Rest Easy, King Von

Dayvon Daquan Bennet, better known by his stage name King Von, died on November 6th. He was shot dead tragically after a physical altercation outside of a club in Atlanta. He will be remembered by his friends, family, and fans. King Von left behind a stellar debut mixtape and a promising studio album under rapper Lil Durk’s label — Only The Family. The culture saw him as another important voice for the younger generation. If you have been following hip-hop in any sense, you know that rappers getting gunned down in the streets is not new. Whether it be gang ties, creative differences, or even just bad luck, many rappers seem to die young. The killing of King Von isn’t shocking to hip-hop. Rappers have frequently met an untimely demise. Eric “Easy-E” Wright, frontman for N.W.A., developed AIDS and died tragically at the young age of 31. Tupac Shakur, the leader of west coast hip-hop in the 90s, was shot dead at 25. Biggie Smalls, one of the greatest rappers of all time, was also shot dead at 25. All those deaths were just from the previous century. Since 2000, a total of 36 rappers have died. Pop Smoke, the most high profile case in the last couple of months, was shot dead in his home during a home invasion. Many die young in hip-hop; studies even indicate that roughly 51% of hip-hop artists are murdered. It’s tragic and maddening that this keeps happening. Murder should not be the leading reason why the important voices of our generation die. Many artists are even comfortable with death, accepting it as a fate because many come from areas of the country where death is always present. Whether it be seeing a friend die like Kendrick Lamar, killing someone themselves like Dababy, or narrowly escaping death like Rick Ross, death is part of many hip-hop artists’ lives. While the death of musicians is nothing new to us, we need to protect our cultural voices, show respect to the fallen, and provide their family with closure. King Von was one of hip-hop’s breakout stars, and his death leaves the hip-hop community with a bitter taste that hopefully, his music will soothe as time passes on.