Dolla

Roderick Anthony Burton II (November 25,1987^[1] – May 18, 2009) better known by his stage name Dolla, was an American model and rapper. Burton began his music career in 2000 with rap group Da Razkalz Cru under the stage name Bucklyte. The group quickly disbanded, so Burton worked as a model for the Sean John clothing line. In 2007, Burton signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik label and used the stage name Dolla for his releases. Dolla released three singles from 2007 to 2009. One of them, "Who the Fuck is That?" (featuring T-Pain), charted on the Billboard Hot 100. On May 18, 2009, Dolla was shot to death in Los Angeles, and Aubrey Louis Berry was arrested for his murder.

Biography

Burton was born in Chicago and grew up in Los Angeles and Atlanta.^[2] He formed a rap group, Da Razkalz Cru, going by the name Bucklyte who signed with Elektra Records in 2003 and released the single "So Fly".^[3] "So Fly" did not bring the success that was desired and the group was dropped from the label soon after. That same year, he met Akon and P. Diddy, the latter of whom hired Burton as a model for his Sean John line of clothes; Burton appeared on billboards for the clothing line and modeled across the United States.^[3] Under the stage name Dolla, Burton signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik label in May 2007.^[4] His song "Feelin' Myself" was featured on the Step Up soundtrack in 2006 and was a "bite" of the Mac Dre song of the same name.^[5] Additionally, with DJ Nappy Wilson, Dolla recorded The Beatdown Mixtape in 2006.^[3]

He made his debut with the single "Who the Fuck Is That?", which was his biggest hit, reaching #82 on the Billboard Hot 100; the edited version substituted the profanity with "heck".^[3] He followed his debut single up with a second single "I'm Fucked Up" in the summer of 2008, also an edited version was released using the substitution of the word "tore" replacing "fucked". A third single, entitled "Make a Toast", produced by General Geezy, was then officially released on November 4, 2008. It has peaked at #42 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song "Make a Toast" was released again with the feature of Lil Wayne. ^[6] The last appearance the rapper made was in Ciara's video for her single "Never Ever".

Death

P.F. Chang's at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles, 2008.

Dolla flew to Los Angeles to record the rest of his debut album, and he was shot on May 18, 2009 at approximately 3:10 pm. He was waiting in the Beverly Center's VIP valet parking and auto detailing lounge area behind P. F. Chang's China Bistro along with his brother Scrapp Deleon and friend DJ Shabbazz when the incident occurred. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.^[7] Later that evening, an armed 23-year-old male, Aubrey Louis Berry, was detained at the Los Angeles International Airport. Witnesses say he surrendered without a struggle. His bail was set at $5 million because he was determined to be a flight risk.^[8] Bail was subsequently lowered to $2.1 million by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Bork in late May. ^[9] Berry claimed self-defense, but Dolla's family disputed that; Burton family spokesman Dennis Byron stated that Berry traveled from Atlanta to Los Angeles with a firearm that was not licensed for use in California. ^[10] Mr. Price Berry's lawyer said that Dolla threatened Mr. Berry at the restaurant at the Beverly Center, and after Mr. Berry left, he noticed that Dolla and two other men were following him to his car and he thought that Dolla was reaching to get a weapon. It was then that Mr. Berry shot him several times in the back, Dolla then later died from a bullet wound that pierced his heart. ^[11] Burton was known to have ties to a West LA street gang called the Mansfield Gangster Crips to which he had a tattoo of on his right hand ^[12]. On May 22, Berry was charged with murder and assault, although he pleaded not guilty.^[13]

Dolla's funeral was held May 23 in the Word of Faith Love Center in the East Point neighborhood of Atlanta.^[14] The funeral was held in a Muslim style, known as Janazah.^[15] He was buried in Atlanta's Westview Cemetery.^[16] Singer T-Pain recently paid homage to the slain rapper by having a mural of Dolla painted on the hood of his vintage car.^[17] Additionally, a YouTube video using unreleased Dolla song "Georgia Nights" has been made as a tribute to him.^[18] Jay Rock sends his prayers and condolences out to Dolla's family and states that these kinds of acts have to stop.^[19] Fall Out Boy's music video for, "What a Catch, Donnie" was dedicated to Dolla. Rapper "Franchise" has paid homage to the late rapper on the mixtape Cater To The Streets titled "In da Hood". Tyga also dedicated a song to Dolla called "RIP Dolla" which is a bonus track on his mixtape The Potential.

Discography

Albums

• A Dolla and a Dream (unreleased)

Singles

Mixtapes

• 2008: Another Day Another Dolla
• 2009: Sextapes: The Art Of Seduction
• 2009: Cater to the Streets In da Hood a remake of Make a Toast by Franchise
• 2009: The MisEducation of Dolla Bill

References

External links

• Dolla at MySpace
• Obituary in the L.A. Times
• Aubrey Berry, 23, in custody facing murder charges by Alex Alonso, StreetGangs.com