Remember My Name (album)

Remember My Name is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Lil Durk. It was released on June 2, 2015, by Only the Family and Def Jam Recordings. The album's production was handled by C-Sick, DJ L, FKi, London on da Track, Metro Boomin, Vinylz, Young Chop and more, with fellow Def Jam label-mates Jeremih and Logic were the featured artists. The album garnered a positive reception but critics were mixed on the gangsta rap content and Auto-Tune delivery of them. Remember My Name debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 and only released one single: "Like Me".

Remember My Name
Studio album by Lil Durk
Released	June 2, 2015 (2015-06-02)
Recorded	2014–15
Genre	Hip hop trap drill
Length	41:11
Label	Only the Family Def Jam
Producer	Allen Ritter Boi-1da B Wheezy C-Sick DJ L D Brooks Exclusive FKi London on da Track Metro Boomin Vinylz Young Chop
Lil Durk chronology
Signed to the Streets 2 (2014) Remember My Name (2015) Lil Durk 2X (2016)
Deluxe edition cover
Singles from Remember My Name
"Like Me" Released: March 31, 2015

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	61/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk	(50%)[2]
AllMusic	[3]
Billboard	[4]
Complex	[5]
Consequence of Sound	C+[6]
HipHopDX	[7]
Pitchfork	5.6/10.0[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]

Remember My Name received generally positive reviews from music critics but were divided on Durk's Auto-Tune flow and lyrical content. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on 8 reviews.[1]

David Turner from Rolling Stone praised Durk for maintaining a delivery of dark ghetto lyrics over a mainstream budget, concluding that "He's nowhere near forgetting how hard times were for him, and remain for so many in his hometown."[9] Meaghan Garvey of Billboard praised the album for being able to "strike a graceful balance between gritty roots and big-budget sheen, recruiting underrated drill producers (DJ L, C-Sick) whose slick beats are highlights."[4] AllMusic's David Jeffries said that despite retreads of "Like Me" found throughout the album, he highlighted tracks like "Tryna' Tryna'" and "What Your Life Like" as lyrical standouts, saying that "Drenched in Auto-Tune and more frustrated than a ringtone rapper should be, Lil Durk turns in a surprisingly down effort."[3]

Kellan Miller of HipHopDX was mixed about the album, praising Durk's lyricism on self-reflecting tracks like "Resume" and "Don't Judge Me" but felt his personal life forced him to fabricate certain stories with gangsta rap clichés, saying that, "[T]he title's overt demand for permanent residency in the collective consumer's cerebral cortex ultimately amounts to Remember My Name's slightly-above mediocre status." He also said that it will only appeal to loyal Durk fans.[7] Jill Hopkins of Consequence of Sound felt the album suffered an identity crisis when it went from hard-hitting hip-hop to soft-willowing R&B due to the use of Auto-Tune, concluding that "A record this anticipated by a man so young, with so much riding on it should sound more important. Instead, Remember My Name sounds a lot like a lot of other things."[6] Jake Jenkins of AbsolutePunk found the album a disappointing let-down, criticizing the middle part for being filler and Durk's limited musicianship revealing a flawed transition from mixtape to full-length project, saying, "That's not the kind of rapper Durk is, at the moment anyway, and all over Remember My Name you get the awkward feeling that Durk is completely out of his element."[2]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 14 on the US Billboard 200, with 28,000 equivalent album units; it sold 24,000 copies in its first week, with the remainder of its unit count attributed to streaming activity and track sales.[10] It has sold 48,000 copies in the United States as of June 2016.[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"500 Homicides"	Durk Banks Charles Dumazer	C-Sick	2:43
2.	"Amber Alert"	Banks Leland Wayne	Metro Boomin	3:03
3.	"Like Me" (featuring Jeremih)	Banks Allen Ritter Jeremih Felton Anderson Hernandez Matthew Samuels	Vinylz Boi-1da Ritter	3:58
4.	"Lord Don't Make Me Do It"	Banks Trocon Roberts Jr. Steven Bolden	FKi	3:49
5.	"Don't Judge Me"	Banks Sydne George Brandon Whitfield	B Wheezy	3:09
6.	"Tryna' Tryna'" (featuring Logic)	Banks London Buckner Sir Robert Hall II	DJ L	3:20
7.	"Higher"	Banks Buckner	DJ L	3:32
8.	"Resume"	Banks Tyree Pittman	Young Chop	3:13
9.	"What Your Life Like"	Banks Pittman	Young Chop	3:07
10.	"Why Me"	Banks London Holmes	London on da Track	3:52
Total length:				33:46

Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
11.	"Ghetto (Grew Up)" (featuring Hypno Carlito)	Banks Pittman	Young Chop	3:53
12.	"Remember My Name" (featuring King Popo)	Banks Buckner Darius Luckett Wadell Brooks Raheem Olowopopo	DJ L D Brooks Exclusive	3:28
Total length:				41:11

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2015) Peak position US Billboard 200[12] 14 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[13] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 84

References

1. "Reviews for Remember My Name by Lil Durk". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
2. Jenkins, Jake (June 8, 2015). "Lil Durk - Remember My Name". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
3. Jeffries, David. "Remember My Name - Lil Durk". AllMusic. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
4. Garvey, Meaghan (June 9, 2015). "Chi-Town Rapper Lil Durk Balances Grit and Gloss on Major-Label Debut: Album Review". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
5. Charity, Justin (June 2, 2015). "Review: Lil Durk Spreads Himself Thin on Def Jam Debut 'Remember My Name'". Complex. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
6. Hopkins, Jill (May 29, 2015). "Lil Durk – Remember My Name". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
7. Miller, Kellan (June 11, 2015). "Lil Durk - Remember My Name". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
8. "Lil Durk: Remember My Name". Pitchfork. June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
9. Turner, David (June 12, 2015). "Lil Durk Remember My Name". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
10. Harling, Danielle (June 10, 2015). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Lil Durk, Jason Derulo & Boosie Badazz". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
11. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016.
12. "Lil Durk Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
13. "Lil Durk Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
14. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2020.