Suit also accuses City of Chicago police and emergency responders of failing to provide critical lifesaving aid following the shooting
The filing includes multiple counts that accuse the defendants of signing known gang members and monetizing and profiting from violent behavior
CHICAGO — The Dinizulu Law Group filed a civil lawsuit today in Cook County Circuit Court that seeks to hold rapper Lil Durk (Durk Derrick Banks) and his record label Only the Family Entertainment (OTF) and several other recording companies accountable in the fatal shooting of Chicago rapper Carlton Weekly, known as FBG Duck, outside a Gold Coast retail store on August 4, 2020.
The suit was filed on behalf of Weekly’s estate and two bystanders who were wounded but survived the attack. Attorney Yao Dinizulu and his associates announced the lawsuit during a news conference today. The lawsuit presents multiple counts, including wrongful death, civil conspiracy, negligence, and failure to render aid.
The plaintiffs seek damages not only for the death of FBG Duck but also for the significant injuries suffered by bystanders Davon Brinson and Cashae Williams and the broader harm caused by the conduct of the record label defendants, Alamo Records, Sony Music Entertainment Inc., Universal Music Group Recordings Inc. (Interscope Records) and Empire Distribution Inc, who financed the OTF criminal enterprise. The suit describes how the record labels knowingly signed, promoted, and profited from artists with known gang affiliations. The complaint claims that these companies capitalized on the violent rivalry between OTF and FBG Duck, promoting “diss tracks” that taunted and threatened FBG Duck in a yearlong campaign, and continued to profit after his murder.
The suit alleges that Lil Durk, as the principal of OTF, along with other OTF members, including the late rapper King Von, orchestrated a campaign of intimidation against FBG Duck. In the suit, OTF is described not just as a music label but also as a hub for a known criminal enterprise, promoting a culture of violence through music and social media.
The complaint details how Lil Durk, King Von and their associates engaged in a conspiracy to murder FBG Duck, placing a $100,000 bounty on his life. It further outlines how OTF and its leadership used their platform to intimidate and eliminate rivals, resulting in FBG Duck’s eventual killing. This strategy was part of a broader effort to control Chicago’s drill rap music scene. Drill rap is described as a subgenre of hip-hop music that originated in Chicago in the early 2010s. The songs often contain lyrics promoting real-life gang activity.
In addition to OTF, the lawsuit extends liability to several music labels, including Alamo Records, Sony Music Entertainment Inc., Universal Music Group Recordings Inc. (Interscope Records), and Empire Distribution Inc., describing how the record labels knowingly signed, promoted, and profited from artists with known gang affiliations. The complaint claims that these companies capitalized on the violent rivalry between OTF and FBG Duck, promoting “diss tracks” that taunted and threatened FBG Duck in a yearlong campaign, and continued to profit after his murder. The labels are accused of contributing to an environment that incited and monetized violent behavior, ultimately leading to FBG Duck’s death.
The lawsuit also accuses the City of Chicago of willful misconduct, claiming that police and emergency services failed to promptly aid FBG Duck, who lay alive for 17-plus minutes on the sidewalk in front of Dolce & Gabbana without medical treatment or being transported to a medical facility. The suit additionally targets Dolce & Gabbana and its security firms, Picore Beristain Initiative Inc. and Top Tier Safety Inc., for negligence. While FBG Duck was standing in line outside their store, the lawsuit describes how the defendants failed to take adequate safety measures despite knowing the area’s rising violence and fled the scene.
In January, a federal jury in Chicago convicted six members and associates of a Chicago street gang in the shooting and killing of Carlton Weekly. Federal prosecutors tied the shooting to a yearlong gang war stoked by social media and rap “diss tracks.”
A summary of the complaint can be accessed at dinizululawgroup.com.
Members of the press or anyone with information about this case are asked to contact Dinizulu Law Group at [email protected].
