"Armed & Dangerous" is a song by American rapper King Von. It was released on October 30, 2020, as an extract and first track from Von's debut studio album Welcome to O'Block from 2020.^[1]

"Armed & Dangerous" was certified platinum by Recording Industry Association of America on February 16, 2023. ^[2] and it peaked at number eight on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart by Billboard.^[3]

Composition

In the song, Von raps with refined storytelling technique about being hawked by the feds due to his past, as Revolt reports: "Police steady watching me, every day they clocking me, red alert, armed and dangerous, I keep that Glock on me" and also: "cause I done did shit that n***as ain’t talking ‘bout no rapping beef"; and consequently talking in merit of that 2011-2014 period, spelling about going at war with opps, he also mentions Chief Keef and how he fostered the popularity of O'Block and how he made war with the GDs mainstream, favoring consequently the rise of the musical genre. He also speaks about his uncle’s crack addiction, and how he was crucial in its growth and about how he died while Von was in prison. The beat is a drill instrumental, devised by trustworthy producer Chopsquad DJ.^[4][5]

Music video

Bennett revealed to Uproxx, that he was the creator of each of his videos and that he had a decent imaginative capacity in order to write the scripts of his music videos, like "Armed & Dangerous" itself.^[6] Also according to Respect, King Von wanted to show, with this song and musical video, how the lessons he learned inside shaped his worldview, even as a successful rapper.^[7]

The music video was released on January 11, 2021 on YouTube. It was directed by Jerry Productions, and finds King Von in various locations: from his suburban residence where he does typical activities beginning with Von taking a trash can out to the curb while suspected law enforcement official watch him from a distance, considering him a menace; to the prison, where Von is wearing an orange jumpsuit, both rapping to his cellmate and playing basketball with fellow inmates inside a court, still inside the prison.^[4][6][8][9]

"Armed & Dangerous" musical video reached over 1.7 millions views in less than one day on youtube.^[10]

King Von's idea, as stated by his last twitter's post, was to release this music video on November 6, 2020, but due to his death the video was released instead only after the dropping of "Wayne's Story official video, representing the second posthumous video of the artist and the eighth of the project.^[11][12][13]

Critical reception

On January 4, 2021, iii Williams described the song as "a blunt and brutally open recount of the events and moments that have helped turn a young kid into a man with a past that he’s not necessarily proud of but doesn’t apologize for either." and also said that the dates and individuals referenced on the song effortlessly convey to the audience that Von is well aware of the consequences of his chosen lifestyle, and the costs associated with it; and that while the track is undeniably engaging, it vividly portrays a reality that may remain elusive or enigmatic to many.^[14]

Charts

Certifications

References