King Von is most recognized for his Chicago drill rap style and a cadence that makes it seem as though he's not rapping. It's referred to as a "Storytime flow" in the rap world. Since the release of his breakthrough song, "Crazy Story", in 2018, Von has been affiliated with a label alongside his best friend, rapper Lil Durk. Since the agreement, Von has released three albums, including two from just 2020.


But before these, before his passing, before King Von released the sophomore album, "Levon James", which peaked at number 63 on the Billboard Top 200, and had more than 1.1 million Instagram followers, nearly 100,000 Twitter followers, and more than half a million YouTube subscribers....

...before beating a murder charge that would have sent him to prison for nearly a century, he would had served about 65 years, King Von stands out from the crowd thanks to his story-centric lyrics. He draws inspiration for his song lyrics from both his own experiences and urban books, and while they may not be autobiographical, they are unquestionably sincere.

This young man has his own set of issues, the majority of them being legal in nature. King Von spent a lot of time in jail as he grew up; in fact, he was imprisoned for more than two years as a teenager before being sent to Cook County Jail when he was nineteen, where he served an additional three and a half years. So how did a young man who was imprisoned for so long wound up becaming famous?

Below, is an account of King Von's early life and how he became famous.


Dayvon Daquan Burnett, better known as King Von, was born on August 9th, 1994 in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. He spent the majority of his life residing in the same neighborhood as Chief Keef, at the Parkway Gardens complex, also known as Oh block. King Von's daily existence was marked by poverty and violence, but his mother tried everything in her power to keep her kids fed and clothed.

He never knew his father growing up; this was because his father had not yet been released from prison when Von was born, and Von had not even had the opportunity to meet him until he was eight years old.

He had three siblings from his mother Taesha and six half-siblings from his father Walter E. Bennett. Due to his father's incarcerations, his mother was primarily responsible for raising him. Von's father was shot and he died when Von was 11 years old.

Von's grandfather was American gangster, David Barksdale, also known as King David, who founded the black disciples, an association Von would later join.

Even though he insists he was never in a gang as a child, his time spent playing baseball as a first base shortstop seems to be the most typical memory of his upbringing. Even something as commonplace as baseball, which he used to play in high school, wasn't without its risks.


He admitted to XXL that they frequently carried weapons to baseball practices. At a young age, he found himself drawn into a life of crime. He started stealing bikes in middle school, and by the time he was sixteen, he was being booked for unlawful possession of a firearm and heading to jail for the first time.

Von did not complete high school because for the next ten years, he never spent more than a full year outside of prison. He had a history of arrests as a young man and later spent a lot of time in juvenile detention. He was detained in connection with the shooting that occurred in May 2014, which resulted in the death of one man and the wounding of two others, when he was just 19 years old. 

He was then accused of two charges of attempted murder and one count of first-degree murder. According to reports, someone opened fire on Malcolm Stuckey and two other guys when they were on their front porch. The two other males were lucky enough to escape harm while Malcolm was fatally shot in the head and proclaimed dead at the site. 

The two men accused of the crime, Michael Wade and King Von, were detained without bond and imprisoned for more than three and a half years. Despite talking to the police, that trial only lasted five days when it finally began. King Von, who refused to cooperate at every turn, was acquitted and walked out of prison a free man, after beating a charge he could have served for life. Michael Wade was charged with the crime and given a sentence of over 20 years.

Following this, King Von made the decision to change his ways. To help him leave the streets, he drew inspiration from artists like Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, and Waka Flocka Flame. After starting to rap, he teamed up with his mentor and friend Lil Durk, and within six months, Von had a string of viral hits on his hands. He attributes this to the time he spent behind bars.


He told Billboard that because people who are incarcerated only read, write, and reflect on their pasts rather than douche, he read a lot of books which inspired his songs.

Lil Durk signed King Von to his "Only The Family" record label. In 2018, King Von dropped his hit single "crazy story," the remix of which would go on to become his most-watched video ever on YouTube with over 27 million views. But issues reared their ugly heads once more before Von could release his debut album.

In Atlanta, Georgia, near the Varsity, King Von and Lil Durk were both accused of trying to kill a man. According to the prosecution, on February 5, 2019, the two men robbed and shot a man outside a well-known drive-in theater. They allegedly made off with over $300,000 in cash and a Jeep Cherokee.

The victim was shot in the leg, but he was able to fully recover. Von was eventually freed after posting a $300,000 bond, and Lil Durk was freed just a few days afterwards.

Since then, Von has gone on to release two albums:  his debut album, "grandson vol. 1," in September 2019, "Levon James" in March 2020 and "Welcome to O'Block" in October 2020. However, one of his criminal case is still pending, and since then, he has been placed under house arrest.


Sadly, he passed away on November 6, 2020, from gunshot wounds in a homicide.