Damon King

Damon J. King lost his brave battle with lung cancer, but not without leaving his mark on the world.  Damon was well known by many, not only in his hometown of Indianapolis, but also in New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Guam and France.    He maintained forever friendships.  One could identify how long he was friends with you, by the nickname you called him.  Whether it was ‘Little Damon’, ‘Moon’, ‘Def D’, ‘Joe Bananas’, ‘Joey B’, your friendship was special and important to him.  The last nickname given him by a then seven year old cousin, ‘Blue Diamond’ identified him as a rare and precious jewel.

Damon grew up with a strong Christian education.  As a nine year old, he confessed his Christian belief and was baptized at New Bethel Baptist Church. Each day started with Damon playing the Alicia Myers song, “I Want to Thank  You”.  His personal praise of thanksgiving for his life and the love he received.

Family was extremely important and valued by Damon.  He often reached out to various members of the family just to stay in touch, listen if there was a problem and let them know he loved them.  Damon was the father of Ryan Christopher Thomas.  He loved his son and enjoyed seeing their relationship grow and develop throughout their lives.  He was proud of his son, his work ethic, but especially proud that Ryan also valued family.

Damon often reached out to others who were in need of friendship and companionship.  He often visited not only friends, but also the parents of friends who were hospitalized or in rehabilitation facilities.  He mentored the children of friends who preceded him in death. Friendship with Damon resulted in him being a friend of the entire family.

In Indianapolis, he attended Lawrence Central High School.  Following a gap year, he enrolled at what was then Saint Augustine College in Raleigh North Carolina as a Communications Major.  Throughout high school and college, he developed his skills, knowledge and love of the Hip Hop genre.

Damon loved homecomings!  He not only attended the Lawrence Central homecoming, but also many of the other Indianapolis schools events.  There was no place better in the world than being on the Yard for Saint Augustine’s Homecomings.  He attended as many as he could and was always suggesting that more Falcons should go to the next homecoming. 

While attending the “Aug”, friendships were formed with many who became professional artists and performers.   Damon achieved some success by recording for Hendu Productions in Atlanta, working with and writing rhymes for Flavor Unit and other artists in the New Jersey/New York market

His relationship with the Lords of the Undergrounds allowed him to tour and perform on stage in Iceland, Norway, Spain, France and West Africa.

He was highly respected for his knowledge of Hip Hop.  He mentored several young artists. Constantly writing new rhymes for others to perform, he also found time to record some of the rhymes himself.  These can be heard on reverbnation.com.  Although he did not achieve the celebrity or financial rewards he dreamed of, he did earn the respect, admiration for his writing and performance skills, and love of many in the industry and those wanting to become a part of the industry.

House music was his second favorite musical genre.  He was a member of the Indy Househeads which meets monthly to enjoy the music and fellowship of others who also love house music.

Professionally, Damon worked successfully as a Business Development Consultant for various industries.  During the Pandemic, he used his sales skills to work with the State of Indiana Covid-19 Contact Tracing program and assisting many people to obtain their Covid-19 vaccinations. Get Vaccinated!

Regardless of any adversity he faced personally, Damon always had a smile, a joke or a word of encouragement for others.During his hospitalization, he demonstrated daily his strength, sometimes ignoring his pain as he tried to make others comfortable and at ease.He always believed that he would win the fight.

When a surprise hospital visit occurred with several college and industry friends from all points of the country, Damon was excited and happy, proclaiming the weekend, the ‘best ever”! He felt the love.

Over the last few days of his life, he reached out to many to tell them he loved them, appreciated their friendship and encouraged them to follow their dreams and to stay strong.

Several artists have recorded the song ‘I want to live the life that I sing about”.Damon lived his life that he wrote about in his rhymes.He dropped the mic for the last time on May 10, 2021.

Damon was preceded in death by his grandparents, Herman and Juanita King, his uncle, Larry King and his son, Ryan Thomas.

He leaves to mourn his mother, Carol, Uncles Herman, Mark (Gloria) King, Great Aunt Elmer Lucille Allen, four generations of cousins, half- sisters, Roxanne Bryan, Lynn Smith, Allison Douglas, St. Augustine Falcons, Lawrence Central Bears and Indy Househeads.

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