Los Angeles native Drakeo The Ruler, real name Darrell Caldwell, passed away on December 18, 2021, after being attacked by a mob of men during the Live Nation-geared Once Upon a Time Music Festival. The 28-year-old rapper was scheduled to perform that night, but the event was immediately shut down after the incident.
Drakeo’s brother, Devante Caldwell, filed a “wrongful death” suit against Live Nation in February, arguing that the rapper’s stabbing at the concert was an “unforeseeable” tragedy. Caldwell alluded to the idea that Live Nation’s “lackadaisical” security measures failed to keep his brother safe. The concert giant debunked those claims on Tuesday (July 19), stating that they are not “legally liable” for his death. According to Billboard, LN stated that a “mob attack is not the kind of thing that a concert promoter was legally required to have seen coming.”
Caldwell’s lawsuit pointed out that Live Nation should have spectated that South Central Los Angeles was a place “rife with gang activity and boasts one of the highest rates of violent crimes in the city.” Live Nation’s attorneys responded, saying, “Case law does not support the logic between imputing liability for prior similar incidents based on alleged conduct that occurred in the city surrounding the subject premises. Mere allegations of gang activity and associated general safety concerns in South Central Los Angeles should not be considered in determining foreseeability of the subject incident.”
Arguing that there was no evidence showing that similar attacks had taken place at the venue before, nor did Drakeo’s team “ask[ed] for additional security prior to the event,” LN said that there isn’t proof that they “disallowed” Drakeo to bring his own security force for extra safety.
Caldwell claimed that multiple incidents happened before the vicious final attack. He stated to his lawyers, “This second attack lasted far longer than the first — up to 10 minutes — and was more vicious.” Lawyers shared, “Throughout that time, Drakeo and his group fought for their lives against insurmountable odds, shocked and horrified at the fact that no security ever materialized to intervene.”
Live Nation is also being slammed with cases from Drakeo’s mother, Darrylene Corniel, and his son Caiden Caldwell. The event curating company will decide how it will deliver its arguments ahead of those cases, most likely pushing for dismissal as well.
Preceding his death, Drakeo The Ruler was on the cusp of becoming a fruitful artist. Having already released five projects since 2020, he had released the 17-track mixtape, The Truth Hurts, which included Drake and more. “Nah man this sh*t isn’t right for real wtf are we doing,” Drake wrote on his Instagram Story following the tragic news. “Always picked my spirit up with your energy RIP Drakeo.”
