Jay-Z and J. Cole have submitted letters to U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald supporting Lil Durk’s request for release on bond. The filings were submitted Tuesday, as the rapper, born Durk Banks, awaits an August 2027 trial in Los Angeles on racketeering-related charges.
The new bail proposal includes a pledge from Banks to sign over all his future royalties and earnings and an offer from Sony Music Entertainment to post an appearance bond of up to $1 million. Banks’s lawyers argue that if he violated the agreement and fled, “he and his family would remain penniless going forward.”
In his letter, Jay-Z wrote that he met Banks several years ago and was impressed by his “seriousness and discipline.” He said Banks was interested in signing other young artists from his area of Chicago to give them “a real path into a legitimate industry.” Jay-Z wrote: “He was kind, respectful, and focused on his career.”
J. Cole, born Jermaine Cole, is featured on Banks’s Grammy-winning song “All My Life.” In his letter, Cole said he initially hesitated to collaborate on the song but that Banks convinced him he sincerely wanted to promote a message of change, peace and growth. Cole asked the judge to consider the account he described when deciding on Banks’s potential release on bond.
Banks, 34, was acquitted on all charges at a related trial in September. He had been accused of participating in a murder-for-hire plot that led to the stalking and fatal shooting of Saviay’a Robinson, also known as Lul Pab, on August 19, 2022. Robinson’s mother, Andrea Robinson, wrote in a letter dated September 28, 2026, that the family does not object to bond if the court deems it appropriate. Federal prosecutors are expected to file a reply opposing the new bail proposal before Judge Fitzgerald rules.
Source: Rolling Stone Music
