Earlier this week (Jan. 27) the family of LA rapper, Drakeo The Ruler held a press conference to discuss a pending lawsuit. Drakeo, also known as Darrell Caldwell, was fatally stabbed in the neck at the Once Upon a Time festival last month (Dec.19). The murder, which took place backstage, is still shrouded in mystery as no arrests have been made. Now, the promoters of the event are under great scrutiny from both fans and family of the slain West Coast star.
The family speaks out
James Bryant, a partner of The Cochran Firm in California, opened the conference with a video from the attack. while the video of men fighting and yelling doesn’t show anything explicit, it does display a stunning lack of security at the event.
“Mr. Caldwell was essentially lynched by 40 to 60 people,” Bryant said after the conclusion of the video. “Live Nation, C3 Presents, Bobby Dee Presents, and a whole host of others failed Mr. Caldwell and his family.”
The family’s attorneys specifically cite the lack of security presence as the direct cause of the rapper’s demise. The Once Upon a Time festival is an annual music event with high-profile names like Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and The Game on the roster. This makes the absence of security all the more confusing on the promoters part.
Tianna Purdue, Caldwell’s long-time girlfriend and mother of his 5-year-old son, gave an emotional testimony. “It’s been hard, it’s been a real tragedy for us.” She began. “How did these people get through? How did they get access backstage to an artist?”
Whos really to blame?
Live Nation, being one of the largest conglomerates in the music industry, seemed to catch the most heat. The company is already in some hot water for the infamous Travis Scott concert from last year (Nov.5). That tragic event in Houston resulted in 10 deaths and hundreds of injuries. In addition to the fallout from that situation, the Caldwell family is suing Live Nation and a slew of other promoters for $20 million dollars.
Near the end of the conference, Bryant spoke on a possible motive for the crime. “There was enough in the media to know that after Drakeo had beat his case there were certain elements that were targeting him, that is clear.” He finished with a damning analysis of the aftermath of the violent video footage. “You saw an entire video for one minute. And during that entire minute, you never see a yellow jacket, you never see a law enforcement officer, you see no one.”
“It isn’t until, and there are some disturbing videos out there when Drakeo is laying on the ground finally being helped by EMT, it’s not until then[…]several minutes after the incident occurred that law enforcement and EMT showed up to save his life.”
As of now, Live Nation and the other promoters of the event have made no statement regarding the lawsuit.
The organizers of Once Upon a Time issued the following statement: “Once Upon a Time in LA joins Drakeo’s family, friends, and fans in grieving his loss. The festival is continuing to support local authorities in their investigation as they pursue the facts.”
As the Caldwell family continues to grieve, this reopens the discussion of safety at concerts and festivals. It’s becoming more and more clear that safety measures at large social gatherings are being downplayed for profit. The question is, what can the public do about it? And how far is too far before things change?
You can watch the full press conference below:
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Dreema Carrington|IG @dr3amgirl79|Twitter @notdreema
