A festival in Los Angeles was marred by tragedy this weekend when rising rapper Drakeo The Ruler was stabbed. After being transported to the hospital in critical condition that night, he later died from his injuries. Born Darrell Caldwell, the rapper was slated to perform at the festival, which also included headliners 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg. Instead, the event ended earlier after the fight broke out backstage and Caldwell was stabbed.
The music world, particularly in Caldwell’s native LA, is devastated by the loss of a young talent. His family and loved ones are also reeling at the sudden loss. His mother, Darrylene Corniel, spoke to Rolling Stone about the murder. “He was hit in his neck,” she began. “I saw him when I went to the hospital. They said it’s a homicide, so I wasn’t able to hug him or kiss him or anything like that. I had to look at him through a window. I need this to be out there. I need people to know. And I do want justice for my son. And I do believe that justice will be served. I will not rest until justice is served.”
She added that lax security backstage seemed to be part of what led to the incident. “They said there were, like, 40 to 60 people,” she said, citing information from her other son, Devonte Caldwell, aka Ralfy The Plug, who was trying to protect his brother. “He was trying to fight, but when he turned around, he could see his brother with blood gushing out of him. He was like, ‘Did they stab you?’ It was like, there were so many of them.”
Corniel said she felt a lack of security was part of the larger issue, and that she plans to take legal action. “We plan to sue. This happened backstage at an event. Someone has to be held accountable. They let all these people in, and you’re not supposed to have all these people backstage. And your security is supposed to be in place. The whole program should have been orchestrated a lot better than what it was. And there should have been more protection. Even if you have metal detectors, even if you pat them down, you let those people come in there. You had more people come in than you were supposed to. And you allowed them to jump my son. You didn’t protect my son.”
Read her full interview with Rolling Stone here.