Drakeo the Ruler

Drakeo the Ruler was a rapper from Los Angeles, California, born December 1, 1993, and one of the most influential voices in West Coast underground rap of the late 2010s. He helped pioneer a hypnotic, off-kilter style sometimes labeled «nervous music», built on stuttering flows, dry wit, and a deliberately understated delivery over minimal, eerie production, which made him a defining figure of LA's street rap scene alongside collaborators and affiliates in his Stinc Team crew.

His rise was interrupted when a murder case left him incarcerated for roughly two years without a conviction; charges were ultimately dropped in 2020, and he returned with the acclaimed «We Know the Truth». Even while detained, his influence on the sound of Los Angeles rap continued to spread through mixtapes and word of mouth, and his eventual release was treated as a major moment for the scene. In February 2021 he released «Talk To Me», a long-anticipated collaboration with Drake, reflecting how far his reputation had reached beyond the underground.

Drakeo was fatally stabbed backstage at the Once Upon A Time in LA festival in Los Angeles on December 18, 2021, and died the following day. His death was widely mourned across the rap industry, and he is remembered as one of the most original and imitated stylists to emerge from West Coast hip-hop in his generation.