Drakeo the Ruler Estate Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit With Live Nation Over LA Festival Stabbing
Drakeo the Ruler estate settled its wrongful death lawsuit vs Live Nation and festival companies over the Dec 2021 Once Upon A Time In LA backstage stabbing. Terms private; 45-day conditions. Trial had been set Nov 30. TMZ obtained legal docs Oct 14.
Drakeo the Ruler's estate has settled its wrongful death lawsuit against Live Nation and other companies tied to the 2021 Once Upon A Time In LA festival — nearly five years after the Los Angeles rapper was fatally stabbed backstage.
According to legal documents obtained by TMZ (published Oct. 14, 2026, 8:20 a.m. PDT), the estate reached an agreement with Live Nation, Hollywood Elite Security, Inc., Black Tide Events, LLC, and other companies. Settlement terms are not public. The filing states the deal is conditioned on completing certain terms within 45 days of signing.
Drakeo (Darrell Caldwell), 28, was stabbed during a backstage altercation at the Once Upon A Time In LA festival at Exposition Park on Dec. 18, 2021, and later died at a hospital. His brother filed the civil suit in 2022, arguing promoters failed to keep the backstage area safe and describing security as "lackadaisical to totally absent." Plaintiffs have included Drakeo's mother Darrylene Corniel and his minor son. Other named defendants in the broader case have included C3 Presents, Bobby Dee Presents Inc., Jeff Shuman, and USC.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge had recently denied the estate's bid to force Live Nation and C3 Presents to turn over financial records for punitive-damages discovery (AllHipHop / MyNewsLA / Patch coverage of Judge James I. Montgomery's Sept. 2026 ruling). Civil trial had been scheduled for Nov. 30, 2026.
Hip-hop desks including Kurrco and OnThinIce amplified the TMZ settlement report the morning of Oct. 14. No dollar figure has been disclosed. The settlement resolves the civil claims against the named companies; it is not a criminal verdict about who stabbed Drakeo.
Sources: TMZ Staff (Oct. 14, 2026, legal docs obtained); Kurrco / OnThinIce (Oct. 14 amplification); prior case context AllHipHop, MyNewsLA / City News Service, Patch (Sept. 2026 discovery ruling). Photo: Scott Dudelson / Getty Images via Hot97 (Rolling Loud Los Angeles, Dec. 12, 2021).