Following the viral preview of his new music this week, Lil Durk is receiving comparisons to some of the most esteemed MCs in hip-hop. Late in October, during a SiriusXM + Pandora Playback event in Atlanta, the native of Chicago revealed an unreleased track to a small but devoted audience.

Fan anticipation was aroused when DJ Akademiks provided a concise excerpt of the prelude on Tuesday, November 6. Audiences could not help but draw parallels between the 31-year-old’s rhythm selection and lyrics to that of JAY-Z, despite the song’s brevity.

Further comparisons were drawn to Kanye West, Meek Mill, Lil Wayne, and J. Cole, which all echoed the sentiment that Durk is demonstrating his lyrical prowess to the fullest.

Lil Durk described an encounter with Jay-Z earlier this year that temporarily rendered him motionless. During an interview with XXL, the OTF frontman recalled an incident that occurred at a party hosted by Michael Rubin the previous year, wherein Hov described Durk as an inspiration.”When I saw him [in 2022] at Michael Rubin’s party, he exclaimed, ‘Man, you inspire me.'” Durk pondered the words of Jay. “You f*ck me up, man. My response to him was inadvertently forgotten due to its location on a passing walk-by. The response is completely illogical, as it genuinely surprised me. I am thinking, “What the f*ck?” “Damn, that is difficult!”