Which rappers are from O Block? Michelle Obama claim explored amid arrest of 6 members in FBG Duck murder

On January 17, 2024, six alleged gang members from O Block were convicted by a federal jury in the August 2020 murder of rapper FBG Duck which happened in Chicago’s Gold Coast Area.

Trigger warning: This article has references to a murder. Readers' discretion is advised.

The presumed gang members were found guilty of first-degree murder (by shooting), alongside multiple other felony charges like racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder.

They include rappers such as Marcus Smart (25), Tacarlos Offerd (32), Ralph Turpin (34), Charles Liggins (32), Kenneth Roberson (30), and Christopher Thomas (24), as reported by Billboard. They all are facing life imprisonment.

In the wake of the alleged gang members’ conviction, claims have arisen on social media that former First Lady Michelle Obama grew up in O Block, first reported by Daily Loud.

While Michelle Obama hails from that area in Chicago, the name O Block was not used during her formative years. Notably, the area is also the native place of rappers Chief Keef and King Von among others.

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Michelle Obama grew up in the O Block during the 1960s

Former President Barack Obama during his farewell speech at the White House addressed his wife as “Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, girl of the South Side.” Here, South Side refers to the locality in Chicago where Michelle Obama grew up in.

According to Distractify, the former First Lady was born and raised (for the first two years) in Chicago’s Parkway Gardens neighborhood, spread across 63rd and 66th Streets along King Drive, in the southern side of the city.

Back during Michelle’s girlhood, the area used to be a complex of 35 buildings housing low-income families.

However, it was long after Michelle Obama and her family moved out (in 1965) of the area that it was renamed as O Block, in honor of Odee Perry, a 20-year-old resident and Chicago Black Disciples Gang member who was shot dead there in 2011.

Now regarded as one of the most dangerous localities in Chicago as well as in the USA, it is also alternatively called Wiiic City, which refers to “wild, insane, and crazy,” and was inspired by the lyrics of rapper Chief Keef, hailing from the block itself.

Meanwhile, it is important to note that Michelle Obama herself referred to her childhood home as “wonderful and small” many times, and people who have stayed through the years confirmed to Distractify that when the former First Lady grew up in the O Block during the 1960s, it was a nicer place with much less violence, and was family and community-oriented.

Some of O Block’s other celebrity natives include Chicago’s most famous rappers Lil Durk, Fredo Santana, Chief Keef, and King Von among others.

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Exploring, in brief, the FBG Duck murder and its conviction

As per UPI, in August 2020, rapper FBG Duck, whose real name is Carlton Weekly, was murdered by six alleged gang members from O Block in Chicago’s Gold Coast locality.

FBG Duck was shopping in an apparel store when one of the convicts Ralph Turpin saw him and called for backup. When the other five arrived, they shot FBG Duck 16 times in less than 20 seconds, killing him on the scene. His girlfriend and a fellow shopper were injured in the process.

After four years of investigation, the murderers were convicted by a federal court this Wednesday and sentenced to life imprisonment. According to prosecutors, the murder was part of a prolonged gang war, between FBG Duck’s Tookville faction of the Black Gangster Disciples and the O Block Gangster Disciple.

Carlton Weekly got caught in between because of his notorious lyrics mocking the rival gang members and their activities. Notably, not just the six convicts, but all known members and associates of the street gang confessed to inciting violence to grow their criminal enterprise.