UPDATED: February 26, 2022 ORIGINAL: January 28, 2022
(UPDATE) LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Drakeo the Ruler was stabbed to death backstage during a brawl at the “Once Upon a Time” festival held at the Banc of California Stadium on December 18. The family of said rapper (born Darrell Caldwell) announced on January 28 they would file a wrongful death lawsuit against the promoters of the Los Angeles music festival.
On February 5, Tianna Purtue – the mother of Drakeo’s 5-year old son, Caiden Caldwell, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Caiden’s behalf against Live Nation. The official filing comes less than a week after Drakeo’s family announced plans to do exactly that. The suit alleges Live Nation was “completely knowledgeable of the potential dangers posed to both their guests and the performers they hired based on numerous past incidents of violence and death at their hip-hop events.”
Complex reports that the lawsuit suggests that promoters “should have known” about Drakeo’s “very public feud” with gang members. Even though the suit claims Drakeo was “not and never has been a member of any gang,” he was “constantly being challenged by various gangs for his refusal to ‘choose’ a side.” The late rapper was also receiving pushback from members of the Bloods who were looking to “exact ‘street justice” after he was acquitted for the murder of someone associated with the group, the suit alleges.
Rolling Stone reports Purtue’s lawsuit is asking for $60M in damages.
On February 25, Drakeo’s brother, Ralfy The Plug (born Devante Caldwell) filed papers suing the promoters behind the festival, where his brother was murdered. The lawsuit, reported by TMZ, details the “violent mob attack” that took place after his brother’s arrival to the venue. Ralfy states that his brother made entry via a pair of checkpoints that he says were not secure enough.
Rolling Stone reports additional information, noting that the suit is from Ralfy and other Stinc Team* members. The involved parties in the suit allege that negligence by the promoters is to blame for Drakeo’s death and the “severe physical and emotional harm” they themselves faced. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles and names Live Nation, Snoop Dogg’s LLC, C3Presents, Bobby Dee Presents, and others.
The amount of damages requested in this suit were not disclosed.
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW:
LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Drakeo the Ruler was stabbed to death backstage during a brawl at the “Once Upon a Time” festival held at the Banc of California Stadium December 18. The family of said rapper (born Darrell Caldwell) has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the promoters of the Los Angeles music festival.
On Thursday during a press conference, the family released a video of men dressed in red assaulting the rapper and his small entourage moments before the stabbing took place. A group of men appear to swarm around Drakeo in the video as you see him fall to the ground. He was stabbed in the neck and rushed to a nearby hospital where he passed due to his injuries. The many men who participated in the killing remain elusive and at-large. The festival had several large names on the bill, including Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Cypress Hill, and 50 Cent. Snoop and 50 Cent opted not to take the stage after the fatal incident occurred.
Attorney for the family, James Bryant said, “Mr. Caldwell was essentially lynched by over 40 to 60 people, and as you also saw, Mr. Caldwell had no security. That video ran for a full minute, and you didn’t see one security officer there. The video you saw was one of the last few moments of Darrell Caldwell’s life.”
The lawyers also discussed Drakeo’s past with law enforcement and how the promoters were aware of the potential danger. They pointed out that Drakeo was found not guilty in a murder and attempted murder case which involved gang members. Since the 2019 acquittal, they allege there have been threats made against the rapper’s life. “Even where a person is proven innocent, he’s exonerated, there is fallout from that and that was known to all of the promoters,” attorney Kellen Davis remarked. The attorney commented the lack of security backstage led to the fight and the subsequent murder. “This would never have happened if those promoters had the proper security protocol. The world lost an amazing artist, a beautiful human being, a father”, said Bryant.
The attorneys concluded by saying that on Monday they will officially file the wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against the promoters. As of press time, no statement has been received in response to the lawsuit announcement.
