Lil Durk is taking a break from performing live after suffering a severe eye injury Saturday at Lollapalooza.
A pyrotechnics mishap saw the 29-year-old rapper get blasted in the face with a pressurized burst of smoke while performing at the Chicago music festival, according to Billboard. Footage posted online by attendees showed Lil Durk leisurely crossing the stage when the incident occurred.
Lil Durk, whose birth name is Durk Derrick Banks, was in the middle of rapping his verse from Pooh Shiesty’s “Back in Blood” when he suddenly stopped and covered his face with his T-shirt, according to Rolling Stone. His DJ immediately stopped the music as his entourage rushed over.
“Whoa, whoa, you all right, bro? That one came a little close,” the DJ said, using his own microphone. “That didn’t look like it shot straight up. That looked like it shot in a different direction.”
Despite the injury and a stretch of time where the music was cut off to prevent fans from causing crowd surges, Lil Durk did not his set early. The South Side native returned to the stage only a few moments later, according to Page Six.
“Fuck it, no more smoke, let’s do it,” he said before resuming his set.
Lil Durk’s latest album “7220” landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts in March. While he had more than 20 tour dates across the U.S. scheduled through Oct. 17, the artist announced in an Instagram post showing his bandaged eye on Monday that he was taking some time off.
“Due to the incident that happened at Lollapalooza in Chicago on stage, I’ma take a break & focus on my health,” he wrote in the caption. “I finished my performance yesterday for my fans. Appreciate y’all.”
The incident came nine days after Kanye West joined Lil Durk onstage at the Rolling Loud music festival in Miami, Florida, where fellow rapper Kid Cudi angrily cut his set short after fans pelted the performer with bottles of water.
