Drakeo security guard says YG brandished knife during fatal backstage brawl
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Set us as preferred A former security guard for Drakeo the Ruler testified under oath that he saw rapper YG produce a knife and slash it toward him during the 2021 backstage fight in which Drakeo was fatally stabbed, according to recently obtained deposition excerpts.Alrick Cooper III, who was part of Drakeo’s security detail at the Once Upon a Time in L.A.festival, said YG was “front and center” during the Dec.
18, 2021, brawl and was one of three men he saw carrying what appeared to be short, improvised knives.He said YG, whose real name is Keenon Jackson, was wearing a ski mask, but he recognized the rapper’s hazel eyes as he tried to protect Drakeo, whose legal name was Darrell Caldwell Jr.
Representatives for YG did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The excerpts come from Cooper’s March 19, 2025, deposition, which surfaced last month in a court filing by attorneys representing Drakeo’s family in a civil lawsuit against festival organizers and security contractors.It adds more context to the fight after law enforcement investigating the killing searched a Burbank property and detained YG in the process on Thursday.The California Highway Patrol, with help from the Burbank Police Department’s SWAT team, briefly detained YG while officers searched the property.
He was released after the search and was not arrested.Music Live Nation has been repeatedly accused of failing to follow industry protocols for keeping concertgoers and performers safe, according to a Times review.YG has repeatedly denied involvement in Drakeo’s death.
On his June 2026 song “We Know the Truth,” he rejected allegations connecting him to the killing and said he learned after arriving to perform at the festival that someone had been stabbed.A CHP spokesperson said the agency “cannot comment as this is an ongoing and...