RAPPER FATALLY STABBED AT L.A. MUSIC FEST
Hip-hop artist Drakeo the Ruler was fatally stabbed in an altercation at a Los Angeles music festival where he was scheduled to perform, leaving fans of the musician heartbroken.
A publicist for the rapper, Scott Jawson, confirmed his death on Sunday. The artist’s real name was Darrell Caldwell.
Caldwell, 28, was assaulted Saturday night at the Once Upon a Time in L.A. concert, which was expected to feature several artists, including Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Ice Cube. Organizers called off the festival after the stabbing.
A fight broke out behind the main stage shortly after 8:30 p.m., leaving one man severely injured by a suspect wielding an edged weapon, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release that did not name Caldwell. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
The Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department also responded.
LAPD spokesperson Officer Luis Garcia told the Los Angeles Times that no arrests had been made as of Sunday.
Music journalists and fans delighted in Caldwell’s unique sound and boundless creativity. His death highlighted the violent demise of other talented young Black musicians, including fellow L.A. rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was shot to death in 2019.
Caldwell, who started releasing mixtapes in 2015 and this past February debuted his first album “The Truth Hurts,” has been called “the most original stylist on the West Coast” for his darkly comedic lyrics and deadpan delivery. His mixtape “Thank You for Using GTL” contains verses recorded at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles.
He grew up listening to acts like Hot Boyz, Boosie, Webbie and Dipset, but said it was a battle rapper named Cocky who influenced him to rap.
“He was so smooth and calm while rapping, despite saying some of the craziest stuff,” he told Billboard this year. “It showed me you didn’t have to yell or be loud to get your point across.”
Caldwell pioneered a type of rap called “nervous music,” with songs that were cryptic and dark, the Los Angeles Times wrote in 2018: “His cadences run counterclockwise to the drums, somehow both herky-jerky like a stickshift and swift and smooth like a luxury sports car it controls.”
Caldwell was released from jail in November 2020 after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors who wanted to try him on conspiracy charges in the 2016 killing of a 24-year-old man. Previously he had been acquitted of felony murder and attempted murder charges in the man’s death.