Long Live King Von: Six Years Ago Today, Chicago Lost Its Storyteller
Six years ago today, hip-hop lost one of its sharpest storytellers. On November 6, 2020, King Von was shot and killed outside the Monaco Hookah Lounge in Atlanta. He was 26 years old.
Story: remembrance marked today by XXL; background reporting via the Associated Press and NPR.
Born Dayvon Daquan Bennett on August 9, 1994, Von came out of Parkway Gardens on Chicago’s South Side — the neighborhood the world came to know as O’Block — and turned the block’s stories into records that played like short films. Signed to Lil Durk’s Only The Family, he broke through with “Crazy Story” and built a reputation as the rare drill artist who could make you see every scene he described.
His debut album, “Welcome to O’Block,” arrived on October 30, 2020, carried by “Took Her to the O” and “The Code” with Polo G. One week later, he was gone. Atlanta police said Von was shot during the initial shootout between two groups outside the lounge, before officers moved in. Two other men were also killed that night.
The music never stopped speaking for him. Posthumous albums “What It Means To Be King” (2022) and “Grandson” (2023) both landed at the top of the charts conversation, and a whole generation of young storytellers in rap still studies the way Von paced a verse — the details, the tension, the payoff at the end of the story.
Six years later, the tributes still pour in every November 6, because the catalog still feels alive. Long live King Von.
Which King Von record still speaks to you the most — “Crazy Story,” “Took Her to the O,” or a deep cut only the real ones know? Talk to us in the comments.
