Drakeo the Ruler’s estate is making sure that his legacy within West Coast street rap continues to carry on. The now 30-year-old artist from Los Angeles, California was fatally stabbed backstage at the Once Upon a Time Festival that took place in his hometown. He was just 28 and still was looking to his mark on the hip-hop world. Drakeo’s mother was able to be strong enough to describe what went down. She described that her younger son, also known as Ralfy the Plug, tried to help, but it was too late, according to XXL.
“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.” What was even worse, his mother did not have a chance to console her child one last time at the hospital since it was a homicide. We hate to revisit this topic and we continue to send our condolences to Drakeo’s mother and the rest of his family and friends.
Since that time, we mentioned how Drakeo’s team continues to spread the music that did not get to see the light of day. In 2023 they have been releasing quite a bit. It includes several singles and the deluxe of A Cold Day In Hell, earlier this year. Now, they have just come out with a quick single called “LMK Something,” featuring production from fellow Cali native RONRONTHEPRODUCER. You can stream the track on YouTube or any DSP.
What are your initial thoughts on this brand-new single, “LMK Something,” by Drakeo The Ruler and RONRONTHEPRODUCER? Is this the best track that Drakeo’s estate has put out this year? If not, which one was better? Are you still listening to A Cold Day In Hell (Deluxe), or has it fallen out of your rotation? We would like to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your hottest takes in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH on all of the latest breaking news around Drakeo the Ruler. Finally, stick with us for all of the best song drops throughout the week.
Late and great Los Angeles, California-based rapper Drakeo The Ruler and his team have released more music. Specifically, his collaboration with Ralfy the Plug, A Cold Day In Hell now has a deluxe that fans have been waiting for. The original version was released two years ago on April 19, 2021. Unfortunately, he met his untimely death on December 19, 2021.
Fortunately, his team was gracious enough to the fans to release the expanded edition. Since Drakeo was murdered, only two other types of material have been put out. The first of which was a 2022 album called, Keep The Truth Alive.Then, just over a month ago Drakeo The Ruler’s single, “I’m The Reason,” also made its way onto streaming services.
Now, we have A Cold Day In Hell (Deluxe). In addition, the new version adds a lot more music. In fact, there are 15 new tracks. They appear right after, “Intro (He’s Never Coming Back).” Additionally, five new features make the cut. 03 Greedo, ZayBang, Baby Ralfy, MoneySign $uede, and Thirsty P are now on the project.
What are your thoughts on A Cold Day In Hell(Deluxe)? Out of all of the 15 new tracks, which one is your favorite? We want to hear what you have to say so leave your thoughts in the comments section. Additionally, keep it locked with HNHH for all of the hottest album releases and all of the latest breaking news around the music world. Furthermore, our thoughts continue to go to Drakeo’s loved ones.
Drakeo The Ruler is without a doubt one of the most unique and impactful voices in contemporary West Coast hip-hop, a trait that his posthumous material still lets shine. Moreover, a new single titled “I’m The Reason” just released, and it’s every bit as brooding, bouncy, and boisterous as you would expect. It might fit well within his established style, but the tragic end of his career means that there was so much more left in the vault to develop and expand upon. With that context in mind, tracks like these only serve to further cement his legacy today, and “I’m The Reason” does so while speaking to his idiosyncrasy as an MC.
Furthermore, the instrumental here is a solid combination of dark, minimal percussion and brighter, more atmospheric synth pads and key leads. While we’ve heard bounces like these before, it’s still welcome in a rap landscape in which Los Angeles is not one of the sonic zeitgeists. As such, Drakeo The Ruler breathes life into the style with his unique vocal delivery, a mix of whispery and menacing bars plus some nasal inflections. In addition, the South Central rapper cycles through a few similar but nonetheless catchy flows that fit his trademark drawl like a glove. Sure, it sounds low-key at first, but once you pick up on a couple of sharp and infectious bars here, it unlocks a new layer of confidence and quality.
Overall, for fans of Drakeo, this song will fit right up their alley, and there’s always a chance that his flow and beat style will rope in newcomers on first listen. Amid legal complications surrounding his tragic passing, at least this paints a more true picture of who he is as an artist. If you haven’t heard “I’m The Reason” yet, find it on your preferred streaming service and peep some standout bars below. Also, stay posted on HNHH for the latest news and updates on Drakeo The Ruler and more great music each week. Rest In Peace Drakeo The Ruler.
