Drakeo The Ruler’s Estate Reaches Settlement In Live Nation Battle

Drakeo The Ruler‘s estate reached a conditional settlement with Live Nation, TMZ reported. Financial details weren’t specified.

The family’s fight over backstage safety had stretched for years after the Los Angeles rapper was fatally stabbed at the Once Upon A Time in LA festival. He was 28 when he was attacked behind the main stage on December 18, 2021, and later died at a hospital.

On December 20, 2021, his mother, Darrylene Corniel, told Rolling Stone that venue security had failed her son.

“This happened backstage at an event. Someone has to be held accountable,” Corniel said.

She told the outlet that witnesses had described a large crowd overwhelming the small group that accompanied her sons. His brother, Ralfy The Plug, had tried to protect him, she said.

Corniel also described being unable to hug or kiss her son at the hospital. She had to see him through a window because his death was being treated as a homicide.

“I will not rest until justice is served,” she said in that interview.

Separate complaints followed from his mother, brother and son. In January 2023, Rolling Stone reported that Judge Yolanda Orozco allowed his brother and members of their Stinc Team collective to pursue claims against Live Nation and other defendants.

They alleged that vehicle searches were inadequate, guards were absent from the backstage VIP area, and nobody stopped the attack. Their claims included negligence, unsafe premises and emotional distress.

Live Nation argued that the attack was unforeseeable because no similar incident had occurred at the venue. Orozco ruled that the absence of a prior attack did not automatically bar their claims.

Judge James I. Montgomery had denied the estate’s request for financial records from Live Nation Worldwide and C3 Presents. Its lawyers argued that they had shown a strong likelihood of winning punitive damages, but Montgomery was not persuaded.

The promoters’ lawyers denied intentional wrongdoing. They said they hired a specialist to assess risks, plan security and coordinate vendors and law enforcement.