King Von
Dayvon Daquan Bennett, known professionally as King Von, was an American rapper and street gangster from Chicago, Illinois, who was affiliated with the Black Disciples gang of Chicago's South Side. He was considered a preeminent figure in the drill genre of music, a subcategory of hip-hop.
Bennett gained recognition for his storytelling and distinctive lyricism, which often drew from his own experiences, most notably on his 2018 single "Crazy Story", and his 2020 single "Took Her to the O", both of which received triple platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America. The latter peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100, preceding the release of his debut studio album, Welcome to O'Block. The album achieved both critical and commercial success, peaking at number five on the Billboard 200 and earning a platinum certification. After signing with Lil Durk's record label, Only the Family, in 2018, Bennett played a key role in the label's growth. This partnership led to the release of the mixtapes Grandson, Vol. 1, which peaked in the top 50 on the Billboard 200, and Levon James, which reached the top 40, further solidifying his presence in the rap industry before the release of his debut studio album.
On November 6, 2020, Bennett was fatally shot in Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of 26, following an altercation outside a hookah lounge. After his death, his legacy continued with the release of What It Means to Be King in 2022, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 as well as Grandson in 2023, which would be his final album. His contributions to the genre remain influential.
Early life
Dayvon Daquan Bennett was born on August 9, 1994, in Chicago, Illinois. He had six half-siblings from his father, Walter E. Bennett, and three siblings from his mother, Taesha. He was raised mostly by his mother in the Parkway Garden Homes, an area more commonly known as "O'Block", located on Chicago's South Side within the Greater Grand Crossing community area. His relationship with his father was inconsistent due to his father's incarcerations. When Von was 11 years old, his father was killed by an unseen gunman. Von later paid tribute to his father in multiple songs.Bennett was present for the birth of drill music through his association with Chief Keef and Lil Durk. However, he was frequently incarcerated throughout the 2010s for a multitude of serious criminal charges, which made him known in Chicago's drill scene even before he began recording music.
At age 16, Bennett went to juvenile detention for armed robbery in January 2011. While incarcerated, Bennett earned his GED. After being released, Bennett attended a few classes at South Suburban College in South Holland, Illinois, before dropping out.
In July 2014, Bennett was charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in connection with a shooting that killed one and injured two others. After being detained in Cook County jail for over three years, he was acquitted in December 2017 and began his musical career.
Career
2017–2019: Career beginnings and ''Grandson, Vol. 1''
Upon Von's release from jail in December 2017, fellow rapper Lil Durk signed Von to Durk's Only the Family label. Von then released a series of singles. The first of these singles was "Beat Dat Body", which featured fellow late Chicago rapper THF Zoo, and was released on June 17, 2018. Von subsequently appeared on the Lil Durk Presents: Only The Family Involved album, which was released on July 31, 2018. He featured on the song "Problems", which had an accompanying music video released on August 9, 2018. Von then released the single "War With Us" on October 18, 2018. Von's single "Crazy Story" was released on December 6, 2018. It became his breakout single, reaching number 81 on Billboard Hot 100.On January 9, 2019, Von was featured on the remix of "Exposing Me", a song by fellow Chicago rapper Memo600. Von and Memo600 swapped bars disrespecting and detailing real life feuds and altercations against other nearby neighborhood rivals. A response from the targets arose when rappers FBG Duck and Rooga dropped their own remix of the song on February 4, 2019. Both songs were produced off the sampling of original Indian song Sanam Re. Following the success, a series of remixes for the song were made by other artists both in the United States and in Europe.
On February 14, 2019, Von's then-girlfriend, rapper Asian Doll, released a music video for her track about him, "Grandson", in which he appeared.
In May 2019, "Crazy Story 2.0" featuring Lil Durk was released, and a music video was later released on May 20, 2019; the song peaked at number four on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. On September 13, 2019, a third rendition of the single called "Crazy Story, Pt. 3" was released. On July 9, 2019, Lil Durk and King Von released their collaborative single "Like That".
On September 2, 2019, Von released his single "What It's Like", as the single forerunner of his first mixtape album announced in September 2019.
The mixtape was dropped some weeks later on September 19, 2019, it consists in 13 a tracks mixtape, and it is named Grandson, Vol. 1, executively produced by Chopsquad DJ, it contains three features represented by "Twin Nem" and by the Remix of "Crazy Story" both featuring Chicago artist Lil Durk; the other feature consists on the collaboration with Chicago artist and OTF affiliate Booka600 on "Jet". The mixtape also includes tracks "Crazy Story", "Crazy Story, Pt. 3", and his second ever single "War With Us" dating back to October 18, 2018.
Grandson, Vol. 1 debuted at number 75 and later peaking at number 53, on the Billboard 200, also it reached number 27 on the Hip Hop/R&B albums chart, and number 9 on the Independent Albums chart.
