Drakeo the Ruler’s Mom, Son Settle With Live Nation Over His Death

The mother and 9-year-old son of slain rapper Drakeo the Ruler have reached settlements with Live Nation and several other companies over the fatal stabbing of the rising hip-hop artist backstage at the Once Upon a Time in L.A. music festival in December 2021.

The terms of the settlements were not disclosed in separate notices filed with the court on Oct. 9 and Oct. 14. Both agreements were described as conditional, with final dismissals dependent on the “satisfactory completion” of unspecified terms. The language suggests that certain obligations remain outstanding, potentially including financial payments. Lawyers for the parties did not respond to requests for comment from Rolling Stone.

Darrylene Corniel, the administrator of her son’s estate, and Drakeo’s son, Caiden, who brought claims through his mother and court-appointed guardian, Tianna Purtue, alleged in separate lawsuits that the rapper was killed by “a violent mob” that gained access to a backstage area that should have been secured. The other companies involved in the new settlements include C3 Presents, Black Tide Events, Bobby Dee Presents, and Hollywood Elite Security.

“Caiden, Drakeos son, is very happy that Live Nation recognized that he and his father had a very close relationship,” Caiden’s lawyer, James Bryant, tells Rolling Stone. “He’s very happy with the resolution and is going to be able to move on with his life now. He appreciates that Live Nation took his claim seriously and resolved it in a way that worked out.”

The new settlements do not resolve separate negligence claims brought by the rapper’s brother, DeVante Caldwell; his bodyguard, Alrick David Cooper III; and several friends who were backstage that night. Those claims remain scheduled for trial Nov. 30 in Los Angeles.

Drakeo, whose legal name was Darrell Caldwell, was stabbed in the neck by an unidentified assailant shortly before he was scheduled to perform at the festival on Dec. 18, 2021, authorities previously said. He was backstage with his younger brother, Devante Caldwell, a rapper known as Ralfy the Plug, as well as a personal security guard and several members of his Stinc Team music collective.

Corniel previously told Rolling Stone that a crowd surrounded her son around the time that rival rapper YG arrived backstage. No arrests were made, and the investigation appeared to stall for years under the California Highway Patrol, which took the lead on the homicide because the stabbing occurred on state-owned property.

In July, CHP investigators executed a search warrant at a commercial property in Burbank in connection with the killing, a CHP source confirmed to Rolling Stone. The source said YG, whose legal name is Keenon Daequan Ray Jackson, was affiliated with the property and was detained during the search. Jackson was released, and there were no arrests, the source said.

In deposition testimony submitted in the civil case and first reported by the Los Angeles Times, Cooper claimed he saw Jackson “front and center” during the backstage brawl. Although the man he identified as Jackson was wearing a face mask, Cooper testified that he could see the man’s eyes and was confident of his identification.

“I was fighting YG and YG’s bodyguard. And then YG produced a knife from his left hand, like out of his left hand, like almost like a movie like it came out of his sleeve or something,” Cooper alleged in the deposition, according to a transcript obtained by Rolling Stone.

Attempts to reach representatives for Jackson were unsuccessful Wednesday. Jackson has not been identified by authorities as a suspect or person of interest in the killing.

This story was updated on Oct. 15 with the second notice of settlement filed by Caiden Caldwell