Fred Durst American Rapper With 1.6M Instagram Followers

Early life

Fred Durst was born Frederick Allen Mayne III on 20 August 1970 in Jacksonville, Florida. His family moved to Orlando and then, when he was about a year old, to a farm in Cherryville, North Carolina. After his mother remarried, he took on the surname Durst and the first names William Frederick. Later in childhood he lived in Gastonia, North Carolina, where he graduated from Hunter Huss High School.

He was bullied as a child, an experience he later returned to in his lyrics. By the age of twelve he had become interested in breakdancing, hip-hop, punk rock and heavy metal, and he started to rap, skate, beatbox and DJ. After two years in the Navy he went back to Jacksonville, where he worked as a landscaper and a tattoo artist while developing the concept of a band that would join rock and hip-hop.

Career

Durst formed Limp Bizkit in 1994 with bassist Sam Rivers and drummer John Otto. Guitarist Wes Borland joined shortly afterwards, and DJ Lethal, formerly of House of Pain, came later as turntablist. Durst is the group's frontman and lyricist. The band built a following in the local scene partly through covers of George Michael's "Faith" and Paula Abdul's "Straight Up", and Korn added the still-unsigned group to two tours. In 1997 Limp Bizkit signed with Flip Records, a subsidiary of Interscope, and released its debut album, Three Dollar Bill, Y'all.

Durst also worked with other acts in these years. He co-produced Staind's album Dysfunction after signing that band, appeared on a Soulfly track, and wrote "All in the Family" with Korn's Jonathan Davis, released as a single in 1998. A further single, "Get Naked", followed in 1999. Limp Bizkit reached a wide audience with the albums Significant Other (1999) and Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000). In June 1999 he was appointed Senior Vice President of A&R at Interscope, and in that role he helped bring Cold, Staind, Puddle of Mudd and She Wants Revenge to the label.

The band released The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) in May 2005, deliberately without advertising or promotion; it peaked at number 24 on the Billboard 200. A hiatus followed, and the original lineup reunited in 2009. Their next album, Gold Cobra, came out on 28 June 2011 and reached number 16 on the chart.

Durst has also built a career in film. He directed the music video for "Faith" early on, and his first screen credit as an actor is Zoolander (2001). Other appearances include Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003), Be Cool (2005), Population 436 (2006), and a recurring guest part in House M.D. He made his feature directing debut with The Education of Charlie Banks (2007), which starred Jesse Eisenberg, Chris Marquette and Jason Ritter. He then directed The Longshots (2008), with Ice Cube and Keke Palmer, and The Fanatic (2019), which starred John Travolta. In 2024 he appeared in I Saw the TV Glow, playing Frank, and in Y2K. His screen credits as listed number thirteen in total, running from 2001 to 2024.

Public roles

Beyond the band, Durst has been active as a label executive and talent scout, a role tied to his time at Interscope. He has described the red-capped stage figure associated with Limp Bizkit as a character he created for his music rather than a full picture of himself.