The family of slain rapper Dolla will celebrate his 22nd birthday today (November 25th) with the release of a brand new mixtape titled The Miseducation of Dolla.
Dollar, born Roderick Anthony Burton II, was gunned down in front of the Beverly Center on May 18th 2009.
Just hours after the shooting, police arrested Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, as he attempted to flee California via a flight from Los Angeles Airport, back to his hometown of Atlanta.
“Just a few hours before the incident, I spoke to my son and he was on his way home catching a flight out. I stay close to the airport, so he used to stop by,” Dolla’s mother Dawnee Robinson exclusively told AllHipHop.com. “He told me what he wanted for dinner. He wanted some yellow rice, cabbage and chicken wings. So I went to the store and made sure I had everything. So when I got the call, I was cooking his dinner.”
While numerous reports have made references to Dolla’s alleged ties to the Crips street gang, Dolla’s mother denied those claims and said her son was simply into Hip-Hop music.
“He’s always been inquisitive and ambitious and wanted to know everything about everything,” Ms. Robinson told AllHipHop.com. “[He] read everything in sight. Asked a lot of questions and he’s always been, you know just a light. I’m so blessed Allah chose me to be his mother.”
While Dolla’s music may have reflected the street life, his mother claimed he was an aspiring rapper who was trying to fulfill his dreams through music and modeling, when he was murdered in cold blood.
“My son was always working, always in the studio,” Robinson revealed. “He spent a lot of time at home with us when he wasn’t on the road. So you know, whatever caused this person to murder my son, I’m still in total disbelief and can’t understand what would, provoke anyone to do something like,” an upset Robinson stated.
Dolla started rapping at the age of 11 and after a short lived deal with Dreamworks, he was signed to Akon’s Konvict Muzic record label in 2007.
Akon made a cameo appearance on Dolla’s biggest single “Who the F**k is That,” which also featured Florida producer/rapper T-Pain.
The rapper was in Los Angeles recording material for his debut album for the label, when he was shot and killed near the V.I.P.valet parking area of the Beverly Center.
“He was finishing his album and mixing his mixtape. It was also his girlfriend’s 23rd birthday that lived in Los Angeles, but she goes to school at Clark [Clark-Atlanta University]. So he was killing three birds with one stone. Mixing, finishing up his music and enjoying her birthday weekend. So that’s why he was there.”
Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, is charged with murder and assault. He claimed that he acted out of self defense after Dolla and his crew threatened him in the Beverly Center.
The former promoter from Atlanta is being held on $2 million dollars bail for his role in the murder and has pled not guilty to the charge.
Sources told AllHipHop.com that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Berry for the murder of Dolla.
While Dolla’s mother expressed grief over the fact the two young men had lost their lives, she did state that she wanted to see justice pursued to the full extent of the law.
“Hey, all I know is that is not OK to go around shooting and killing people,” Robinson told AllHipHop.com. “That’s not what I believe in. That’s not what my son believed in and I feel that anyone who is so bold to take another life, for no apparent reason, I feel that they should be prosecuted with full extent of the law and that’s how I feel.”
Dolla’s new mixtape The Miseducation of Dolla hit the internet today, along with two previously unreleased tracks, “Ghetto Prayer” featuring J. Valentine and “Gonna Be Alright.”
“His legacy is a great one,” Robinson stated. “I believe that you know in due time you know Bu [Akon’s brother/business partner], Akon and Damian Jackson, Dolla’s manager and mentor will make the step t put things out really soon. The mixtape came out today on his birthday as a free download. We just want him to heard.”