S. Samuel
Hip-Hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has offered his condolences after learning of 21 year-old Roderick "Dolla" Burton's shooting death, which took place Monday (May 18) afternoon in California.
Keeping his words brief, Puff sent a reminder to all fans about the value of life via Twitter.
“RIP Dolla,” Diddy wrote unmodified. “God bless his family! He was a good kid! You will be missed player. Don’t take life for granted people!” (Diddy’s Twitter)
Young Money’s Jae Millz also shared his reaction to learning of Dolla’s passing.
“This is not a joke,” Millz wrote unmodified. “RIP to the homie Dolla from Konvict Music! I just heard he had an unfortunate incident last night. SMH…RIP my G! I need to smoke something, sh*t is crazy. In the mist of all the jokes, one ounce of bad news could fu#k up 5 kilos of laughter!! RIP DOLLA.” (Jae Millz’s Twitter)
A man accused of killing the Atlanta-based rapper was arrested shortly after the fatal shooting took place.
A Georgia man has been arrested for investigation of murder in the fatal shooting of Dolla. Los Angeles police said in a statement Tuesday that 23-year-old Aubrey Louis Berry of Georgia was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport with a gun on Monday night. His bail was set at $1 million. (Fox News)
While an arrest has been made, more suspects may also be charged.
Dolla’s publicist Sue Vannasing said the rapper was involved in an altercation before the shooting with an unidentified man and woman who followed him to the mall. Police recovered a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun and turned the man over to Los Angeles police. Los Angeles Police spokeswoman Karen Rayner said two other persons of interest one male, one female who were with Berry at the airport were being questioned but neither has been charged in connection with the shooting. They were detained before attempting to board a plane out of Los Angeles International Airport, about 10 miles away from the Beverly Center. (Atlanta-Journal Constitution)
Dolla had built connections within the industry amonst the likes of both Diddy and Akon.
Atlanta rapper Dolla played talent shows and showcases as a member of Da Razkalz Cru. They released the 2003 single “So Fly” on the major-label imprint Elektra, but it went nowhere and the band was dropped from the label that same year. In the end, the best thing that would happen to Dolla as he was hanging with Razkalz was meeting both Akon, who was producing for the label, and Diddy, who would take Dolla under his wing not as a rapper, but as a model. (All Music Guide)