2020: ''Levon James'' and ''Welcome to O'Block''
On November 16, 2019, Von released his single "2 A.M." followed by a corresponding video to be released the same day. On November 29, 2019, Von released his single "Rollin" featuring YNW Melly, accompanied with a music video. He later released, on February 21, 2020, "Took Her to the O", with a music video, which became his most successful single. "Took Her to the O" and "Rollin" were later included on his second mixtape, Levon James, that was released on March 6, 2020, which debuted at number 63 and later peaking at number 40 on the Billboard 200. It was released through Only the Family Entertainment/Empire and consists in a 16-track mixtape executively produced by Chopsquad DJ, featuring verses from NLE Choppa, Tee Grizzley, G Herbo, Lil Durk, YNW Melly, Booka600 and Yungeen Ace.An official video for "On Yo Ass" was released on March 6, 2020, coinciding with the album release date. The song features Chicago artist G Herbo, with production from Chopsquad DJ. On March 20, 2020, an official video for "Trust Issues" was released, featuring Florida rapper Yungeen Ace; in the song Von switched up his gangsta focus to show his softer side. On April 6, 2020, Bennett releases an official music video for 3 A.M. on YouTube, following on April 29, 2020, the release of his single "Grandson For President" that later was incorporated as a single for What It Means to Be King album. He followed the single up closely with a music video release for "Broke Opps", another song from his Levon James album.
In 2020, King Von began work on Welcome to O'Block, which would ultimately be released as his debut studio album and remains the only one issued during his lifetime. He first released the album's lead single, "Why He Told" on July 27, 2020, accompanied by a music video published on his YouTube channel. This was followed by the single "All These Niggas" on August 5, 2020, featuring Chicago rapper Lil Durk; due to legal reasons, Banks was unable to appear in the accompanying video, which was released the same day and garnered 24 million views within two months on the platform. He then released another single, titled "How It Go", in conjunction with another music video, on August 26, 2020.
On October 9, 2020, King Von released "I Am What I Am", featuring New York rapper Fivio Foreign, along with a music video. Two weeks later Bennett released "Gleesh Place" in combination with another music video on his official channel. This release was in anticipation of the official release of Welcome to O'Block that came out on October 30, 2020. The 16-track album features production Chopsquad DJ, Tay Keith, Wheezy and Hitmaka, among others; it also features artists Prince Dre, Lil Durk, Dreezy, Moneybagg Yo. The album includes the Polo G collaboration "The Code", which was released with a music video. The project peaked at number 5 on Billboard for US Top 200 albums, number 1 for Top R&B/Hip Hop albums, number 1 for Top Independents album and peaked 12th for Top 100 Canadian albums.
In an interview for Complex, Bennett revealed his vision regarding the new upcoming project and the main differences from his previous work, Levon James, declaring: "If you're doing something and keep doing it, you're gonna get better results. Everything better. It is the one for real, I've been working hard". In another interview for Uproxx he declared that he wanted to dedicate the project to his neighborhood, and to all the people who lived and struggled there.
He died one week after the album was released.
After his death, the music videos for "Wayne's Story", "Armed & Dangerous", "Mine Too", and "Demon" were released.
Posthumous releases
2020–2022: Features and ''What It Means to Be King''
On December 14, 2020, just a month after Bennett's death, Funkmaster Flex released the official video for "Lurkin" on his official YouTube channel, representing the first posthumous appearance in a music visual for Bennett; however, the song dated back to October 22, 2020.On December 24, 2020, Lil Durk released his album The Voice as a tribute to Bennett, who, along with Banks, appears on the album cover as the central figure and is also featured on the song "Still Trappin'".
In an interview on February 26, 2021, Bennett's manager stated that Von had over 300 unreleased songs, or around 10 albums worth of content, which they would continue to release with the family's concession in subsequent years with the aim of keeping his legacy alive.
On March 3, 2021, Bennett was featured on the compilation album Loyal Bros by American record label Only the Family. He appeared on Three tracks including "Out the Roof" which also features Chicago rappers Lil Durk and Booka600; "Me and Doodie Lo" featuring Doodie Lo, which was released before Bennett's demise and later used as the lead single of the album that also included a music video released on August 21, 2020; and finally he appeared on the last single of the project "Jump" still featuring Lil Durk, Booka600 and Memo600, also, a music video for the song was filmed before Bennett's death and released simultaneously on the same day as the single's release, on March 3, 2021.
On February 4, 2022, his management team announced a new album by the rapper titled What It Means to Be King.
On the following day, February 5, the promotional single "Don't Play That" was released, featuring the American rapper 21 Savage, and finds the pair delivering couplets atop a production by Kid Hazel; an official music video for the song was released on February 9, 2022. This followed the release of his second album extract named "War" on March 2, 2022, the piece is accompanied by an official visualizer video. These two songs achieved commercial success, reaching respectively number 40 and number 63 on Billboard Hot 100.
On March 4, 2022, the album was released through Empire Distribution and Only the Family and by his management team, representing King Von's second studio album and first posthumous work. The album features guest appearances from G Herbo, 21 Savage, Fivio Foreign, Moneybagg Yo, Lil Durk, Tee Grizzley, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Dreezy, Boss Top, DqFrmDaO, and OMB Peezy. Production was handled by Chopsquad DJ, Hitmaka, Tee Romano, Kid Hazel, Touch of Trent, DJ Bandz, DJ FMCT, Glaazer, Diego Ave, Bankroll Got It, TM88, ATL Jacob, Geraldo Liive, CGM Beats, John Lam, and Raw Equity. The tracklist includes song "Grandson For President" an acclaimed single which dated back to April 2020, this making it, by fact, the lead single of the album. The record peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, earning 59,000 album-equivalent units, of which 55,000 came from 79 million in streams, and 4,000 by pure album sales. This result turns out to be his best ranking and the second top 10 for King Von in the Billboard 200, who first reached the top 10 with his debut studio album Welcome to O’Block which reached the number 5.
Shortly thereafter, the music videos for two excerpts from his discs were released: "Too Real" was released on March 7, 2022, and "Get it Done" was released on his birthday, August 9, 2022.