US rapper Drakeo the Ruler has died after being stabbed at a music festival in Los Angeles.
The 28-year-old Californian, whose real name was Darrell Caldwell,, had been scheduled to perform at the Once Upon a Time in LA festival on Saturday night.
His publicist, Scott Jawson, confirmed his death to several US media outlets on Sunday. There is a police investigation surrounding the circumstances of his death, but no arrests had been made yet, said Officer Luis Garcia, an LAPD spokesman.
"Detectives are still trying to figure things out," he said.
Drakeo the Ruler was best known for collaborating with Canadian rapper Drake on the single Talk to Me and had had over 1.5million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Festival promoter Live Nation confirmed in a statement that there was an "altercation in the roadway backstage" at the event.
"Out of respect for those involved and in co-ordination with local authorities, artists and organisers decided not to move forward with remaining sets so the festival was ended an hour early.
Snoop Dogg who was also scheduled to perform at the festival paid tribute on social media telling his followers that he was "praying for peace".
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/m8n6Bq2KJC
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) December 19, 2021
Drake also paid tribute writing on Instagram: "Always picked my spirit up with your energy. RIP Drakeo"
In a post on Twitter, LA writer Jeff Weiss called him the "greatest west coast artist of a generation, a legend who invented a new rap language of slippery cadences, nervous rhythms, and psychedelic slang".
Drakeo the Ruler first released mixtapes in 2015 and his debut album The Truth Hurts was released in February.
He was released from jail in November 2020 after ragreeing a deal with prosecutors who wanted to try him on conspiracy charges over the killing of a man in 2016.
He had previously been acquitted of felony murder and attempted murder in the case.
