Written By: Oliver Heffron
Ralfy The Plug pays tribute to his late brother Drakeo, The Ruler, with a stellar performance on Pastor Ralfy 2. Combing the distinctive “nervous music” sound of past Stinc Team projects and a wider range of instrumental styles with a determined, meticulously smooth, and perseverent MC, Ralfy’s new project proves himself a talented artist in his own right, one ready to carry the family legacy and continue the movement his brother started.
Ralfy's brother Drakeo, the Ruler, started one of the most unique, coveted, and exciting movements that LA’s underground rap scene had seen in years. Just as he blew up, Drakeo entered a three-year legal battle for his life. Drakeo was arrested in January of 2017, leading to a string of suspicious arrests and incarcerations that would keep Drakeo behind bars until November of 2020, when a new DA finally dropped the unjust charges. Tragically, it was only 13 months later that Drakeo, the Ruler was brutally assassinated by a mob of more than one hundred assailants backstage during the Once Upon a Time in LA Festival at Banc of California Stadium. The endless questions about how such a gruesome and public attack could have occurred without a hindrance have fallen on chillingly deaf ears as the LAPD’s investigation appears to be stalled.
The project’s opening track, “The Truth Hurts,” commemorates and laments the tragedy of Drakeo’s passing while establishing Ralfy’s commanding yet effortless flow, lyrics biting at external injustices and celebrating an internal ethicism forged by independent morality. Ralfy teams up with his brother on “Who Car We Using (feat. Drakeo the Ruler),” a classic example of Stinc Team’s late-night, anxious sound. “Kudos (feat. Cash Kidd)” utilizes deep, watery, and melody samples and Ralfy’s slithering flow to create a unique, infectious vibe somewhere between head-bopping and dancing. “Ralfy” presents the rapper’s self-portrait as an extremely driven, singularly focused, and misunderstood artist ready to commit himself entirely to his music.
Drakeo, the Ruler’s death is inconsolable, unjust, and heartbreaking to a fanbase who watched him overcome the worst of this country’s judicial system, only to be murdered as a free man. Ralfy The Plug’s triumphant Pastor Ralfy 2 is a powerful display of a brother picking up the torch and persevering to deliver a project which uplifts and reminds those fans that Drakeo, The Ruler lives on through his movement and his family.