The mother of rapper Drakeo the Ruler has reached a settlement with Live Nation and several other companies over the fatal stabbing of her son backstage at the Once Upon a Time in L.A. music festival in December 2021. The terms were not disclosed in a notice filed with the court. The agreement is conditional, with dismissal contingent on “the satisfactory completion of specified terms to be performed within 45 days.”
Darrylene Corniel, administrator of her son’s estate, sued with claims that he died “at the hands of a violent mob that was allowed into what should have been a protected and secured area backstage.” The other companies involved in the settlement include C3 Presents, Contemporary Services Corporation, Black Tide Events, Bobby Dee Presents, and Hollywood Elite Security. Lawyers for both sides did not respond to requests for comment from Rolling Stone.
Remaining claims
Drakeo, whose legal name was Darrell Caldwell, was stabbed in the neck by an unidentified assailant shortly before he was scheduled to perform on December 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’s settlement does not resolve separate wrongful death claims brought on behalf of his son, Caiden Caldwell, by the child’s guardian, or related negligence claims brought by his brother, his bodyguard Alrick David Cooper III, and friends who were backstage that night. Those consolidated claims remain set for trial next month in Los Angeles.
No arrests have been reported in the killing. The California Highway Patrol took the lead on the homicide investigation because the stabbing occurred on state-owned property. In deposition testimony submitted in the civil case and first reported by the Los Angeles Times, Cooper claimed he saw rapper YG, whose legal name is Keenon Daequan Ray Jackson, “front and center” during the backstage brawl. Cooper testified that the man he identified as Jackson was wearing a face mask. Attempts to reach representatives for Jackson were unsuccessful. Jackson has not been identified by authorities as a suspect or person of interest in the killing.
Source: Rolling Stone Music
