Kanye West pulled up to the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on Thursday in all-black leather, taking a seat in the second row to witness his collaborator’s federal trial firsthand.
The move marks another high-profile artist joining the growing list of supporters showing up for Lil Durk as prosecutors build their murder-for-hire case against the Chicago rapper. Ye’s appearance comes after Machine Gun Kelly and G Herbo both made courtroom appearances earlier in the week, signalling that the Hip-Hop community isn’t sitting on the sidelines while one of their own faces serious federal charges. Durk’s features appear across multiple Kanye projects, including Donda, VULTURES 1, and VULTURES 2, suggesting a relationship beyond mere industry acquaintances.
MGK’s presence on Monday came with a statement on social media in which he called Durk “my bro for a decade,” explaining that when Durk personally reached out to ask for support, there was no hesitation. The two have history beyond the courtroom too, with MGK playing guitar during Durk’s 2023 Amazon Music Live performance. Day 3 of the trial brought significant courtroom drama when prosecutors showed jurors an unreleased “Redman” music video, arguing it demonstrated Durk’s revenge motive following King Von’s 2020 death.
The video depicted Lil Durk chasing and shooting an actor portraying rival rapper Quando Rondo, the alleged target of the murder-for-hire plot that ended in the death of Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson. Defense attorney Brian Steel countered that the visual was simply artistic expression from a grief-stricken poet, not evidence of criminal intent.