A newly emerged photo showing Marcus “Muwop” Smart and Charles “C Murda” Liggins, both key figures in the murder trial against Chicago rapper FBG Duck, has set tongues wagging amid a firestorm of online chatter. It is one of many images that have trended across platforms like X, formerly called Twitter, signifying increased public interest in a case enthralling much of Chicago and the hip-hop world.
Smart and Liggins are members of the notorious gang known as the O-Block. A jury convicted Smart and Liggins in the heinous murder case of FBG Duck, whose real name was Carlton Weekly. The months-long-high-profile trial focused on the violent secrets within Chicago’s drill music sector, which involves close affiliations with gang crimes.
On August 4, 2020, FBG Duck was gunned down in broad daylight while shopping for his son’s birthday in Chicago’s upscale Gold Coast neighborhood. The high-end street known for boutiques like Dolce & Gabbana became a scene of the most brutal ambush involving two cars and multiple shooters. Weekly received 16 shots in the attack that injured his girlfriend and one bystander.
It was not some random street crime, a brazen act of violence. Prosecutors contended that it was a carefully orchestrated hit as part of an escalating feud between the Gangster Disciples, to which FBG Duck belonged, and the Black Disciples-aligned O-Block faction.
A collection of diss tracks traded between Duck and rivals-most notably, the late King Von-picked up with word that Von had a bounty out on Duck before his death later in the year.
The trial of Muwop and C Murda with four other O-Block members brought this feud’s personal and public stakes into sharp focus. Prosecutors made out a grim picture of gang culture intertwined with the music scene of the city, in which the lyrics of violence reflected real-life conflicts more often than not.
Evidence to be presented at the trial will include surveillance video following the suspects from Parkway Gardens-known as O-Block-to the Gold Coast, along with witness testimony and communications among the gang members that indicate a conspiracy.
Social media profiles also proved a godsend, as investigators followed them to make connections between gang members and their acts of violence.
The convictions of Muwop, C Murda, and their co-defendants have brought mixed feelings within Chicago’s community. For some, the guilty verdicts mean closure for a pain and frustration that has lasted years. The mother of FBG Duck was overcome with emotion as the jury read the decision, a small piece of relief in her continuing grief.
Others put it within the larger context of the cyclical violence that pests neighborhoods. In light of the trial, discussions about the role of drill music begin to flood in again: how the genre glamorizes gang life and, therefore, perpetuates dangerous conflicts or how it represents an honest expression of realities.
”I hope this verdict sends a message, but I also know we need to focus on the root causes,” said one community leader on X. “It’s bigger than one trial’s about saving lives.”
As the dust finally settles on this trial, the picture of Muwop and C Murda brings poignancy to how the results of gang violence can reach very far. These two men, once celebrated in certain circles for their street notoriety, now face life sentences in federal prison.
Their story of FBG Duck’s tragic death becomes emblematic of the broader struggle against violence in Chicago’s streets. For now, the city grapples with what comes next: healing, accountability, and the hope that this high-profile case might serve as a turning point in the fight for peace.
