Nancy Dillon
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Jay-Z, Lil Durk, J. Cole (Left to Right) Phillip Faraone/Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy; Prince Williams/FilmMagic Jay-Z and J. Cole are throwing their weight behind Lil Durk’s latest bid for release from federal custody.
The two hip-hop stars submitted letters to a federal judge Tuesday, urging Durk’s release on bond as the Grammy-winning rapper awaits an August 2027 trial in Los Angeles on racketeering-related charges. The charges were separated from his recent murder-for-hire trial, which ended with his acquittal on all counts.
The letters accompanied a new bail proposal that includes a pledge from Durk, born Durk Banks, to sign over all his future royalties and earnings, as well as an offer from Sony Music Entertainment to post an appearance bond of up to $1 million. The stakes are so high, his lawyers argue in the new filing, that if the rapper violated the agreement and fled, “he and his family would remain penniless going forward.”
In his letter, Jay-Z recalled meeting Banks several years ago and being impressed with his “seriousness and discipline.” He found Banks “genuinely curious about deepening his spirituality” and said the artist spoke about his faith in a sincere way. He said what stood out most was Banks’ interest in signing other young artists from his area of Chicago to give them “a real path into a legitimate industry.”
“He was kind, respectful, and focused on his career,” he wrote to U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald. “Many of us come from neighborhoods where the options are limited and the risks are high. Durk understood that, and he worked to help others find a way out of those conditions rather than leaving them behind.”
J. Cole, born Jermaine Cole, who is featured on Banks’ Grammy-winning song “All My Life,” wrote that he initially hesitated to collaborate on the “extremely positive song” because its message seemed too closely aligned with his already comparatively positive image. He said Banks persuaded him that he sincerely wanted to promote a message of “change and of peace and of growth and maturity.”
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He said the song, which went platinum four times, is about overcoming life’s toughest circumstances and refusing to let them stop you. He recalled visiting a juvenile detention center in Cleveland, where “every single kid” wanted to talk about Banks, whom he described as “extremely respectful.”
“They relate to his story and his struggle so much,” Cole wrote. “It speaks to the vision of Durk to mature and realize the impact his art could have, and then to be willing to fight for the chance to make that impact a positive one, even if it meant going against the instincts of an artist he respects and looks up to.” He asked the judge to consider the story when making a decision on Banks’ potential release on bond.
Banks, 34, was acquitted on all charges at a related trial in September. He was 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 Aug. 19, 2022. Robinson was the 24-year-old cousin of Quando Rondo, the rapper born Tyquian Bowman whom Banks allegedly blamed for the shooting death of his protégé King Von, prosecutors claimed. Banks was accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot. His co-defendants Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey were convicted of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking, and stalking resulting in death. They were acquitted of the murder-for-hire charges.
Along with the letters from Jay-Z and J. Cole, Banks and his lawyers also submitted from Robinson’s mother, Andrea Robinson. “On behalf of the family of Saviay’a Robinson, we do not object to Durk Banks being granted bond if it deemed appropriate by the honorable court,” she wrote in a letter dated Sept. 28, 2026.
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In Tuesday’s filings, Banks’ defense lawyers argued that he had little incentive to flee or interfere with witnesses because his upcoming trial involves the same killing and cooperating witnesses who testified at his August and September trial, which ended in his acquittal.
“Common sense confirms that a rational defendant is less likely to flee or tamper with potential witnesses when he knows that the evidence against him is too weak to convict him of a charge, even where that charge carries with it a serious sentence,” they wrote.
The lawyers also raised the possibility of seeking dismissal of the remaining charge on double jeopardy grounds, arguing that the earlier acquittal could legally bar a second trial on certain issues. They said a rational defendant also is less likely to violate his release conditions if he believes the law might prevent another trial altogether.
