Courts are looking to see if the music actually told on the violence in Chicago’s dangerous streets.
Six alleged members and associates of Chicago’s O Block gang—Charles Liggins, Kenneth Roberson, Tacarlos Offerd, Christopher Thomas, Marcus Smart and Ralph Turpin—are scheduled to face trial at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago on Tuesday (October 10). According to the Chicago Sun-Times, a seventh suspect took their own life.
The trial will highlight the connection between gangs and rap music in Chicago. The prosecution will build their argument extensively on evidence documented in unofficial sources such as blogs, YouTube videos and online forums.
At the root of the case is the idea that the late King Von, the alleged leader of the O Block gang, “placed a hit” on FBG Duck. Chicago Police Department records show two informants affirm this allegation, with one saying, “Duck had a price on his head.”
Police have redacted the name of the person who allegedly placed the bounty, but the informant provided key identifying details like he was the one out buying custom necklaces for O Block members.
Prosecutors noted there’s a video online of King Von flossing as he spent about $128,000 to buy diamond-encrusted O Block pendants from an Atlanta jewelry store.
As previously reported, Chief Keef, Lil Durk and King Von were down with O Block and beefing with another rival Chicago crew, Tookaville Gangster Disciples, believing they’d fatally shot Odee Perry in August 2021.
FBG Duck was down with Tookaville and used his music to diss dead members of O Block (including Perry) in a July 2020 song called “Dead B——
Said I wasn’t gonna diss the dead and OK, I did it,” FBG Duck rapped on the song. Within a month of its release, he was also killed. A year after his death, Lil Durk put out a song titled “Should’ve Ducked,” mocking FBG Duck’s death.
Years later, it seems that Lil Durk has spoken out against his old ways and gang violence, even leading to FBG Duck’s mother to reach out to him on social media to work together to save lives. But still, the prosecution is looking at the music.
In their songs and accompanying music videos,” a court doc reads, “O-Block members assert their association with O-Block, brag about criminal activities or publicly claim responsibility for acts of violence committed by O-Block, taunt rival gang members, and mock and disparage opposing gang members.”
