Influential L A. rapper Drakeo the Ruler is killed at 28 Los Angeles Times
Drakeo’s music wasn’t just about the streets—it was about survival, resilience, and the ability to overcome insurmountable odds. Despite his early passing, his legacy endures through his impactful body of work and the countless artists he influenced. His contribution to the rap game remains undeniable, and his name will forever be synonymous with the sound and spirit of Los Angeles street rap. He recorded his vocals for “Thank You For Using GTL” via telephone while at Men’s Central Jail in L.A., the title a sly yet bleak allusion to the company that connects phone services in jail.
The 50 Best Albums of 2020
The tape got Drakeo more attention than ever before and introduced slang he had created—“flu flamming,” “uchies,” “Pippy Long Stockin”—to a wider national audience while elevating the profile of his Stinc crew. Rappers like Lil Yachty and Shy Glizzy soon co-signed Drakeo’s music and added their own spins to it. Drakeo the Ruler, born Darrell Wayne Campbell, was raised by a single mother in the gang-heavy Hundreds section of South Central L.A. He was caught up in petty crime in the troubled neighborhood from a young age, landing in jail before he’d even turned 13. As so many from his hometown had done before, Campbell and his brother Devante turned to rapping as a way to escape the punitive cycle of the streets, inspired by artists like Boosie and Webbie, the Hot Boyz, and the battle rapper Cocky.
But his rap success arrived at a difficult time in his young life. Until last year, he was on trial in connection with the killing of a 24-year-old man in 2016. Drakeo had faced a potential life sentence on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Drakeo was later acquitted, but prosecutors sought to retry him on conspiracy charges. He entered a plea deal and was released from prison in November 2020.
Police searching for assailant who fatally stabbed Drakeo the Ruler at concert
- Drakeo the Ruler, born Darrell Wayne Campbell, was raised by a single mother in the gang-heavy Hundreds section of South Central L.A. He was caught up in petty crime in the troubled neighborhood from a young age, landing in jail before he’d even turned 13.
- Drakeo the Ruler, whose surrealist slang made him one of the most original stylists in Los Angeles hip-hop, died Sunday morning from injuries after a stabbing at the Once Upon a Time in L.A.
- The LAPD, like several city police departments, has long been notorious for brutality, corruption, outsize targeting of Black Americans, and a conspicuous lack of care when it comes to rapper-related cases.
- His first mixtape, I Am Mr Mosely, was released in 2015 and pioneered a jerky, polyrhythmic sound he called “nervous music”.
- Los Angeles police are investigating, but told reporters no arrests had been made as of Sunday morning.
Drakeo the Ruler, whose surrealist slang made him one of the most original stylists in Los Angeles hip-hop, died Sunday morning from injuries after a stabbing at the Once Upon a Time in L.A. “My condolences go out to the family and loved ones of Draeko the Ruler,” he said. The festival’s promoter, Live Nation, confirmed that there was an “altercation in the roadway backstage” at the event, which was also scheduled to include performances from rappers 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg. August Brown covers pop music, the music industry and nightlife policy at the Los Angeles Times. Hip-hop artist Drakeo the Ruler was attacked by a group of people at a concert in L.A.
The album, in which Drakeo’s voice comes through on a staticky phone line punctuated with the company’s automated messages, was hailed as one of the great pieces of art ever made behind bars. The rapper, born Darrell Caldwell, was raised in South L.A. And attended Washington High in the Westmont neighborhood. He quickly developed an idiosyncratic but evocative palette of lyrics. Drakeo called it “nervous music” for good reason — his music drips with paranoia, but opens up to a rich inner world. In a post on Twitter, LA writer Jeff Weiss called Drakeo the “greatest west coast artist of a generation, a legend who invented a new rap language of slippery cadences, nervous rhythms, and psychedelic slang”.
Latest Music
Writing on Twitter, external, Snoop Dogg said he had been “in my dressing room when I was informed about the incident and chose to immediately leave the festival grounds”. The artist was reportedly stabbed during an altercation backstage around the time he had been due to perform. His publicist confirmed his death to several US media outlets on Sunday morning.
Drakeo the Ruler and Ralfy the Plug Share New Project A Cold Day in Hell: Listen
I gotta look around and watch my back from police and these other people out here,” he told the Times in 2018. I can’t be driving around in $100,000 cars on the run, listening to soft-ass music.”Drakeo released his most recent studio album, “The Truth Hurts,” in February, with cameos from superstar Drake and Don Toliver. His most recent mixtape, “So Cold I Do Em 2,” came out on Dec. 7. Before his untimely death at the age of 28 in December 2021, Drakeo the Ruler was indisputably the voice of Los Angeles street rap. His chilling, almost eerie rap style set him apart from his contemporaries, blending menacing lyricism with a conversational delivery that was both hypnotic and intimidating. Drakeo’s signature “ransom-call whisper” became a defining element of his sound, drawing listeners in with its unique cadence and stark emotional restraint.
And later died from his injuries, a source has told The Times. In an interview with The Ringer, external shortly after his release, Drakeo said his aspiration was to “get my mom and everybody that I can take care of out of poverty”. After spending much of his youth in correctional facilities, he was drawn to music as a way of escaping the pitfalls of street life. “Feels like we lost a rapper every week this year. There was a time when we were protected in the community, we were treated as super heroes. Not no more.” “Out of respect for those involved and in co-ordination with local authorities, artists and organisers decided not to move forward with remaining sets so the festival was ended an hour early,” it said.
