Just three weeks removed from a years-long stint at Men’s Central Jail, South Central rapper Drakeo The Ruler is free and already back to work. His new album, We Know The Truth, was released on his birthday and features an unbowed Drakeo returning to his tried-and-true formula of boastful, imaginative rhymes over bass-heavy, hyperactive beats. We Know The Truth is Drakeo’s second album of 2020 after he released the defiant Thank You For Using GTL this summer, recorded on jail phones.
Drakeo was released from Men’s Central after being offered a plea deal for time served in his case. He was accused of criminal gang conspiracy and shooting from a motor vehicle despite being cleared of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder charges in July 2019. Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey refiled the more recent charges, prompting Drakeo and his supporters to call the case a personal vendetta against him. However, with the election of a new DA, George Gascón, Drakeo was given the deal that led to his release just a day after the election.
In an interview with NPR, Drakeo posited the reason for Lacey’s animus. “I was successful and I was from the streets. They don’t like to see someone like me make it, it goes against how they operate. For someone like me to get out of the streets, it just goes against everything that they stand for.”
We Know The Truth is out now. Check it out above.