The rap lifestyle is one that is often dangerous. Hip-hop is a genre
where the line between fact and fiction gets blurry
and many talented artists unfortunately never escaped the
situations they describe in their rhyme. Here's a look at
some of the most prominent men who have killed rappers from
King Von, Smoke Dawg, to Big L.
King Von
On November 6th 2020, Davon Bennett, known to the world as King Von,
was shot and killed in the parking lot of an Atlanta Nightclub.
King Von was a popular artist from the Southside
of Chicago who had built a name for himself over the past two years.
A childhood friend of Chicago legends like Chief Keef
and Lil Durk, Von grew up in the Parkway Gardens housing
Complex better known as O'Block. O'Block is notable for
being the birthplace of Chicago Drill and for being one of the
most violent areas in the city. King Von grew up emmeshed in the
gang culture of that area and was a member of the Black Disciples.
King Von singed and Lil Durk's label, OTF,
and released his breakout single, Crazy Story in 2018.
He continued to build a buzz by doing features with a slew of
notable artists like G Herbo and YNW Melly. His debut album,
Welcome to O'Block was released on October 30th 2020
less than a week before his death. Surveillance footage from the
shooting leaked onto the internet revealed that the
shootout occurred after an altercation broke out between a
group associated with Von and another group associated with
Savannah Georgia rapper Quando Rondo. The incident occurred
around 3:30 AM outside of the Monaco Hookah Lounge in
Downtown Atlanta. Officers on the scene reported that a total
of four people were injured and two had passed away.
King Von was one of the two men killed in the incident.
The next day, it was announced that a suspect was in custody.
An alleged is 22 year old from Savannah, Georgia, known to his
friends as Lul Timm. Fans and spectators have uncovered
photos from Instagram of Lul Timm and Quando Rondo posing together.
Plus, Rondo recently released a song on YouTube
called End of Story, detailing the rappers involvement in the
situation and features a photo of himself with the alleged
shooter as the cover art. In the song, Rondo claimed the
shooting was in self-defense. He alleges that Von was the one
who started the fight and his team was merely protecting themselves.
Surveillance footage from the scene confirms
that a fist fight did break out between the two rappers and Von
appears to have thrown the first punch.
Lul Timm is currently in custody and recovering from a gunshot wound
at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. It's been alleged that the
Black Disciples has put a 1 million dollars hit out on Quando Rondo.
So developments in this case are continuing to unfold.
Big L
Lamont Coleman, better known as Big L,
was a prominent Harlem rapper who was tragically gunned down at the
age of 24. Before his death, Big L is one of the
leading voices in the New York hip hop scene of the 90s.
He was part of a legendary rap crew called Children of the Corn
alongside Harlem icons like Cam'ron and Mase. In his
debut album, Lifestyles of the Poor and Dangerous is
considered to be a classic of that era by fans and critics.
Big L was famous for his freestyle and skills and
storytelling ability and was poised to be one of rappers
biggest stars before he was tragically murdered.
Big L's murder was never officially solved and remains an open case
to this day. However, a man named Gerard Woodley,
who grew up in Harlem with the rapper, was arrested a few months after
the incident and released for the crime due to insufficient evidence.
Woodley was suspected by many close to the rapper to
be the killer and was later murdered in 2016. Many believed that
Woodley's death was a retaliation for his involvement
in Big L's death. However, the motivation behind Woodley's
murder was never officially disclosed. Big L's become an
underground icon in hip hop culture and is often cited as a
champion of both lyrical hip hop fans and street rap aficionados.
The circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject
of debate and speculation and his legacy is taking on mythic proportions,
just like that of other popular figures gunned
down in their prime like Biggie and Tupac. Here's what is known
about the murder of Lamont Cole AKA Big L. Amont Cole was born
in Harlem in nineteen seventy-four. His father left
the family when Cole was just a child and he was raised by his
mother along with his two half brothers, Donald and LaRoy
Fanazi. Cole began freestyling at the age of twelve, it was
known around the neighborhood as little L. He continued to
rap throughout his teenage years. However, by the early
nineties, his neighborhood had been greatly impacted by the
crack epidemic and Coleman and his brothers became involved in
the drug trade from an early age. His music reflected the
greater reality of the streets and he began to build a name
for himself throughout New York City by rapping on street
corners and at block parties. His debut album was released in
1995 and he was working on a follow-up album. The bigger
picture at the time he was murdered. Big L was killed in a
drive-by shooting outside the doorway at forty-five West one
39th street in Harlem, not far from his childhood home. Gerard
Woodley was arrested for the murder 3 months later but
eventually released. no1 has ever officially been charged
with the murder of Lamont Cole. However, several theories have
been postulated about the incident. The first theory is
that the shooter mistook Big L for his brother, Leroy Phinazee,
and killed the rapper by accident over a case of mistaken identity.
