Drakeo the Ruler's Mother Settles With Live Nation Over Backstage Killing

By Marcus Bennett

Darrylene Corniel, the mother of slain rapper Drakeo the Ruler, has settled her wrongful death claims against Live Nation and five other companies over her son's fatal backstage stabbing at the Once Upon a Time in L.A. festival on December 18, 2021.

The settlement terms were not disclosed in the court notice. The agreement was described as conditional, with dismissal contingent on "the satisfactory completion of specified terms to be performed within 45 days." That language points to obligations still outstanding, potentially including a payment. Lawyers for both sides did not respond to requests for comment from Rolling Stone.

Corniel, administrator of her son's estate, sued on the claim that he died "at the hands of a violent mob that was allowed into what should have been a protected and secured area backstage at the music festival." The settling companies include Live Nation, C3 Presents, Contemporary Services Corporation, Black Tide Events, Bobby Dee Presents and Hollywood Elite Security.

What happened backstage?

Drakeo, whose legal name was Darrell Caldwell, was stabbed in the neck by an unidentified assailant shortly before he was scheduled to perform, authorities said. He was backstage with his younger brother, Devante Caldwell — the rapper known as Ralfy the Plug — a personal security guard and several members of his Stinc Team collective.

Corniel previously told Rolling Stone that a crowd surrounded her son around the time rival rapper YG arrived backstage. No arrests were ever made. The investigation stalled for years under the California Highway Patrol, which led the homicide case because the stabbing occurred on state-owned property.

In July, CHP investigators executed a search warrant at a commercial property in Burbank connected to the killing. A CHP source confirmed to Rolling Stone that YG, whose legal name is Keenon Daequan Ray Jackson, was affiliated with the property and detained during the search. Jackson was released. There were no arrests.

What does the new testimony allege?

Deposition testimony submitted in the civil case, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, has placed Jackson at the center of the events. Bodyguard Alrick David Cooper III claimed he saw Jackson "front and center" during the backstage brawl. The man wore a face mask, but Cooper testified he could see his eyes and was confident of the identification.

Cooper's account, in a transcript obtained by Rolling Stone, is graphic and specific: "I was fighting YG and YG's bodyguard. And then YG produced a knife from his left hand, like out of his left hand, like almost like a movie like it came out of his sleeve or something."

Attempts to reach representatives for Jackson were unsuccessful Wednesday. Authorities have not identified Jackson as a suspect or a person of interest in the killing.

What remains unresolved?

The settlement covers only Corniel's claims. It does not resolve separate wrongful death claims brought on behalf of Drakeo's young son, Caiden Caldwell, by the child's guardian. Nor does it resolve negligence claims brought by Devante Caldwell, Cooper and friends who were backstage that night. Those consolidated claims remain set for trial next month in Los Angeles.

Whatever the undisclosed sum, Corniel's agreement establishes accountability from the festival's corporate operators while the criminal case stays cold — and next month's trial will test whether a jury draws the same line from an unsecured backstage area to a rapper's death.