Drakeo security guard says YG brandished knife during fatal backstage brawl

Key Points:

• Alrick Cooper III, a former security guard for Drakeo the Ruler, testified that he saw rapper YG produce a knife and slash it toward him during the 2021 backstage fight where Drakeo was fatally stabbed.
• Cooper identified YG, wearing a ski mask but recognizable by his eyes and demeanor, as "front and center" in the brawl and one of three men carrying improvised knives, describing the weapon as a silver blade about three to four inches long.
• The fight involved 20 to 25 people backstage, with festival security allegedly trapping Drakeo’s group by closing exit gates, allowing attackers to swarm and fatally stab Drakeo before police intervened.
• YG was briefly detained during a police search of a Burbank property but was released without arrest; he has denied involvement in Drakeo’s death and is not named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed by Drakeo’s family against festival organizers and security firms.
• The case continues with upcoming court hearings on motions to dismiss filed by Bobby Dee Presents and Live Nation, scheduled to begin on August 13.