King Von's Growth Was Stunted

Dayvon Daquan Bennett (August 9, 1994 – November 6, 2020)

This was the real King Von. A real street nigga. Somewhere along the way that term has been confused with a guy that is reckless, doesn’t care about much and does anything to get where he wants to go. A guy that disregards the law, takes lives and is unable to change. By November 2020, King Von was a rapper on the rise, that could’ve easily settled into a life free of whatever troubles he was conditioned to think was a way of life. He beat a murder charge, came home to a friend already established in the music industry (Lil Durk), that wanted nothing more than to see him succeed, his credibility attached and etched in stone, a look that fit the part, a following inherited from all the attention his side of town was receiving, and most importantly, a natural talent for music and charisma to be everything required of a star in today’s hip hop world. But with all that, also by November 2020, he was killed in the streets, virtually alone, holding on to the last bit of his life. To me King Von was well on his way to becoming the best story telling artist in the game and household name. What happened? Here are 3 reasons King Von’s growth as a musician was stunted.

Dayvon Bennett was a hip hop rap artist from the Southside of Chicago, that moved to the famous Parkway gardens more famously renamed Oblock in honor of Odee Perry a fallen soldier from the same area. He was a black disciple who also went by the name grandson. No, not for being David Barksdale’s grandson, but for the way he carried himself as a standup, caring individual. He was known for his aggressive tone and lyrics on the mic, but soft, smooth voice when not. His lyrics mostly included the trauma he’d seen growing up, and the sacrifices he had to make in order to see another day. Von was an athlete as a youth, but had to become as they say, “savage” at a young age where everyone close to him was dying. His father was also a legend from the Southside, known for his charitable nature and smooth way with the ladies, much like his soon to be rising star son. Along the way, Von developed rivalries with nearby neighborhoods in Chicago, mainly 63 and St Lawrence, led by another fallen rapper FBG Duck. The two went back and forth challenging each other on songs and even taunted the death of each others close friends and family. They both were dead within months of each other and it could’ve all been avoided.

Growth Stunt#1 Unfortunate environment

Here’s the misconception I think most people who aren’t from the environment Von was from have about guys like King Von. That somehow there’s a choice to what you can become. While that may be true, but slightly, as in there’s a 90% chance you won’t be able to escape the route he eventually chose, which was the streets and being entangled with everything it has to offer. Death and jail. It’s all you have to look forward to, and most ever get out. But Dayvon was out. He was all the way out and chose to return and it ultimately stunted his growth. Laying out the environment Bennett was subjected to, he was surrounded by the opposition, even having his closest opps no more than 100 yards down the street and others just 3 or four blocks in the other direction. You play your block close and can rarely leave those confines for simple things like shopping, visiting friends or even to go to school or work in fear of having your life taken. You click up (join forces) with other territories as a way to make your presence stronger and also before your opposition finds a way to do it first. The main objective of these opps sadly is to kill you on sight, hoping it makes the news and blogs, then taunt you by pretending to roll you up in a blunt and smoke away your existence. As quick as one is lit and smoked, another is rolled up and blown into the air. But this wasn’t how Von’s life was supposed to begin. Being a high tensioned person naturally, he enjoyed being outside with his friends, playing baseball and football, and racing matches outside that brought joy to his soul and entertained everyone watching. Von loved to win and be on top and I think that stems from him seeing so much loss in the environment he came from. One that many of us come from as young black males. The thinking in this environment is to kill or be killed. To not take disrespect in any way, from anyone, and hopefully build a big enough name where people don’t try you in the streets you all share. With the emergence of social media, that all skyrocketed. Where King Von grew up ultimately set the table for his untimely demise and it’s sad to say, but I don’t think his growth as a musician ever really had a chance as deeply rooted in his environment he became. I think he felt the closer he was to it, the more respect he got in the streets and on social media, leading to more sales and money, leading to him making a huge mistake later on.

