The slain drill rapper is immortalized in a mural on a corner store. With a baseball cap turned backward, the painting depicts King Von wearing a silver chain that says “O Block,” a faction of the Black Disciples in Woodlawn. The 26-year-old was killed in 2020.
That corner store is across the street from Parkway Gardens, a subsidized housing development for low-income families at 64th Street and King Drive. O Block is synonymous with Parkway Gardens. Drill, a violent subgenre of hip-hop, was formed there around 2010 and popularized by Chief Keef, G-Herbo and King Louie. King Von, whose real name was Dayvon Daquan Bennett, and a network of other young Black men have used drill lyrics, often via social media, to settle beefs. There’s been a trail of destruction as some of those young men have literally died in the crossfire.
