We at Audible Treats stand in solidarity with the protesters across the country who seek justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. As a company, we are developing a concrete plan of action to combat the deleterious effects of systemic racism and police brutality. Currently, our team members are donating to just causes, marching in the streets, speaking out in public and private, and further educating ourselves about America’s racist past and present so that we are better equipped to call out injustice when we recognize it.
We take our role seriously as a conduit for amplifying voices and stories that tend to be ignored by the mainstream media. As for our day-to-day work of publicizing our artists and their stories, we’re working closely with them to find a balance between their need for artistic expression and their solidarity with the protest movement.
There is strength in numbers. Here is a resource that lists ways you can take action: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
No justice, no peace. Black Lives Matter.
“8.5, Best New Music…Recorded in jail over a crackly phone line, Drakeo’s mesmerizing album is a remarkable feat: a stark rebuke of the justice system and an unparalleled achievement for a rapper and his producer.” – Pitchfork
“The most urgent rap album of 2020? Drakeo the Ruler just phoned it in from jail.” – Washington Post
“Character building is an important part of rap that doesn’t get talked about enough. Rappers are storytellers and their stories have characters — the strength of their writing and their songs depends on how well they craft these characters. In Drakeo The Ruler’s songs, he’s the only character that really matters: the Maison Margiela-wearing protaganist, mud-walking into Neiman Marcus and flu-flamming through the streets of Los Angeles.” – The FADER
“In the brief span since regaining his freedom, the 24-year-old christened Darrell Caldwell has already recorded and released a 16-song mixtape, Cold Devil, with more than 7.5-million SoundCloud listens, headlined a sold-out show at the Observatory in Orange County and been hailed as the most original West Coast stylist in decades — that is if one can unravel his absurdly singular slanguage, cadences and cosmology.” – L.A. Times
“An ascendent star in his native Los Angeles, whose 2017 album Cold Devil is one of the decade’s most striking rap records” – Vulture
“Drakeo’s music is an exercise in restraint and matter-of-factness. Employing an icy monotone, Drakeo embeds his lyrics with seldom-seen subtext while delivering death threats with an alarming nonchalance and an off-kilter flow.” – XXL
He’s embroiled in a legal struggle that throws the inequities of the criminal justice apparatus into stark relief, but L.A. rapper Drakeo The Ruler refuses to let the system take away his voice. Fighting back against the racist system, Drakeo shares Thank You For Using GTL, his new album, recorded over the phone from Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles.
Though the rapper was acquitted of charges last summer after a long and grueling trial, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office took advantage of a hung jury to declare a re-trial, effectively imprisoning Drakeo for crimes for which he was already cleared. The 26-year-old artist and his family are bearing the brunt of a legal vendetta, aimed at silencing the voice of an influential figure in the city’s rap scene.
“My message to fans is that I’ll be out soon,” says Drakeo. “I’m not guilty and I’ll keep putting music out till out I’m out. I’m going to always be myself regardless of the situation I’m in. I’m just going to get better and better. I got so many imitators–they’re cool and all that, but they’re not me .I hear people trying to lower the bar of what’s cool or acceptable in rap music. Just because I’m in jail, I’m not gonna lower the bar. I don’t do what everybody else does.”
Recorded over a period of two weeks (and 36 total hours) with the assistance of Drakeo’s close friend and producer JOOGSZN, Thank You For Using GTL proves that the rapper spent his time inside sharpening his pen, biding his time and waiting for the chance to treat the public to the conceptual, witty, and effortlessly fly songs for which he’s known.
His first full project of new material since 2017’s rapturously acclaimed Cold Devil, Thank You For Using GTL re-establishes The Ruler as one of rap music’s most innovative stylists. With his signature behind-the-beat and soft-spoken snarl, Drakeo slings his slang, laments the loss of his favorite department stores, and takes aim at snitches and fakes. Featuring appearances from ALLBLACK, Rio Da Young OG, Lil 9, and JOOGSZN, who produced the tape’s tracks and contributes a verse, Thank You For Using GTL is available everywhere.
“I plugged my phone into my computer when Drakeo called, and we recorded all the tracks over a period of 36 hours,” says JOOGSZN, producer and project architect. “His aunt put money on the phone so we could do this album. Some lyrics were off the top, some were written. We planned create a tape before he went to jail and I held onto some of the beats intended for that time. I would preview the beats over the phone, Drakeo would pick which ones match for each song. My set up was super simple. I propped my laptop up on a cereal box, hooked up a Beats Pill directed at the phone so Drakeo could hear the beat as he rapped and I had the phone line recording directly into my landline so I could get the cleanest audio possible.”
As he continues to fight for his freedom from a L.A. legal system that holds a grudge, the Foreign Whip Crasher has kept his name in the headlines. Earlier this year, Drakeo dropped a torrent of remixes, recruiting the likes of Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown, OhGeesy, Lil Yachty, and others to put a new spin on career highlights like “Ion Rap Beef,” “Out The Slums,“ and“Flu Flamming.“ In March, Drakeo shared Free Drakeo, a compilation of loose singles and unreleased material with appearances from 03 Greedo, Maxo Kream, SOB X RBE, Rio Da Young OG, Desto Dubb, and more.
“Don’t think you can be charged for the same thing as me,” says Drakeo. “They’re doing it to me. How many regular people do you think they’re going to do this to?”
Read about Drakeo’s continuing legal struggle in The Guardian, Genius, The FADER, Dazed Digital, and Tablet Mag.
Buy/Stream Thank You For Using GTL: https://empire.ffm.to/thankyouforusinggtl
If you want to send Drakeo a message, use the below address:
Darrell Caldwell
5198096
Terminal Annex
PO Box 86164
Los Angeles, CA 90086-0164
Donate to The Marshall Project, an organization dedicated to exposing and fighting malfeasance in the criminal justice system: https://www.themarshallproject.org/donate
Donate to George Gascon, candidate for L.A. District Attorney and primary opponent of current D.A. Jackie Lacey.
Drakeo The Ruler & JOOGSZN – Thank You For Using GTL tracklist:
Please contact Michelle or Erin for more info.
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Thank You For Using GTL: https://empire.ffm.to/thankyouforusinggtl
“Backflip Or Sumn”: https://empire.ffm.to/backfliporsumn / https://youtu.be/toAkIGcNKZk
“GTAIV”: https://empire.ffm.to/gtaiv
“Betchua” (Freestyle): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BdmxGyS4ds
Free Drakeo: https://open.spotify.com/album/5uY0270CjyUtlCOvWJlvvO?si=OsskAOsaQj6R5RCYHXYoag
“Ion Rap Beef” (Remix) ft. Earl Sweatshirt & 03 Greedo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WGeofLZAS4
“Out The Slums” (Remix) ft. Danny Brown & 03 Greedo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZyWah6bA5I
“Flu Flamming” (Remix) ft. Lil Yachty & OhGeesy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ClUUVkfZEg