From a Chance Encounter in Cook County Jail to Brothers in Arms – The Emotional Origin of One of Chicago Rap’s Most Powerful Bonds
Long before Only The Family (OTF) became a powerhouse in Chicago rap, King Von sat down in a rare 2019 interview and, for the first time, shared the untold story of how he met Lil Durk – a moment that, in Von’s own words, “changed the course of my life.” Fans had always assumed the two South Side legends grew up together on the same blocks, or at least linked through the local drill scene. The truth Von revealed is far more surprising, emotional, and pivotal to his career than anyone imagined: they met behind bars, strangers in adjacent cells at Cook County Jail, bonded over shared pain and ambition in a way that would birth one of rap’s most loyal families.
The interview, resurfaced this week on the fifth anniversary of Von’s death, comes from a 2019 sit-down with DJ Akademiks. Von, then 24 and fresh off his breakout Grandson, Vol. 1, leaned back with his signature calm intensity and dropped the bombshell. “People think me and Durk been knowing each other forever,” he began. “Nah. We met in the county. 2014. I’m in Division 10, he’s in Division 9. We just started talking through the vents.” Von, locked up on attempted murder charges (later dropped), was 19. Durk, already bubbling with Signed to the Streets 2, was facing gun possession charges. Two kids from different parts of the South Side – Von from O’Block, Durk from Lamron – suddenly had the same dream: escape the cycle and turn pain into music.
Von described the moment that sealed it. “Durk heard me rapping through the wall one day. He said, ‘Who that?’ I said, ‘Von from 64th.’ He told me, ‘When we get out, we linking. You got it.’” Von laughed recalling Durk sliding him a phone number on a piece of paper through the food slot. “That was it. Real recognise real.” Released months apart in 2014, they met up immediately. Durk, fresh off his Def Jam deal, signed Von to OTF on the spot. “He didn’t care about clout. He saw the hunger,” Von said. The rest is history: Crazy Story, Took Her to the O, millions of streams, and a brotherhood that transcended the streets.
The revelation stunned fans then and hits even harder now. “I always thought they grew up together,” one commenter wrote on the resurfaced clip, now at 12 million views. “Meeting in jail and building OTF from that? That’s realer than real.” Von’s death in November 2020 at age 26 outside an Atlanta nightclub only deepens the story’s weight – a bond forged in concrete that ended in gunfire, with Durk left carrying the torch.
Durk has never forgotten. On the anniversary, he posted a throwback photo of Von with the caption: “Still talk to you every day, bro. Changed my life.” OTF continues to thrive, with artists like Booka600 and Doodie Lo carrying Von’s legacy.
Five years later, the untold story remains a testament: sometimes the most powerful connections aren’t born on the block – they’re forged in the darkest places, between two voices echoing through steel walls, dreaming of freedom.
