the same year he got to know Lil Durk. It happened after the "Back in Blood" rapper reached out on Instagram in hopes of collaborating. "Me and him had been talking a little bit throughout the year — and kind of developed a friendship," Wallen said during an interview with Druski on Clubhouse in December 2021 (via Variety). Later, Lil Durk spoke about how the pair not only worked together but forged a bond.

When Lil Durk initially reached out to Morgan Wallen about possibly collaborating, the rapper was unaware of the video of Wallen using the racial slur. While exchanging DMs, Wallen came clean about the incident. This prompted Lil Durk to suggest the two musicians speak in person about the situation. "He was nowhere near racist ... I took my own risk, to show the world that he isn't that," Lil Durk told the Los Angeles Times in May 2023. After meeting and later working together on "Broadway Girls," the duo started to hang out as friends and bonded. "We live in two totally different worlds," Durk told the Times. "He'll tell me, 'Let's go hunting, let's go fishing.' He's opened my mind to a different view of life," the rapper added while mentioning that he tried to teach Wallen about fashion.

Initially, Durk was motivated to collab with Wallen after he saw that his country artist's album had beat his own on the Billboard charts. Wallen was reticent — because of his own controversy — but Durk was insistent that they at least meet. "And he really just broke [the video] down to me like, drunk mistake, everybody makes mistakes," the "Petty Too" rapper said while appearing on the "Full Send Podcast" in 2022. "If I feel he was a racist, I would have never did it anyway," Durk added.

After "Broadway Girls," the pair continued to work and spend time together.

On the heels of the success of "Broadway Girls," the two decided to hit the studio together again. In May, Lil Durk released the song "Stand By Me" featuring Morgan Wallen, a single off his "Almost Healed" album. The following month, Wallen surprised fans during his tour stop in Durk's hometown. "This is where I usually step off [the] stage and take a little break, but I've got a good buddy in town ... he is one of Chicago's own," Wallen announced to the crowd before Durk joined him on stage to perform their new track, according to HipHopDX.

Around the time that the song dropped, the duo spent time together outside the studio. They went fishing and showed off their catches on Instagram. "Durk done pulled up and taught me how to fish," Wallen wrote in his post from May. Both the country star and Durk wore knee-high boots in the snap as they grinned near a lake while holding the fish they had caught. Durkio posted a similar shot from the outing as the pair showed off their catches. "Family is family can't nothing change that p.s I'm done wit fish," Durk wrote alongside cry-laughing emoji.

Judging by their connection, fans can expect more songs from these two friends in the future.