Quotable Lyrics A C-Class, don’t even show that Benz, Ben Frank, I don’t know your friends, We just made him do the robe dance, That’s for pullin’ up in cello pants
The Soulja Boy-Desto Dubb-Drakeo The Ruler beef is getting out of hand. It all started back when Soulja gave himself the “Big Draco” nickname while Drakeo was imprisoned in 2020. Drakeo, of course, took exception to this and started talking back to Soulja Boy. Sadly, Drakeo passed away in 2021 due to an LA stabbing, but streetwear designer Desto Dubb took up his position, defending Drakeo and calling out Soulja on July 5th.
On Instagram Live, he told his fans, “Hey, everybody tell Soulja Boy I want a boxing match… C’mon, Soulja, show me some money.” Soulja, not one to shy away from any controversy or beef, responded in kind on his own Instagram Live rant. While Desto says he’s got “$100k saying I’ll slap the taste out of your mouth,” Soulja clapped back with, “I’ll air this b*tch out, 100 rounds, n*gga.” It sounds like he’d be ready to step in the ring — or the streets — to settle this feud once and for all.
This all started with Drakeo The Ruler and Soulja literally trying to take his name from him while Drakeo was at his lowest. Now, with Drakeo gone and his murder still unsolved, the beef between Soulja and Desto Dubb is unsavory, to say the least. Arguing over absolutely nothing and threatening to fight for $100k makes little sense when a man is dead and gone. But that’s how Soulja rolls, getting in tussles with almost everybody.
For example, in the same video, Soulja goes after Adam22, the podcaster and controversial figure dealing with multiple sexual assault accusations. Adam22 and Desto Dubb recently did a podcast episode together. But Soulja was not about what was said on the air. Back in the day, he also beefed with Bow Wow and other rappers. This problematic trend is concerning, so hopefully, Soulja Boy gets some help from friends soon. All this beef is not good for anyone’s health.
A Los Angeles court has ruled that the family of deceased hip hop artist Drakeo The Ruler may proceed with its wrongful death lawsuit against concert promotion giant Live Nation. The ruling comes as a blow to Live Nation, who had sought to have the case dismissed in its early stages.
Darrell Wayne Caldwell, also known as Drakeo The Ruler, was murdered at the Live Nation-promoted Once Upon A Time in L.A. Festival in December 2021, when a mob of many dozens of assailants stormed the event’s VIP area in an apparent planned attack on Drakeo and his crew, stabbing him to death.
A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil claim brought to impose liability on a defendant for negligently causing the death of the plaintiff’s relative. The case was filed by Drakeo’s brother in February 2021, accusing Live Nation of negligence by failing to have proper security measures in place for the concert, especially given the show’s proximity to South Central Los Angeles, a center of heavy gang activity. There may also be criminal claims brought in this matter, although as of now, no charges have been filed, and no suspects have been named in the attack.
Live Nation sought immediately to dismiss the case, arguing that it could not have foreseen the attack and, therefore, as a matter of law, could not be held responsible for failing to provide sufficient security. Live Nation argued that the plaintiffs were required to point to a previous attack that would have made this event foreseeable.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yolanda Orozco rejected this argument, writing that “[t]he fact that defendants knew security would be needed for the event supports the finding that the performing artists’ safety was a concern for defendants and foreseeable to defendants.” Judge Orozco further held that even if a mob attack occurred for the first time, it might still be foreseeable to Live Nation.
This ruling does not resolve the case in favor of Drakeo’s family. Instead, it means that the lawsuit will not be dismissed at the preliminary stage, and the parties will now be able to make discoveries and collect evidence supporting their respective positions. It also increases the chances that the case will eventually settle, as most patients do.
This is not the first time Live Nation has faced negligence claims in running its concerts. The company faces numerous lawsuits from the family and victims of the November 2021 Astroworld disaster, where a deadly surging crowd during a Travis Scott performance causes the deaths of ten people and injuries to hundreds of others.
