1/3/2023 0 Comments Drakeo the rulerA group of 40 or so people ambushed him one of them stabbed him to death. Sign up for the 10 to Hear newsletter here.Jeff Weiss on the life and death of Drakeo the Ruler : Bullseye with Jesse Thorn On December 18, 2021, the rapper Drakeo the Ruler was murdered backstage at a festival in Los Angeles, his hometown. Sometimes, there’s value in slowing down and basking in your own image.Ĭatch up every Saturday with 10 of our best-reviewed albums of the week. Ain’t That the Truth is a workmanlike album that will surely satisfy Stinc Team lifers, but Drakeo’s style isn’t conducive to the maximal release schedule of artists like Griselda or even his L.A. But, as he makes up for time lost in jail, he’s oversaturating the market and unwittingly diluting the appeal of his laid-back swagger. #DRAKEO THE RULER FREE#These songs crackle with personality and flair, and the album could’ve used more like them.ĭrakeo the Ruler, a newly free man with more eyes on him than ever before, has earned the right to drop as much music as he wants. California and Michigan connect again on standout “Should I Kill Him,” Drakeo and Detroit rapper Peezy feeding on each other’s paranoia as they bob and weave through producer Al B Smoov’s guitar licks. Kentucky upstart EST Gee shines on “Tricky Ball Play,” barreling through producer Fizzle’s twinkling piano keys. Drakeo’s brother and frequent collaborator Ralfy the Plug appears on five tracks, though none match the madcap menace of their recent collaborative project A Cold Day in Hell. Ain’t That the Truth is a 17-track, nearly hour-long release in a line of similarly lengthy recent releases, and the lesser cuts can’t help but bleed together in a sea of faceless ops and whispered chest-thumping.Ī handful of guests attempt to keep the momentum steady. Whenever a song leans too far toward the familiar, like “Flu Flam a Op” nearly does, Drakeo’s voice slinks through the synths and drums to find the perfect pocket to talk about a “silly op” who “wrestle shots like Vince McMahon.” Others, like “Boogieman” and penultimate track “She’s a Roller,” are vintage Drakeo to a fault, serviceable but hardly unique. Obscure slang (calling a gun clip a “stiffer”) and menacing threats delivered in his trademark raspy deadpan (“Oh, that’s your friend? You don’t care, start a GoFundMe”) are Drakeo’s stock-in-trade, and there are just enough new variations to keep things from sounding rehashed. district attorney claims he hid his guns before listing off his recent jewelry purchases. On “Way Before the Fame,” he reminisces about where the L.A. Opener “Just Dance” includes bars about disarming a perp while eating steak and lobster and drive-bys conducted in Rolls Royce sedans. Lyrically, he’s in the same headspace as he was on this February’s The Truth Hurts: Balancing his newer, more lavish lifestyle with the grislier one he’s always known. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it-Drakeo is as brooding and entertaining as ever, for the most part-but also little to distinguish it from the other four albums he’s released in the past eight months. For all the good energy his freedom has brought him, Drakeo’s latest, Ain’t That the Truth, is the first of his post-prison albums to yield diminishing returns. He’s also dropped five new full-lengths between then and now, an uncharacteristically prolific streak on the heels of his and producer JoogSZN’s excellent prison-recorded project Thank You For Using GTL. #DRAKEO THE RULER PROFESSIONAL#Songs with fellow Los Angeles up-and-comer Blxst, current Bay Area queen Saweetie, and professional wave rider Drake materialized quickly. Drakeo beat the case and has been out of jail since November 2020, and he’s wasted no time capitalizing on his growing profile.
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