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Police charge man with Decatur rapper’s murder
by Jonathan Cribbs
jonathan@dekalbchamp.com
 Los Angeles police charged a Snellville man with the May 18 murder of up-and-coming Decatur rapper Dolla, who was shot in the head outside a Beverly Hills shopping center in broad daylight.
Police charged Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, who was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport with a gun and held on a $1 million bail. Police believe the 21-year-old rapper was involved in an altercation before the shooting, which occurred at about 3 p.m. The shooting rattled nearby restaurant patrons who dove for cover when shots rang out.
Police have not said Berry’s motive. Dolla, whose birth name is Roderick Anthony Burton II, was shot at the mall’s valet stand after several hours of shopping at the upscale mall. He died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Dolla, a protégé of fellow Atlanta hip-hop artist Akon, worked on the soundtrack for the 2006 dance movie Step Up and recently released two songs with Akon: Like This and She So Fine. Dolla was “an incredible artist,” Akon’s Konvict Entertainment said in a May 19 statement.
“This is a senseless crime and the industry has lost a real talent. Our heart goes out to his family, friends and fans,” the statement said.
Dolla’s MySpace page said he once modeled for hip-hop mogul P. Diddy’s Sean John clothing line and was signed to Jive and Elektra record labels. Dolla was working on his second album, A Dolla and a Dream, which was due to be released on Akon’s Konvict Muzik label.
On one of his songs, Rainy Nights, Burton seemed to foreshadow his own death: “Papa died at 25 so he must have been great, they say the good die young, I guess I’m on my way.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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