It’s been just over one year since Drakeo the Ruler’s tragic murder. The fatal stabbing occurred backstage at the Once Upon a Time Festival in his hometown of Los Angeles in December of 2022.
In February of that year, Drakeo‘s brother, Ralfy the Plug, is responsible for filing a lawsuit against Live Nation. On behalf of his brother and the rest of their Stinc Team crew, the “Slime Me Up” rapper claims that the company is partially responsible for the targeted attack.
Drakeo the Ruler performs during Rolling Loud at NOS Events Center on December 12, 2021 in San Bernardino, California. (Photo by Timothy Norris/WireImage)
However, in July of last year, the world was witness to Live Nation subsequently filing a motion against it. In doing so, they were formally requesting the dismissal of the case. They claim that they cannot be held responsible for the fatal attack. The company cites the fact that this is the first incident to occur as the reasoning.
However, according to new reports, Judge Yolanda Orozco is officially siding with Ralfy. She says that the L.A. rapper doesn’t have to prove that a “prior similar” attack happened in order for Live Nation to be held accountable for their role.
“Although the occurrence of a mob/gang attack may have occurred for the first time, defendants may nevertheless be held liable if the facts show that the danger was foreseeable and/or preventable. […] The fact that defendants knew security would be needed for the event supports the finding that the performing artists’ safety was a concern for defendants and foreseeable to defendants,” says the Judge.
Furthermore, Ralfy is claiming that security at the venue is responsible for failing to search every vehicle entering the event. Additionally, he says there was no security present in the VIP area, where the attack took place.
Long Live The Truth
In September last year, the “Impatient Freestyle” rapper’s estate released the first full-length posthumous project from Drakeo. Keep The Truth Alive effectively continues his legacy as one of the most singular talents in the rap game with his unique vocabulary and whispery flows.
His last release prior to his death is So Cold I Do Em 2, which features songs like “Whole Lotta Ice” and “300 Raccs.”
Long Live The Truth. What’s your favorite Drakeo the Ruler song? Comment down below. Finally, make sure to stay tuned to HNHH for all of the latest updates and stories.
Live Nation has reportedly failed to get a series of lawsuits dropped in relation to the stabbing death of rapper Drakeo The Ruler at the Once Upon A Time In LA Festival. According to a report from Rolling Stone, A Los Angeles judge said in a key ruling Wednesday (January 11), that Drakeo‘s brother, Devante Caldwell, doesn’t have to show a “prior similar” attack happened at the Banc of California & Exposition, where the Once Upon A Time In LA Festival was held.
“The ruling represents the court’s recognition of Live Nation’s and the other defendants’ role in the injustice suffered by Drakeo, his family, and friends. We are one step closer to providing justice and closure to this horrific experience,” said Caldwell’s lawyer Jovan Blacknell.
Live Nation had previously claimed that state law held that the event corporation should be immunized from any liability in the backstage attack that resulted in Drakeo’s death. Their argument was that the attack was “unforeseeable” as no such events had ever previously taken place within the venue.
However, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Orozco ruled that Caldwell had presented enough facts for the court to move forward with the case.
“Although the occurrence of a mob/gang attack may have occurred for the first time, defendants may nevertheless be held liable if the facts show that the danger was foreseeable and/or preventable,” she wrote. “The fact that defendants knew security would be needed for the event supports the finding that the performing artists’ safety was a concern for defendants and foreseeable to defendants.”
If nothing else proves that the US justice system desperately needs to be reworked, it’s this not-so-fun fact: In the same week that Watts rapper 03 Greedo came home from a nearly five-year prison bid for nonviolent offenses, the trial against his closest stylistic analog, Atlanta rapper Young Thug, began in Fulton County. Thug faces a litany of charges but all of them stem from just one evidentiary example: Thug’s own lyrics, in which he shouts out his label/crew, YSL, which now stands accused of being a street gang by Georgia state authorities. They argue that Thugger’s shout-outs constitute evidence of his membership in that gang — and even his leadership thereof.
