Many in hip hop and beyond continue to mourn the tragic loss of King Von, who was tragically killed in Atlanta back in November. Of the many tributes that have been done for the slain rapper, one can currently be seen in his old neighborhood — a mural of Von showing off his jewelry on a wall in Parkway Gardens, also known as O Block. The art piece was created by Delilah Martinez and her Mural Movement organization as a dedication to King Von’s children, family, and loved ones.
Unfortunately, Martinez has revealed that the Chicago police don’t approve of the mural, and it may have to be taken down:
“[We] have to take down that King Von mural … And I’ma tell y’all why it really actually bothers me. So, if you guys know my story or know the Mural Movement and how we got started, y’all know how important it is to do specific things like art in specific areas, especially Black and Brown communities. So, that’s how the Mural Movement started. We’re all about representation, beautifying communities in need, especially underserved communities that don’t have art or murals.”
She then continued, “You know, that’s what we go for. So when we go into areas in which people don’t wanna go to or do art in, and we go there and we work really hard to put it there, and then we see the response of the community, like, everybody loves the mural.”
Just a week prior to his murder, Von liberated his debut studio LP Welcome To O’Block, a 16-track body of work that saw additional contributions from Polo G, Lil Durk, Prince Dre, Moneybagg Yo, Fivio Foreign, and Dreezy. In addition to landing within the top five of the Billboard 200, Welcome To O’Block also topped the Independent Albums chart — a bittersweet achievement for someone who had a long career ahead of him.
Check out the some shots of the mural, as well as the video of Martinez’s response, below.