Kayla B, a sister of deceased rapper King Von, just confirmed that FBG Duck’s mother, also known as Momma Duck, had her lawsuit against Lil Durk and King Von’s estate dismissed. The lawsuit was filed in October of 2024, in which she accused rappers Lil Durk and King Von, their respective labels, of involvement in FBG Duck’s murder in August of 2020. There is yet to be official confirmation of this claim in a legal capacity, though a post on Instagram by Kayla B shows that the case is done.
FBG Duck, a.k.a. Carlton Weekly, was a high-profile member of the hip hop scene in Chicago. The murder of FBG Duck on August 4, 2020, was a highly publicized incident that added to already existing tensions in the hip hop scene. The rapper was assassinated in broad daylight in Chicago’s upscale Gold Coast neighborhood when he was there to shop. The armed men also shot his girlfriend, Cashae Williams, and a different individual, Davon Brinson, in the process.
Authorities linked the killing to longstanding rivalries between gangs that have plagued Chicago’s streets and hip-hop scene for many years. Several suspects were taken in in relation to the killing, including members of the O’Block faction, a faction that is linked to King Von and Lil Durk.
The lawsuit filed by FBG Duck’s mother accused Lil Durk, King Von’s estate, and major recording labels, including Sony, of financially profiting from gang violence. The lawsuit precisely accused King Von of placing a bounty of $100,000 on FBG Duck’s life and that Lil Durk was also a participant in a way that approved of and profited from the violence. The lawsuit also accused the defendants of having built their careers by profiting from their gang affiliations, hence their album sales and streaming increasing.
Additionally, the lawsuit also alleged that record labels knowingly sold music and imagery that glamorized violence, said to be a causal force in FBG Duck’s killing. Momma Duck, among other plaintiffs like FBG Duck’s girlfriend and a surviving victim, brought redress in a court of law, alleging that the industry was a causal force in perpetrating actual harm in their lives.
Kayla B’s social media post announcing that the lawsuit was dismissed was soon trending on social media among fans and insiders in the industry. However, up to this point, there is no official document or statement released by a court to confirm that it was dismissed. Without a formal order, it is not clear if the lawsuit is active or was dismissed in reality.
Given the seriousness of the charges, litigation in such a case is protracted, and it is probable that new events will be forthcoming in a matter of weeks or a few months. Legal analysts point out that until there is a formal document dismissing the action, it is open.
The lawsuit has stirred heated controversy in hip-hop. Fans of FBG Duck’s mother feel that the lawsuit brings to the fore the consequences of gang violence in hip-hop music, making labels take more accountability for their artists’ work. Some feel that such a lawsuit is a bad precedence in that artists become liable for real-life disputes that are beyond their songs.
Social media reaction was polarized. Some fans welcomed Momma Duck’s quest for justice, while others leapt to Lil Durk’s defense, as well as that of King Von, insisting that there was insufficient concrete evidence to sustain the charges. Industry insiders have been mum, though a string of legal analysts has said that such cases are difficult to prosecute in court.
If the lawsuit is permitted to proceed, it would set a precedence for other instances of raps and their connection to crime. The case also brings up more general issues of concern over the role of recording companies in selling music that speaks of actual violence and their accountability for resulting repercussions. For now, the status of the lawsuit is in limbo. Unless official documentation confirms that it’s been dropped, there’s always a potential for more litigation to follow. The case is just one more example of just how entrenched the music industry, the legal system, and street culture have become, posing questions of accountability and justice in hip-hop that need to be answered.
