After nearly a month of jury selection, federal prosecutors on Tuesday will begin making their case that rapper FBG Duck was killed in a brazen daytime shooting in the Gold Coast as part of a long-standing gang war that originated on the South Side.

FBG Duck, whose real name was Carlton Weekly, was shot repeatedly in an Aug. 4, 2020, attack outside the Dolce and Gabbana store at 68 E. Oak St. Prosecutors say his death was linked to a bloody, yearslong conflict between the O Block faction of the Black Disciples street gang.

FBG Duck was part of the rival Gangster Disciples’ Tookaville set and had released “a particularly blistering diss record” weeks before the shooting that mocked several dead O Block gang members, prosecutors say.

The case is expected to further pull back the curtain on O Block’s criminal enterprise and spotlight ties between Chicago’s gang and rap cultures.

FBG Duck’s killing made international news, and interest in the case has remained high amid word that a bounty had been placed on his head by the late rapper and purported O Block leader King Von.

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FBG Duck trial highlights links between Chicago’s gang and rap cultures

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The racketeering and murder case targets six members and associates of O Block, many of them little-known rappers: Charles “C Murda” Liggins; Kenneth “Kenny” or “Kenny Mac” Roberson; Tacarlos “Los” Offerd; Christopher “C Thang” Thomas; Marcus “Muwop” Smart; and Ralph “Tall” or “Teezy” Turpin.

Overseen by Judge Martha Pacold, jury selection began Oct. 10. As with many gang trials, the names of the jurors are being kept secret. In pushing for that, prosecutors pointed to the news coverage of the case, the life sentences the defendants could face and O Block’s capacity to harm jurors and interfere with the proceedings.

Though the trial hinges on a single act — the killing of FBG Duck — it could go on for months.

From O Block to Oak Street

FBG Duck’s fate was sealed when Turpin spotted him at an Oak Street boutique and alerted the rapper’s rivals “to come downtown” to kill him, prosecutors say.

The other defendants rushed to the swanky shopping district from Parkway Gardens, a sprawling South Side housing complex, also known as O Block, that serves as the faction’s power base, prosecutors say. They were joined by another suspect who died by suicide as the investigation played out.

Smart, Liggins, Thomas and the now-deceased suspect rapidly fired 38 shots outside the Dolce and Gabbana store, striking Weekly 16 times and wounding his girlfriend and another person, prosecutors say.

An August court filing laying out the prosecution’s case appeared to implicate other rappers in the killing, both of whom were later gunned down.

Prosecutors say Roberson told a cooperating witness that he took part in the shooting because King Von had “placed a hit” on FBG Duck.

King Von, whose real name was Dayvon Bennett, paid $128,000 to buy diamond-encrusted O Block pendants from an Atlanta jewelry store, keeping the biggest one for himself and giving the others to his gang associates, according to a prosecution court filing. Most were bought before FBG Duck was killed, but some were ordered afterward.

King Von was shot to death outside an Atlanta hookah lounge in November 2020, a week after he released his debut album “Welcome to O’Block,” which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Prosecutors say Roberson sought out rapper D Thang, or Dontay Banks Jr., who was killed outside a Harvey strip club in a June 2021 shooting that also left a police officer wounded.

Roberson, who is aligned with a gang faction associated with O Block, was caught on video making a call before FBG Duck’s killing and trying to connect with D Thang, prosecutors say.

They say Roberson later got a call from a number associated with D Thang and reported he had seen FBG Duck and quickly “had people on the phone and on the way downtown.”

The court filing says D Thang was “the older brother of Individual E,” described as a high-ranking Black Disciple aligned with a faction “cliqued up” with O Block. That description fits Lil Durk, the rap superstar who was King Von’s mentor.