At the time of the shooting, Leroy was in prison
on armed robbery charges and Big L was allegedly
wearing Leroy's chain when he was killed. It has been speculated
that Leroy had gotten into some trouble with
Woodley and his associates and that Big L was murdered either
by mistake or as a way to send Leroy a message. This theory is
supported by a 2010 interview with Big L's other brother,
Donald Phinazee. In that interview, Donald claims that
Big L was not the intended target for the hit.
He was simply a casualty. Leroy Phinazee was murdered in 2002 around
the same area that his brother was killed. The second theory
is that Big L was the intended target and he was murdered by
Woodley for his involvement in a crew that robbed drug dealers.
It's been alleged that Big L was known to double cross
dealers in the neighborhood that he knew were prone to
carrying large amounts of cash on them. He would set them up
and give their location to his associates who would rob the
dealers and give Big L a cut of the profit. It's been suggested
that Woodley was one of those dealers where someone in his
crew was robbed and Big L was killed in retaliation.
The third theory is that Big L tried to put a hit out on
Woodley on behalf of his brother or for his own
protection and Woodley simply got to him first.
This theory is supported by rapper Cam'ron who shared his version of
events in an unreleased song he previewed on Instagram in 2016
Shortly after Woodley's death. In the song, Cam'ron
raps "Grew up with Big L and the dude who supposedly killed him.
A week before that though, Big L tried to kill him. What was he to do?"
Cam'ron never officially released a song and
has never publicly made a statement confirming his beliefs.
So, it's difficult to know if this account is fact or
speculation. But it makes sense that a LaRoy or Big L knew that
Woodley wanted them dead, they may attempt to strike first.
Woodley was never officially charged for Big L's murder but
he was arrested in 2010 on weapons charges.
Woodley was also a suspect in two other unsolved homicides
in '94 and '96 but was likewise released for lack of evidence.
He was released on parole in 2015 and murdered on
139th and Lenox Ave in June of 2016
Not far from where Big L was killed.
Police are uncertain as to whether his murder was retaliation for
killing the Harlem legend or an unrelated incident.
But regardless of the killer's motivations, Wooley's dad seemed
to close a chapter on one of the most tragic losses in hip hop history.
Smoke Dawg.
Jahvante Smart, better known as Smoke Dawg, was a singer / rapper
from Toronto who was tragically murdered in broad daylight in front of a
nightclub in downtown Toronto on June 30th 2018.
Smoke Dawg was part of a local crew called Halal Gang that was
quite popular in Toronto area. He started building an
international buzz after collaborating with huge names
like Drake and French Montana. He was making big waves in
Toronto and beginning to build a notable international
presence when he was killed. He and his business associate
Ernest Modekwe were murdered in a drive-by shooting perpetuated
by an assailant in a black SUV. The shooting happened in broad
daylight with many witnesses around to see it unfold.
Police arrested a 22 year old named Abdulkadir Handule in 2019,
in connection with the shooting.
A warrant for Handule's arrest was put out in 2018 and he was
apprehended in connection with an unrelated kidnapping that
occurred in Burnaby, BC that same year. Handule's motivation and
involvement in the shooting haven't been definitively proven,
however, police have sufficient evidence to hold him
on charges of first-degree murder. Fans have speculated
that the killing was retaliation for Smoke Dawg
filming a music video in the neighborhood of a rival gang.
Earlier that year, Smoke Dawg released a song called Fountain Freestyle
that featured a video filmed outside the Atkinson Housing Co-Op
in the Alexandria Park neighborhood of Toronto.
Spectators on social media claimed that this was meant to
be a diss against a rival gang and Smoke Dawg was killed to
send a message. The police have declined to say whether the
shooting was targeted but they have attributed it to gang
violence. Handule is still awaiting trial and therefore,
the case is ongoing, however, all the evidence points to Handule
and it seemed unlikely that he'll beat the charge.
Smoke Dawg was a talented up and coming rapper who was killed
before he had the chance to reach his true potential.
He's just one of many talented young artist who was taken away too soon
and his presence in hip hop will be missed.
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