The Story Of King Von
The War In Chiraq
Dayvon Dayquan Bennet, more commonly known as King Von, was an American rapper born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Which is sometimes referred to as Chiraq for its similarities to Iraq in its murder rate and extremely high levels of gun violence.
He was born on the south side of Chicago and was raised in the Parkway Gardens Projects, more commonly known as “O-Block.” It’s located at the corner of 64th and Martin Luther King Drive and is also sometimes referred to as 300.
Von grew up around other famous artists from O-Block such as Chief Keef and was childhood friends with rapper Lil Durk who wasn’t from O-Block but was always closely affiliated with its members.
Growing up, Von was allegedly a member of the Black Disciples, or BD’s, street gang. And was given the nickname “grandson” because “When I was in jail… I reminded people of King David.” King David is referring to David Barksdale, the founder of the Black Disciples. He explained that in jail people said he reminded them of the gang leader in how he handled himself in the streets. And also mentioned that people told him they shared a similar demeanor as well.
Von had a lengthy criminal history and had many run-ins with the law starting at an early age. He went to jail for the first time at only 16 and was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm 2 years later. He also is alleged to have put in a lot of work for the gang and is rumored to have killed 4–5 people.
On April 11th, 2014, 17-year-old Gakirah “K.I” Barnes, an alleged member of the GD’s, and two other people she was standing with were killed by an unknown man, wearing a grey hoodie and blue jeans.
Von would later be questioned for her death but was never charged. It would later be revealed by police that witnesses stated Von was the shooter, but apparently, they did not have enough evidence to charge him with her death.
Barnes was apparently always a good student in school but grew up around gang violence. She would mock her rivals on social media and began to grow a following for it. After her brother, Tyquan Tyler was killed back in 2012, she apparently became ruthless and sought revenge for his death.
She was allegedly responsible for multiple deaths and was in over 20 different shootings; Though her mother later said that when she asked Gakirah about the rumors she was hearing about her daughter, she denied them.
On July 24th, 2014 Von and his friend, Big Mike were at a house party, where they ran into a rival gang member named Malcolm Stuckey. Stuckey was a member of the Gangster Disciples, or GD’s, a gang notorious for their violent history with the rival BD’s.
Stuckey and another man were allegedly giving rude looks in Von’s direction, and Von was not having the disrespect. He left the party with Big Mike and allegedly grabbed a .40 Smith & Wesson, and returned to the party, shooting at Stuckey and the other man who was standing outside, killing Stuckey and wounding the other man.
Big Mike agreed to testify against Von and gave a statement to police, explaining that he and Von allegedly hopped out of the car and chased them down. Mike apparently shot one of the men in the foot, and Von allegedly shot the other in the face, breaking his jaw.
Big Mike changed his mind and decided not to testify in court, and other witnesses didn’t show up. And ultimately, Mike was sentenced to 28 years for aggravated battery with a firearm, while Von was acquitted of all charges.
Although Big Mike decided not to testify in court, the statement he did provide to police made them very suspicious of Von. And labeled Mike a snitch in the gang.
Big Mike happened to be the brother of another rapper from Chicago named Wooski. Wooski grew up in O-Block, but at some point started to hang out with their rivals in STL/EBT. Which is an alliance that consists of 2 sets of GD’s, named Saint Lawrence and E Block Territory. The two blocks sit right next to each other and only a block away from O-Block, and because of this, they formed an alliance against O-Block and multiple other rival gangs decades ago.
Wooski eventually had to move out of O-Block after he allegedly shot and killed a BD from O-Block when he was 12. After leaving O-Block, he moved into STL/EBT and quickly became close with fellow GD rappers, such as FBG Duck, Lil Jay, and Lil Jojo.
Wooski and Von had a ruthless, public feud against each other for years on Twitter. They went back and forth mocking fallen gang members, and taunting each other, asking who will die first.
In October 2018, Wooski was attending a funeral for his friend “Dooski Da Man.” And decided to step outside to smoke a cigarette. Upon leaving the church, he was met with a hail of Draco gunshots and was struck in the head.
He was rushed to the hospital and into emergency surgery, and eventually pulled through. Wooski is still alive today, but after being shot in the head he faces many daily struggles and continues to work on his recovery.
In 2018, after seeing the success of his friends like Lil Durk in the music industry, Von decided to give it a shot himself. He was trying to turn his life around for the better, and was encouraged to do so by his friends.
Lil Durk signed him to his label, OTF, and he released his breakout single Crazy Story on December 6th, 2018.
With the backing from his friend Lil Durk, the track almost immediately blew up and put Von on the map. Having all the cameras on him was a hard adjustment for him to have to make at first, but he quickly got the hang of it with guidance from Durk.
Von continued to drop music throughout the next few years, and continued to collaborate with his friend Lil Durk, and quickly continued to grow his fan base.
In June of 2019, Von and Lil Durk were both arrested in connection with a shooting in Atlanta. Prosecutors allege the two men robbed and shot a man outside a popular Atlanta drive-in on February 5th, 2019.
Both men were charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, and criminal intent to commit murder, among other charges, though they were both able to post bail, Von for $250,000, and Durk for $300,000.
But this only helped bring fame to his name as getting locked up often does for so many artists. And his career began to see new heights. He was going on tour with Lil Durk, and was finally making money and not living in the streets.
Then, on November 6th, 2020 when Von and his crew left the Opium nightclub, headed to the Monaco Hookah Lounge in Atlanta. Since Von was a felon, and he had the pending case with Lil Durk, he was not able to carry a firearm.
At around 2:15 am, Von was tragically involved in an altercation with rapper Quando Rando and his crew outside of the hookah lounge. The two groups began to argue and eventually shots were fired.
Quando Rondo and Von got into a first fight, and Quando Rondo’s friend, Lul Tim allegedly opened fire on Von striking him multiple times. Chaos immediately ensued, Lul Tim was shot at by one of Von’s friends, and two officers opened fire from two different locations.
Six men were shot during the entire altercation, and Von, along with two other men tragically passed away as a result of their injuries. Thankfully the entire ordeal was caught on surveillance camera, and Von’s alleged killer, Lul Tim was arrested for his murder by authorities.
As quick as his career started it was ended, and fans were left behind with only his music and recordings. Despite his past, he was a very talented artist. And deserved a second chance to turn his life around as most people should. His legacy lives on through his music.
Sources:
https://rapandhiphop.fandom.com/wiki/King_Von
https://youthtoday.org/2021/06/a-pistol-bought-in-mississippi-killed-a-teen-in-chicago/
