Drakeo The Ruler (real name Darell Caldwell) is reportedly dead after being stabbed in the neck during the Once Upon A Time In L.A. Festival at Exposition Park on Saturday night (December 18). The West Coast rapper was initially in critical condition at a nearby hospital, but TMZ reports he has since succumb to his injury.
According to the Los Angeles Times, public information officer for the Los Angeles Fire Department Margaret Stewart said paramedics responded to a call about a stabbing around 8:40 p.m. local time and one person was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
A source with direct knowledge of the incident confirmed Drakeo The Ruler was “attacked by a group of people at the music festival and seriously injured.”
Media update: There has been an incident at the Once Upon A Time in LA festival at the Banc of California. The festival has concluded early. LAPD will be in the area assisting CHP w/ the investigation. Media staging is on the South Lawn at Bill Robertson south of Exposition.
— LAPD PIO (@LAPDPIO) December 19, 2021
Media update: There has been an incident at the Once Upon A Time in LA festival at the Banc of California. The festival has concluded early. LAPD will be in the area assisting CHP w/ the investigation. Media staging is on the South Lawn at Bill Robertson south of Exposition.
— LAPD PIO (@LAPDPIO) December 19, 2021
The organizers of the festival swiftly shut the event down after the fight erupted backstage. As premature rumors of Drakeo The Ruler’s death circulated on Twitter, the festival issued a statement via Instagram, saying, “The Once Upon A Time In LA Fest is ending early. All performances are now over. Please head to the closest exit and head eastbound on MLK.”
Drakeo The Ruler was scheduled to perform alongside dozens of acts, including Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, The Game, Cypress Hill, Ice Cube and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Snoop Dogg was expected to take the main stage at 8:30 p.m. but was running late. By 9:20 p.m., police had swarmed the backstage area and the show was over.
The tragic news comes just weeks after the California native dropped off a new project, So Cold I Do Em 2. “There was an altercation in the roadway backstage. Out of respect for those involved and in coordination with local authorities, artists and organizers decided not to move forward with remaining sets so the festival was ended an hour early,” a Live Nation spokesperson confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.
