Photo Credit: Drakeo the Ruler TwitterDrakeo the Ruler’s family is suing Live Nation over the rapper’s backstage murder for lax security.
The 28-year-old rapper, real name Darrell Caldwell, was mobbed by a gang of men who stabbed him to death. The family released a video of men dressed in red assaulting the rapper before the stabbing took place. Drakeo was slated to perform at the Once Upon a Time music festival in Los Angeles on December 18.
A group of men swarm around Drakeo the Ruler in the video, who falls to the ground as the men assault him. Drakeo was then stabbed in the neck and rushed to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The many men who participated in the killing remain at large.
“Mr. Caldwell was essentially lynched by over 40 to 60 people, and as you also saw, Mr. Caldwell had no security,” the family’s lawyer James Bryant said in a statement. “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.”
According to the family’s lawyer, Drakeo the Ruler was only allowed to have eight people backstage with him.
When the rapper arrived, a fight broke out and dozens of men dressed in red flowed backstage. Drakeo was then allegedly corralled by the mob with no security personnel around to help. “It should have never happened,” Bryan says.
“The concert Once Upon a Time in Los Angeles had 50 of the most iconic music artists in the industry, but you also knew there could be an element of danger. You had Bloods. You had Crips and affiliations amongst them. We all know those groups don’t go together.”
The family’s attorneys allege that Live nation, Bobby Dee Presents, and C3 Presents did not hire enough security for such a high-profile event. “This would have never happened if those promoters had had the proper security protocol. This was a preventable death,” Bryant adds. The lawsuit will be filed next week against the promoters and is seeking upwards of $20 million in damages.
