July 5th 2021 was a regular day in Chicago for many residents, but for one rapper it was the day where a spotlight shone brightly on his career. See, that day, he released a music video to a song that went on to gain viral traction. He soon learned that not all attention is good attention, and some, like the one he received, would lead to a brutal tragedy.
The rapper’s real name was Kelvin Smith, but to his peers and the music industry, he was known as Lil Kevo 069.
More than just a rapper, he was a member of the Chicago gang that called themselves Brick Squad and is known to be home to the 69th Street region.
One of their rivals include the gang fraction known as the infamous O Block. Along with them is the Chicago set OTF, who was made popular by now mainstream rap sensation and Grammy award-winning artist, Lil Durk.
In an attempt to taunt his rivals, Lil Kevo 069 decided to continue a tradition that has been made popular in Chicago’s rap culture. With their genre predominantly known as Drill, where violence, death, and disrespect are often times the goal of their song, Lil Kevo took this as inspiration. On that Monday, he released the song “BDK Freestyle” Part 2.
Lil Kevo was playing a very dangerous game, one I’m not sure he was prepared for. The title of the song symbolizes his intentions, and it was one of menace. His rivals mainly belonged to the Black Discipline gang fractions, and BDK in urban terminology means Black Disciple Killer. Lil Kevo’s purpose for the song was to pour gasoline on the already bloody war between him and his enemies.
He chose to do this by taking aim at the dead affiliates of his rivals, making fun of their murders. The problem with this was, that in the Chicago gang culture, this was considered to be at the top of the list of things that could place a target on your back. However, that didn’t seem to phase Lil Kevo because the introduction for the song disrespects one of Chicago’s most notorious gang members, the late King Von of O Block.
Lil Kevo could be heard reciting the lyrics “I’m smoking on Polo, I’m smoking on Von” while scenes of affiliates with firearms litter through the video https://youtu.be/1QthuYAoT_M (0:00-0:18) Smoking on someone in this context is basically a disrespect to the one that passed.
He didn’t stop there. The gloves were off, and no one was off limits to Lil Kevo’s insults. The next person’s death whom he made fun of was the late DThang.
Through the song, he recites the lyrics “DThang a bih that lil boy fast, Durk is a goofy get what back out in blood, your brother just got knelt, he going up in mud, stupid ass dumb you shouldn’t have been in the club” https://youtu.be/1QthuYAoT_M (1:04-1:12).
As the lyrics reveal, DThang was the blood brother of Lil Durk,
Not only that, but King Von was also someone dear to Lil Durk. In hindsight, the bond they held was like a brotherhood.
It quickly became clear via the lyrics of the song, Lil Kevo wanted to hit Lil Durk where it hurts. What he didn’t know, was that the very rivals he was poking might hurt him back. Time would soon reveal the consequences of his actions.
At this point, Lil Kevo was basking in the spotlight gained by his song. His friends enjoyed using the song to taunt their rivals, and affiliates of the names he mentioned on the song also gave the track more publicity by viewing and reacting to it. The public watching in from the sidelines ignited the viral moment even further, chiming in on their feelings about the song.
Lil Kevo would take to his Instagram Live to show a man who wasn’t worrying about any form of retaliation, but laughing and enjoying himself as the attention kept coming in https://youtu.be/nS-8ldHpH8k?si=B6uCoKLuKLpDqMA0 (0:00-0:30) The comments under the Live however, told a different story, Many were spamming the comment GDK which was the opposite of BDK. Being affiliated with the Gangster Disciples, furious fans and affiliates were symbolizing their anger with the term Gangster Disciple Killer.
It didn’t take long before that phrase became something of reality and Lil kevo was no longer smiling. As a matter of fact, he would soon no longer be of this world.
July 13th 2021, just about one week after the release of his song, reports began circulating online of a shooting death in the Chicago area, with as much as 16 rounds of ammunition fired.
It didn’t take long for the victim of the shooting to be identified. It was none other than the Brick Squad rapper Lil Kevo 069.
According to Chicago police, 27-year-old Kelvin Smith aka Lil Kevo 069, was in the 7000 block of South Normal Avenue around 5:15 p.m. when someone opened fire, striking him in the body and throat. Lil Kevo, who lived in Englewood, was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
It’s reported that his body was riddled with many of the 16 shots that were fired his way.
Other accounts posted on popular urban Chicago Reddit accounts state that the actual number of times he was shot was in the triple digits, which hints at this being a personal vendetta of revenge.
How ironic, Lil Kevo took aim at the deceased of his rivals, only to join them in the grave himself. What’s left behind that none of the dead sees, is the pain and heartbreak caused to their friends and family. Just like that life can be gone, though not a surprise. Disrespecting the dead coupled with indulging in criminal activities such as gang rivalries, all but guarantees that end.
Lil Kevo’s loved ones, overcome with grief by the news, cried and embraced each other as they gathered outside the hospital’s emergency room. Sadly, their cries fell on deaf ears, and their falling tears were blind to his eternally closed eyes.
To this day no arrests have been made, leaving the case another in the long string of gang murders that have occurred without resolution. Speculations however point to the homicide being retaliation for the song he released.
The chain of events poses the question, couldn’t this have been avoided? Was it worth it sacrificing everything to take aim at his rivals? To the regular citizen the answer more times than none is no, but to persons living the gang lifestyle, it’s like a code programmed into their minds. Digging further into the past of Lil Kevo, it was discovered that he was known for being reckless when it came to disrespecting his enemies.
Dating as far back as 2013, he can be seen in Instagram posts with videos of himself making cameos in the territory of his rivals. In one post he shares a video with the caption “F**k O Block” as he records near the vicinity.
https://www.instagram.com/p/htxShABgqf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
What’s more unfortunate about his passing, is that it was almost like a curse being fulfilled. His former Brick Squad affiliate Lil Jojo made the same mistake and lost his life for it.
In 2012, Lil Jojo released the same type of song inclusive of the same BDK title where he preached the same level of disrespect as Lil kevo https://youtu.be/xhHiGNgBu0U (1:00-1:22) In the near future after the release of the song, Lil Jojo was also gunned down. It’s a bit ominous how similar their deaths occurred, not to mention the song revolving around the same title and them being affiliated with the same gang.
Eventually, it always catches up to you. That path is fated to take two options, dead or in jail. The lucky few are able to change things around and escape, but sadly Lil Kevo 069 wasn’t included in that select group.
Another child is now without a father in the senseless cycle that just continues to keep blood flowing. May he rest in peace and his life acts as a deterrent to those carrying on the tradition of disrespect and violence.
