‘He loved Kansas City.’ DJ, promoter Captain Vonzell killed in first homicide of 2024
Growing up, Vonzell Bryant would gather friends over to the basement of his mother’s house and throw parties for them, recalled his younger sister, Hortense Willis of Lee’s Summit.
Bryant, who adopted the alias Captain Vonzell as a nod to his favorite singer, funk musician George Clinton and his Mothership, would use that experience to become a well-known Kansas City DJ and party promoter, Willis said.
The 70-year-old Bryant died Wednesday night after he was found suffering from “bodily trauma” in a yard in the 2600 block of Agnes Avenue in the Washington-Wheatley neighborhood of Kansas City.
Police are investigating his death as a homicide.
‘He did not deserve this’
Willis said she really doesn’t know what happened to her brother, except that he was found down the street from his house. She doesn’t know anyone who would have wanted to harm him.
He wasn’t confrontational and he wouldn’t have hurt a flea, she said. He was the type who would walk away just to keep the peace. A peacemaker, she described him.
Willis wants anyone who knows what happened to her brother to come forward and say something.
“He loved Kansas City and he did so many great things for Kansas City that the man did not deserve this,” Willis said. “Nobody deserves this, but that’s one guy I can truly say he did not deserve this.”
Over the years, Bryant, who has an adult son and daughter, became known across the community as a DJ and party promoter, including parties at roller skating rinks.
He also owned a candy shop near 35th Street and Prospect Avenue for several years.
“He wanted to get the kids off the street and give them somewhere to go when they got out of school,” his sister said. The store had video games and he would play music to help them stay out of trouble.
“There are youngsters that say that to this day if it weren’t for him giving him that place, they don’t know where they probably would have been at,” she said.
Bryant, with a team of others, would promote concerts on KPRS and helped bring groups and entertainers like Ready for the World, Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash, and Salt-N-Pepa, among others, to Kansas City, Willis said. He would hand out flyers in beauty and barber shops, as well as use word of mouth to tell people about the parties.
“He packed all the concerts when he brought those groups to Kansas City,” said Willis, who added that her brother also had a window cleaning company.
“He loved putting Kansas City on the map.”
Anyone in the area at the time of Bryant’s murder is asked to call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS (8477). There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted to the TIPS Hotline. People can also call KCPD homicide detectives at 816-234-5043.
Bryant’s killing comes after Kansas City experienced its deadliest year on record. In 2023, 185 people were killed, according to data kept by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. Previously, 2020 was considered the city’s deadliest year, with 182 killings.