Growth Stunt#2 Lack of experience

The second reason I think King Von’s growth was stunted was because he lacked the experience he needed to survive both the music and street worlds. Reason being because he wasn’t around much to learn and adjust to what this new world of streets mixed with social media fully required. You see, Von wasn’t around much from the age of 16. You see all the more popular drill songs from 2011 to 2016 and you won’t see much of Von in them. That’s because as the music from that side was becoming popular, he was in and out of prison, usually only lasting a few months out before he was back in again. What this did that no one seems to talk about was it took away the much needed experience everyone else was gaining. Guys like Chief Keef and Label owner Lil Durk. While outside, they learned the things they could and couldn’t do as they grew with social media and learned the new street codes being set as they went along. I think Von came out and these important lessons were foreign to him. All he knew was to be on go. In 2014 he would be charged with a murder and attempted murder, to which his co defendant and former friend allegedly wrote a statement against him in hopes of getting a lighter sentence. Von kept quiet and because there was no evidence to back up his friend’s accusations, and no other witnesses his case was dismissed and King Von was let out of prison in 2017. His friend who told but refused to take the stand was given 28 years. By this time fellow affiliates like Lil Durk and Chief Keef had already blown up, moved away from the environment, and learned the basics of what you can and can’t do and say especially on records. Von, still in the mindset of the earlier years where things weren’t usually broadcasted on social media and could be more free to disrespect, picked up right where his mindset of dissing the dead opps and being all out reckless left off. If you were an enemy of King Von and you had passed away, he wasted no time adding you to his lyrics mostly is disrespectful ways. This lack of experience would also show in his final moments where he approached an altercation thinking it would go the way he was used to, which was a simple fist fight, to guns being drawn and him being left in the streets to die. The youth today aren’t fighting anymore. They’re killing. Unfortunately Von learned that lesson first hand on November 6th 2020.

Stunt#3 Out of character

The final stunt in Von’s growth as a rising rap star was because for one brief moment, Von let his guards down, lost the cool and calculated nature he was known for and it cost him his life. Upon finding success, Von moved to Atlanta Georgia in hopes of fast forwarding his music career and also to avoid the environment that was taking record number of his friends and enemies. Now here’s where his story really hit home and teaches a lesson in what happens when you go against your instinct and believe in the persona you’ve built to the outside world as a guy that was tougher than bullets themselves and could check anyone that attacked that toughness. Known for reading the situations surrounding him, moving like the president and high valued asset he was and protecting himself at all cost, on November 6th in the early morning hours, Von, who had just released his debut Album “Welcome to Oblock” that hit the billboard charts, was having a party to celebrate his best friend T-roy’s birthday and signing his childhood friends to record deals, decided that the night was still young and there was still disrespect on his name by another rapper he’d been going back and forth with behind the scenes Quando Rondo. According to his manager, who witnessed the murder, Von wasn’t himself that night after leaving the club celebration and decided to head to another lounge where he believed Quando Rondo to be. It is my opinion that Quando Rondo knew Von was on his way and because he was actually from those streets, being from nearby Savannah, knew or may even have had similar instances where he could bait Von into committing the ultimate mistake. In Atlanta, I think Rondo knew you couldn’t bring firearms into clubs and Von wouldn’t have his near and that Von being such a hot head would try to fight him on sight and he could set him up to be shot. While waiting in his bulletproof vehicle for over 30 minutes outside the lounge, a friend gave word to Von that Quando was on the scene and he wasn’t paying attention. King Von saw this as the perfect opportunity to catch him off guard and handle the disrespect in a one on one fist fight. But Quando Rondo I think had a plan. He sees Von approaching and readies himself for the plot. He stood on the other side of the vehicle and I think knew a fight would break out and his friend could come from the other side and shoot Von. Von, being high off recent success and acting out of character as if he could just overpower and out tough the smaller Rondo, gave Rondo’s crew the perfect opportunity to set him up for a self defended murder. As he approaches Quando he immediately fired off on him leading to them scuffling in the streets alone with an open shot for Rondo’s friend Lil Tim to hit Von multiple times. His friends all scattered and all but one really came back to help Von. This was a guy that blessed his entire block with shared success and even cash, all to be left alone to fight the flying bullets and plot on his life by himself as his friends ran. One of his more loyal friends, Slutty as he’s was called, actually shot Von’s alleged killer Lil Tim and tried to finish him off, but undercover police that were on the scene I think mistook Von’s friend for the perpetrator and killed him. Von clutched onto his life as his other friends rushed him to the hospital where it was too late. He died on the way there and was unable to be resuscitated on the emergency table. Everything he was given and worked for was now gone and so was he.

All in all King Von’s murder was a sad day for hip hop, but an even sadder day for the people closest to him that he helped countless times and the future he was trying to give himself, his two kids and family. He was 26 when he killed and just celebrated that birthday just 2 months earlier. He was entering the most important time of his career and life, having dropped one of the most anticipated Albums that year and his two kids, still toddlers whom barely gotten to know and see their daddy’s best self. Yes he was a quote real nigga and did things that were equally unfortunate, but with all that he’d been given and all he could’ve added to that, it’s painful to write a story like this and not see him grow to what he could’ve been. Deep down a great soul, smart, charismatic, strong, great father and uncle and as natural a leader as they come, was taken away from this world too soon. He was celebrated and shouted out by the biggest celebrities after his murder and his friend Lil Durk secretly vowed to avenge his brother if you know what his post on instagram following Von's death "DRoy" means. R.I..P King Von. But for these reasons, his growth was Stunted.