King Von

King Von

Artist

Dayvon Daquan Bennett (born August 9, 1994; died November 6, 2020), better known by his stage name King Von, began rapping in 2018, after beating a murder case in December 2017. In a year’s time, he managed to attain significant success, signing with his lifelong friend, Lil Durk, and reaching over eight million views on the “Crazy Story” music video in 2019.

Von was originally from Parkway Gardens, popularly known as “O'Block”, which has been deemed the most dangerous neighborhood in Chicago, but moved to Atlanta following his rapid music success. A respected figure in the Chicago gangland, he declared himself “Grandson” of David Barksdale, the founder of the Black Disciples gang of which King Von was allegedly a member.

The “Grandson” moniker was the inspiration for Von’s debut mixtape, Grandson, Vol. 1 which featured “Crazy Story,” “Crazy Story 2.0,” and “Crazy Story, Pt. 3” including features from Lil Durk and Booka600.

2020 was an extremely valuable year for Von, on February 21, 2020, Von had released “Took Her to the O”, an interpolation of “Crazy Story”. The track had been one of the most beneficial tracks in Von’s career. It was released on Von’s sophomore mixtape, Levon James with features from YNW Melly, Tee Grizzley, and NLE Choppa. On October 30, 2020, Von released his debut album Welcome to O'Block having features from Polo G, Moneybagg Yo, and Fivio Foreign.

However, on November 6, 2020, Von was shot and killed by armed individuals in downtown Atlanta after a clash between two groups outside a nightclub. It is believed that he was not shot and killed by Atlanta Police Department officers, but rather by associates of fellow rapper Quando Rondo. He was 26 at the time of his death.

Over a year after his death, Von’s debut posthumous album, What It Means To Be King was released in March 2022. The album, dedicated to Von’s king-like title, featured notable acts such as Lil Durk, Fivio Foreign, G Herbo, and A Boogie wit da Hoodie.