A song released nearly a year before the Los Angeles shooting at the center of Lil Durk’s federal case will be heard by jurors after all. Rolling Stone reports that U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald ruled Thursday that prosecutors may introduce “Pissed Me Off” and its music video at Durk’s upcoming murder-for-hire trial, rejecting a defense argument that the material could unfairly color how jurors view him.
Prosecutors believe the 2021 track helps establish Durk’s alleged desire to retaliate for the death of his close friend and OTF artist King Von. Von, whose real name was Dayvon Bennett, was killed during a November 2020 confrontation involving Quando Rondo’s associates. Federal authorities accuse Durk of later financing an attempt to kill Rondo that instead left Rondo’s cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson, dead in Los Angeles in August 2022. Durk has pleaded not guilty and denies arranging the attack.
The government is pointing to specific language in “Pissed Me Off,” including a passage in which Durk raps about putting money toward a gun and a car before mentioning people invoking Von’s name. Prosecutors argue that those lyrics support their theory that Durk was willing to spend money on retaliation. The song was released in October 2021 as the lead single from 7220.
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Durk’s defense sees a much different record. Attorney Marissa Goldberg argued Thursday that the song contains references to several losses in Durk’s life and opens by memorializing his older brother, Dontay “DThang” Banks Jr. She warned that allowing the government to present the video through the lens of its murder-for-hire theory carries “so much risk of prejudice and confusion,” particularly when jurors may not know which lyrics concern which person.
That concern became more complicated after Fitzgerald recently separated additional racketeering allegations from the trial scheduled to begin August 20. Durk now faces those accusations in a later proceeding. His defense argued that because some of the severed allegations involve alleged retaliation connected to DThang’s death, “Pissed Me Off” could effectively bring material from the other case back before the first jury.
Prosecutors told the judge they intend to introduce the video through a cooperating witness who was present during filming and has some connection to the Los Angeles shooting. That witness is expected to offer an interpretation of portions of the song and video. Fitzgerald ultimately allowed the evidence but acknowledged that the defense will be able to challenge the government’s reading of it. He also said he would consider giving jurors a limiting instruction explaining how they may use the material.