And yet this trend of untimely death, sadly, does not seem to be abating anytime soon. His lyrics alluded to an omnipresent sense of danger around him. “Don’t be shy, I got killers with me, stupid / I march with sticks, I ain’t worried ‘bout no groupies,” he rapped on “Talk To Me,” his biggest single to date, with over 32 million Spotify plays. “They know who we are cause of our fame but we don’t know who they are because of our fame,” he wrote in an Instagram post, external. “Always picked my spirit up with your energy. RIP Drakeo,” Drake wrote on his Instagram stories early on Sunday.
- “Don’t be shy, I got killers with me, stupid / I march with sticks, I ain’t worried ‘bout no groupies,” he rapped on “Talk To Me,” his biggest single to date, with over 32 million Spotify plays.
- But as the Stinc Team was coming up, the city it came from kept up attempts to persecute its members.
- Drakeo was an idiosyncratic rapper who also got caught up in a Byzantine legal case that had him in jail for more than 34 months.
- Despite his early passing, his legacy endures through his impactful body of work and the countless artists he influenced.
Drakeo the Ruler, who helped define the sound of L.A. hip-hop, dead at 28 in stabbing
In January 2017, the LAPD raided the condo where Drakeo and the Stinc Team had shot some music videos and arrested the crew, nabbing the Ruler on alleged weapons charges. Drakeo maintained his innocence, but he was kept behind bars for 11 months, missing the birth of his first son. However, he snuck a phone into his cell and kept promoting himself and the Stinc Team, keeping him in the mind of loyal Angeleno fans. After being released that November, he went on a 10-day recording spurt, culminating in the masterful 16-track album Cold Devil.
Drakeo’s reign as the voice of Los Angeles was marked by frequent periods of incarceration, yet it was during these times that his creative output became even more prolific. His breakthrough project, Cold Devil, was recorded during a brief 10-day window of freedom following a nearly year-long stint in jail. Despite his legal battles, Drakeo continued to release music that resonated deeply with his growing fanbase, embodying the struggles and complexities of his life in the streets. It was a jolt across the rap world, to his friends and children, to fans who loved his already-influential work and had rallied to free him from the system.
Get Dough” to widespread attention, signed the young upstart to his 10 Summers label, and featured Drakeo on that label’s first compilation mixtape. A few months after those features, Drakeo released his official debut mixtape under 10 Summers, titled I Am Mr. Mosley. By the time he released that tape’s sequel in 2016, he’d established the rap collective Stinc Team with Devante—who assumed the stage name Ralfy the Plug—along with their cousin Rassy Bugatti, as well as other rappers from their area. After he was acquitted of felony murder and attempted murder charges, county prosecutors sought to retry Drakeo on conspiracy charges related to the slaying. Caldwell ultimately accepted a plea deal and was released in November 2020.
The rapper Drakeo the Ruler was a fast-rising star of hip-hop until he was fatally stabbed on Saturday backstage at a Los Angeles music festival where he was scheduled to perform. Drakeo was an idiosyncratic rapper who also got caught up in a Byzantine legal case that had him in jail for more than 34 months. Drakeo was ultimately victim of both circumstance and a criminal justice system that had it out for rappers like him. The LAPD, like several city police departments, has long been notorious for brutality, corruption, outsize targeting of Black Americans, and a conspicuous lack of care when it comes to rapper-related cases.
With these projects, Drakeo had made his name in the L.A. His gravel-voiced, mumbly, tongue- and rhythm-twisting flows conveyed his sharp storytelling skills, replete with hilarious punchlines, creative slang, and nonstop shit-talking. His style quickly became iconic in the area, and within no time Drakeo had multiple imitators as well as collaborations with regional heavyweights like Mozzy. But as the Stinc Team was coming up, the city it came from kept up attempts to persecute its members.
Cops targeted the street corner where the late Nipsey Hussle owned his clothing store, and that the police consistently harassed passersby who came through. Thanks to a massive, dedicated fan base willing to organize against the prosecutors who were keeping him bound, Drakeo was gracefully able to flee L.A. County’s wrath, an outcome still out of reach for too many other unjustly incarcerated Americans.
Drakeo the Ruler had more than 1.5m monthly listeners on Spotify, and collaborated with Canadian rapper Drake on the single Talk to Me. Los Angeles police are investigating, but told reporters no arrests had been made as of Sunday morning. The 28-year-old, whose real name was Darrell Caldwell, had been scheduled https://chicken-road-game-download.com/ to perform at the Once Upon a Time in LA festival on Saturday night. Rapper Drakeo the Ruler, killed backstage at a Los Angeles concert on Dec. 19, overcame significant legal troubles to achieve renown with his distinctive flow and idiosyncratic wordplay.
Drakeo the Ruler’s Son Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Live Nation
Just like after his previous release from prison, Drakeo used the moment to dive straight into recording, dropping the tape We Know the Truth in December 2020. Throughout 2021, he kept up his prolific clip, with a studio album, The Truth Hurts, in February, along with two more tapes in July and December, respectively. This string of releases showcased both the development of Drakeo’s style and his increased prominence; stars like Drake and Sean Kingston joined Stinc members as features on various songs. US rapper Drakeo the Ruler has died after being stabbed at a music festival in Los Angeles. His first mixtape, I Am Mr Mosely, was released in 2015 and pioneered a jerky, polyrhythmic sound he called “nervous music”. When those ties proved nonexistent, prosecutors combed Drakeo’s music for menacing gestures and proximity to weapons.
Leave a Reply