n the varied landscape of rap, Drakeo the Ruler might be a relative unknown, but his story stands out. His new mixtape, Thank You for Using GTL, was recorded entirely from prison using a crackly phone line and a lot of ingenuity. Acquitted of murder in July 2019 but still facing a life sentence after charges for criminal gang conspiracy and shooting from a motor vehicle were refiled against him, Drakeo remains incarcerated without a formal conviction. At a time when the likes of Kim Kardashian and Jay-Z are giving the case for criminal justice reform more legitimacy, Drakeo’s legal woes are emblematic of a system that activists argue is desperate need of repair. The rapper, born Darrell Caldwell, has been a mainstay in the LA underground since 2015, releasing a slew of mixtapes turning rugged tales of street life into vivid poetry. Despite being in and out of jail since 2017, his hunger to create has never wavered. He and his go-to producer, JoogSZN, took advantage of the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail’s phone service, GTL, to craft their latest opus. “We was like: ‘Fuck it, we might as well do it,’” Joog tells me on the phone. “I was all for it. It was a very new experience – that was the first time I recorded in that way.” Combining Drakeo’s crackly, (literally) phoned-in vocals with Joog’s gritty G-funk soundscapes, Thank You for Using GTL is an all-too real insight into the murky milieu of prison life, with Drakeo’s vocals serving as a reminder of his perilous legal situation. The mixtape was made quickly, an intense 36-hour recording process assisted greatly by Joog’s improvised recording techniques. “I had a Beats By Dre pill connected to the phone and the phone was connected to the computer to record in,” Joog explains. “I created a loop for him, and he was able to hear the beat at the same time as he was recording. I just needed to mess with the clarity of his voice a lot more.” The technique meant that, unlike on Gucci Mane’s Burrrprint (2) HD, which was partially recorded in prison, Drakeo was able to rap on the beat, avoiding the more stilted alternative of the producer having to chop up the vocals afterwards. The difficulty of making Drakeo’s vocals clearer would be solved by his engineer, Navin, allowing the rapper’s lyrics to maintain their weighty punch. The result of their painstaking detail is defiance personified in song. Rappers incarcerated is not an unfamiliar story, and Drakeo joins the likes of Gucci Mane and Mac Dre on the list of artists whose stars have burned brighter in spite of imprisonment. But Drakeo’s ingenuity in the face of an uncertain future may be the most endearing out of this famous class. Thank You for Using GTL proves that the west coast rapper’s rise will not be denied.