US rapper Lil Durk was arrested in Florida for murder-for-hire

According to CBS News, the BBC's US affiliate, Grammy-winning US rapper Lil Durk has been arrested on murder-for-hire charges.

Police records seen by US media show that the star, whose real name is Durk Devontay Banks, was arrested in Broward County, Florida on Thursday evening and is being held without bail.

The arrest comes a day after five people with ties to Banks' hip-hop group Only The Family (OTF) were reportedly charged in Chicago in connection with a 2022 shooting that killed rival rapper Quando Rondo became.

Lil Durk has six albums in the top 5 of the US Billboard charts as of 2019 and has also collaborated with top stars such as Drake and J Cole on hit singles.

The 33-year-old from Chicago received four Grammy nominations and won best melodic rap performance in February for “All My Life” with J Cole.

Lil Durk founded OTF in 2010 and the group is the center of the city's drill rap scene.

Officials allege the five men charged on Wednesday organized the 2022 shooting in Los Angeles in direct retaliation for the 2020 death of rising rapper King Von, who was signed to OTF, US media reports.

A friend of Quando Rondo was charged with King Von's murder, but the charges were later dropped. Quando Rondo has not been arrested or charged.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the new indictment against the five men alleges that an unnamed co-conspirator offered “money and lucrative music opportunities with OTF” to anyone involved in the murder of Quando Rondo.

In 2022, some of the defendants allegedly shot at a car that was traveling with Quando Rondo, his sister and his cousin Saviay'a Robinson.

Quando Rondo and his sister were uninjured, but Robinson died.

Earlier this month, the mother of another Chicago rapper, FBG Duck, reportedly filed a lawsuit accusing Lil Durk, OTF and King Von of being involved in his shooting in 2020.

Meanwhile, two years ago, charges against Lil Durk, including attempted murder, were dropped following a non-fatal shooting in Atlanta in 2019.

The BBC has contacted Lil Durk's representatives for comment.