Now, I’m not going to argue that either man is innocent. We just don’t know enough to say whether or not they’ve done the things they were accused of. A jury was convinced by apparently compelling evidence that Greedo did; a jury will have to be convinced the same for Thug. But Greedo was given five years for possession of a firearm in a state that otherwise promotes its open-carry laws as an advantage over other states’ more restrictive gun laws. And there is no way that any artist should be brought up on charges of racketeering just for rapping about their life and their business. The Johnny Cash comparison has been belabored to the point of beating a dead horse, but let’s face it; he was never indicted for shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die because everyone seems to get that this event was merely a lyrical device.
This week, Greedo released his first post-prison mixtape, the aptly-titled Free 03, produced by Mike Free. Although the timeline of its recording remains unclear, it appears to have been recorded at least in part during the flurry of activity that saw the Watts style-switcher collaborate extensively with a variety of producers to ensure he’d have enough material to bear out his sentence (almost, but not quite; he pretty much ran out of pre-recorded projects midway through the pandemic with his last album Load It Up Vol. 01 with Ron-Ron dropping in 2020). At least some of it sounds like it was recorded over a prison phone, much like Greedo’s frequent collaborator Drakeo The Ruler did with his own post-incarceration mixtape Thank You For Using GTL.
In fact, Drakeo makes an appearance on Free 03, on the song “No Free Features.” It’s a truly heartwrenching moment as you realize this could well be the last time we hear the Watts-bred duo on a record together, as Drakeo was murdered in late 2021, just months after concluding his own years-long nightmare encounter with the criminal justice system. That Drakeo spent two of the final three years of his life fighting similar charges to those currently faced by Young Thug hammers home this harrowing connection. Drakeo was never even convicted of a crime and was, in fact, acquitted of the original charges against him only to have new charges filed and his bail denied.
In a similar fashion, Young Thug was locked up for the better part of a year before his trial began this week, during which time the state shrewdly used a home raid to connect enough evidence to at least make something stick. Those charges, mainly amounting to firearm possession, are eerily reminiscent of those that got Greedo sentenced to over four years in prison. And while the content of Free 03 necessarily does not address the charges against him or his time inside, it ends on a chilling rumination, “If I Die” — which is especially spooky when you consider that Drakeo did so less than a year after his own release.
While the quality of Free 03 belies its likely rushed production process — for what it’s worth, the latter half is better, finding Greedo employing the slippery vocals that had set him apart from so much of the LA underground before his sentencing — it also highlights just what these aggressive sentences really cost. The one commodity you can’t get back is time; whatever financial setbacks are caused by derailing artists’ careers with extensive prison time and trumped-up charges, the true loss is time: Time that they could be helping their communities, as Thug did when he paid bail for dozens of Fulton County inmates for the holidays two years ago, time that they could be giving opportunities to their friends and admirers to escape the constraints of street life (YSL Records, gang or not, employed dozens of rappers, singers, and producers who might otherwise be out there causing real harm), and time they could be inspiring the next generation of aspiring artists to skip the street life entirely.
The fact is, even violent offenders — which the state has yet to prove most of the artists it’s targeted really are — deserve chances to at least try to make amends. They are more of a net positive to society generating income, engaging in philanthropy, and offering imperfect role models to fans than they are languishing in cells at a cost to the state. Meanwhile, there are thousands of inmates currently incarcerated for nonviolent offenses who aren’t artists of whom the same could be said. We latch onto the artists because their fame makes them obvious examples, but really, their plight is just a microcosm of the one faced by thousands of ordinary citizens every day. 03 free, but the time has come to free us all from the trap our prison industrial complex has boxed us into.
It’s been nearly a year since Drakeo The Ruler was tragically stabbed to death in Los Angeles, and while his fans continue to miss the “Talk To Me” hitmaker, his estate is doing their part to ensure his legacy lives on with his first posthumous album.
Keep The Truth Alive arrived at midnight on Friday (September 30) featuring 18 new tracks – the majority of which find Drakeo handling the beat by himself, although Ralfy the Plug did join him for “Suicide Dawn” and “Stop Me.”
As The Fader notes, many tracks on the project consist of bite-sized songs and skits, but the late lyricist’s rhymes are as poignant as ever, leaving plenty of mysteries for listeners to unravel with each stream.
Stream Drakeo The Ruler’s Keep The Truth Alive below, and tap back in with HNHH later for more hip-hop music updates.
