Jeff Weiss on the life and death of Drakeo the Ruler
Podcast:Bullseye with Jesse Thorn Published On: Fri Mar 18 2022 Description: On December 18, 2021, the rapper Drakeo the Ruler was murdered backstage at a festival in Los Angeles, his hometown. A group of 40 or so people ambushed him; one of them stabbed him to death. Drakeo was a young, rising rapper. Critics respected him and rap fans streamed his music millions of times. He was an LA gangsta rapper whose music didn't sound like what you'd think when you hear "LA gangsta rap" – it's subdued and anxious, less about the barbecue with your pals and more about looking over your shoulder. Jeff Weiss, the music writer, first covered Drakeo the Ruler in 2017, and they forged a friendship. Weiss also witnessed Drakeo's murder. We invited Weiss to our studio in Los Angeles to talk about Drakeo's music, what it meant to the broader hip-hop community, and his life and death. As a warning: there's going to be some discussion about violence, along with crime. If you or someone you're listening with is sensitive to that, we wanted to give you a heads up. To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy