Around the turn of the millennium, Fred Durst was a face music fans couldn't avoid.
As the lead singer of Limp Bizkit, his lashing lyrics were everywhere.
But these days, it's rare to even hear Durst's name anywhere.
So what happened to the rap-rock singer?
Let's take a look at what became of Fred Durst after the fame and celebrity feuding started
to fade.
"Alright."
15 minutes up
Limp Bizkit's mainstream success was undeniable by the late '90s, and that created an unexpected
problem for the band.
Durst initially created the band to fight back against the bullies he'd encountered
in his youth, but, quote:
"The sound was so ferocious that bullies themselves would embrace Limp Bizkit."
As a result, he started to sour on a sizable portion of his own fan base who, like his
own tormentors, appeared to be a bunch of tough guys.
But that was hardly the cause of Limp Bizkit's decline.
After their hit singles raised the band's profile to international levels, their own
priorities began to clash with their record label's.
Durst explained:
"The label milked us to death and we all started living success in our own ways.
Wes [Borland] realized that he was an eclectic artist — Limp Bizkit got too huge and he's
always been more indie.
He left and we sort of looked at each other wondering what happened."
The band eventually parted ways with Interscope Records in 2011, following grim sales figures
for their album, Gold Cobra.
And Durst said they were ultimately relieved by the change.
"We just want to go play a concert and crush it and turn it into a big-a-- party.
The record thing sort of kind of always got in our way … this way, we can still go tour."
But there are still some limits to their public presence.
Lower key
Following their label drop, Limp Bizkit has continued to tour the world … just very
selectively.
"It's more like we do it because we had some time off and we think it'd be fun to go rock
and play."
In 2017, they popped up everywhere from Indiana to Kazakhstan, and in 2018, they'll be performing
in Australia and Germany, among other locales.
According to Durst, they've got a very relaxed approach to touring nowadays.
"We have no idea what's gonna happen on stage because every night is different, we make
the set list about five or ten minutes before we go on."
The band has also been intentionally mysterious about their long-awaited new album, Stampede
of the Disco Elephants.
Durst was rumored to have hidden the album online somewhere in 2016, but no one has found
it yet.
But he's since stated that they are still very much working to complete their long-awaited
new album.
Meanwhile, their scattered schedule is also part of his own personal plan to keep a varied
creative profile.
New pursuits
In addition to continuing his work in the music industry, Fred Durst has also become
an ambitious auteur.
Along with appearing on-screen in a few acting roles, Durst has put his history of directing
Limp Bizkit's music videos to use by stepping behind the camera of a few feature films.
Durst directed back-to-back films The Education of Charlie Banks and The Longshots, in addition
to several short films, and he said this new work makes him even more selective about accepting
other projects, explaining:
"My film directing is about to be in a very wonderful place.
I've been working on it for a long time, making sure that I'm in the 'no' business.
I say 'no' a lot."
In 2015, Durst attempted to move to Crimea, with his new wife, who was native to the region,
in order to shoot film and TV projects.
However, the Ukrainian government reportedly denied Durst's request, citing national security
interests, and even banned the artist from entering the country for five years.
So, we can probably expect that Limp Bizkit won't be touring that area any time soon.
But that setback hasn't stopped Durst from toeing new creative waters.
New jams
Though jazz is probably the last thing anyone would expect Fred Durst to be connected to,
the musician is apparently a lifelong fan of the genre.
So much so that he's made showcasing new talent in the jazz world something of a passion project.
He was reportedly inspired by 2016's La La Land to launch his own show series, and the
unlikeliness of his latest endeavor is not lost on Durst.
He said of the project:
"I felt like a target, you know.
Like someone's gonna see this and think, 'Oh, Fred Durst's doing a jazz night?
What's this, lounge versions of 'Nookie'?'
I just don't know how people perceive it."
But that fear hasn't stopped him from continuing to stage and host shows at the Black Rabbit
Rose, a Los Angeles club and lounge.
In fact, Durst is so into the project, he's been digging into his own pockets to keep
it going.
He explained:
"It's not a money play.
I have to pay my players.
You know, jazz musicians rarely make any money around here.
It's very interesting to find that out.
They're doing it for the passion and very, very, very small amounts of money."
So, while you may be hard-pressed to catch one of Limp Bizkit's limited stage runs across
the globe, Fred Durst is still very much involved in the entertainment business in some surprising
new ways.
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