Rapper Drakeo the Ruler was fatally stabbed during an altercation during a music festival in Los Angeles, where he was scheduled to perform with other people. Rapper’s agent Scott Jawson confirmed his death on Sunday, December 19, at the New York Times and to Rolling Stone. The artist’s real name was Darrell Caldwell. He was 28 years old.
Drakeo the Ruler was assaulted on Saturday night, during the “Once Upon a Time in LA” concert, which was to host several artists, including Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Ice Cube. The organizers canceled the festival after the attack.
“Out of respect for the people affected by this event and in coordination with the local authorities, the artists and the organizers have decided not to continue the other shows”, reacted the organizers of the festival.
Shortly after 8:30 p.m., a scuffle broke out behind the main stage, where a suspect brandished a sharp weapon, leaving a man seriously injured, the California Highway Patrol reported in a succinct statement, without citing Darrell Caldwell. It was later announced that it was Darrell Caldwell, who died of his injuries after being taken to hospital.
Los Angeles Police and Los Angeles Fire Department also responded to the scene. For the time being, no arrests have been made, according to the spokesperson for the Los Angeles police, the officer Luis Garcia, quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
Dark humor and deadpan speech
Snoop Dogg tweeted that he was in his dressing room when he was made aware of the incident and decided to leave the scene immediately. “I am saddened by the events of last night at the Once Upon a Time in LA festival,” he wrote. “My condolences go out to the family and loved ones of Drakeo the Ruler”.
Darrell Caldwell started his career in 2015. Last February he released his first album The Truth Hurts, before being nicknamed the rapper “The most original of the West Coast”, for his texts with black humor and his tongue-in-cheek speech. His title Thank You for Using GTL contains verses recorded at Men’s Central Jail, a famous Los Angeles prison.
Drakeo the Ruler grew up listening to bands like Hot Boyz, Boosie, Webbie and Dipset, but it was rapper Cocky who influenced him. “He was so sweet and calm while rapping, even though he said crazy things”, he had declared to Billboard This year. “He showed me that you don’t have to shout or be loud to get his point across. “ Caldwell was the pioneer of a type of rap called “Nervous music”, with cryptic and dark songs, emphasized the Los Angeles Times in 2018.
Collaboration with Drake
Drakeo the Ruler totals over 1.5 million listeners every month on Spotify. He notably collaborated with the Canadian rapper Drake, on the single Talk to me, reports the BBC. “Your energy has always cheered me up. RIP Drakeo “Drake wrote on Instagram on Sunday. In a message on Twitter, author Jeff Weiss called him “Greatest artist of the West Coast for a whole generation, a legend who invented a new rap language, with slippery cadences, nervous rhythms and psychedelic slang”.
RIP Drakeo, the greatest West Coast artist of a generation, a legend who invented a new rap language of slippery ca… https://t.co/lAG2isyonX
He was arrested in 2017 for possession of weapons and in 2018 for murder in connection with the shooting death of a 24-year-old man. He had served several years in prison on this charge. He was acquitted in 2019, but was charged with association with criminal gangs. He had accepted a deal with the courts and was released from prison in 2020.