LA Times: "Atlanta-based rapper Dolla Killed" (Snellville, Jersey: crime, lawyer)

[CaliDude1]

This situation is very sad and perplexing. The shooter follwed the guy to the Beverly Center and shot him. Then he went to the airport with a weapon on him with the intent of boarding a plane. The stupidity on the shooter's part cannot be understated.

First, the guy opens fire on a Monday afternoon (approx: 3:00 PM) at the Beverly Center. Anyone who knows that part of Beverly Hills knows that it is crawling with people at that time of day. Someone is BOUND to see you. Also, the traffic in that area is horrific at any time of the day. But on a Monday afternoon? Your car will get made by someone. Why? Because the traffic does not allow you to speed away fast enough. Second, the idiot goes to the airport with a firearm on him thinking he is actually going to get through? I'm not saying its impossible. But if he was dressed Hip Hop style then security had eyes on him as soon as he set foot into the terminal.

Either this guy was REALLY stupid, or the victim was set up. The stated sequence of events is mind blowing to me. I just can't believe this guy did something this senseless and dumb.

[CaliDude1]

The more I think about it, the shooter could NOT have been from Los Angeles. No one from LA who really knows the ins and outs of LA would have attempted something like that in that part of town at that time of day. My guess is the victim had beef with someone who followed him to California. I think the airport scuffle was a front.

Heck, LA Crips and Bloods are not dumb enough to attempt a drive by in the light of day in Beverly Hills. This guy had to be from out of town. I think there is a lot more to this story.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by vsmoove

Are you talking about the record labels?

That would be a start. Everyone who glorifies it (thugs, losers on the bottom end, people buying these albums and trying to emulate them, the record labels <----- AS much as I hate the whole frivolous lawsuit issues, I think a good lawsuit should cripple these promoters and that nonsense. They are exploiting these misguided kids/teens.

We cannot ignore the fact that young men who idolize these thugs wanna-bes are both instigators and victims (of their ignorance and surroundings, generational poverty, etc).
This issue is greater than a few posts. I needs more though. It goes beyond just the music, but the society who glorifies it. Sometimes, I can't blame people who decide to ignore it.

Really, when was the last time you heard 3rd Eye Blind have beef with BLink 182, in a shootout, or Marylin Manson fighting with The Killers?

...Sometimes, you just have to laugh it off..it will drive you crazy!!

[brownhornet]

A lot of ignorance floating around in this thread that I won't even indulge. I could point out a large number of just as ridiculous rock and country group names but why bother? That obviously had NOTHING to do with what happened but some just loved the opportunity to get their usual pot shots in. Ya know, I would love to have an in person gathering with everyone on this board to discuss issues such as these just to see if people had the same courage they do on the net.

[cityrover]

I quite love telling it to the face of people that certain "artists" "actors" "famous people" just plain suck. You make it sound as if its something nobody dares talk of "off the net". hilarious.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by brownhornet

A lot of ignorance floating around in this thread that I won't even indulge. I could point out a large number of just as ridiculous rock and country group names but why bother?

The fact is, you don't hear about Country stars walking around with posses and AK47s taking shots at each other, stabbing each other in parking lots, opening fire in night clubs, or chasing each other down in limos to try to kill each other.

Sure, you need to calculate for a while to figure out how many country stars have illegitimate kids in trailer parks with the moms being paid off to keep quite, hushed DUI convictions, and alcoholic moms hidden away in secret rehab homes to protect their reputations. But um... that doesn't get people killed.

The only thing that even comes CLOSE to the violence that many Rap stars seem to almost celebrate, are some heavy metal lyrics - but the singers and band members are so strung up on acid and LSD they pass out before they hit their dressing rooms, so they're no danger to anyone but themselves if they get hold of a gun and can figure out which direction to aim it (which usually winds up being at their own heads in a drunken/drugged stupor instead of at someone else) .

Sorry - that's just reality, not any kind of hidden agenda from folks. Maybe one day there will be a rash of Folk Singers who run the streets with semiautomatics taking each other out... but right now, that's not what's happening.

[MisterNY]

Hilarious post Greg, but you were on point. I was trying to convey a similar message (minus the funny details about Country singers and Heavy Metal artists).

Brownhornet,
You have to admit it, these guys call that negative attention on themselves. Nothing racist, or hateful about that fact.
Who are you going to blame, concerning Dolla's death?

It sure wasn't the L.A. PD, NYPD, the Klan, Skinheads, a Corporate guy in a suit (the man), or any covert gov't agency operation. While we don't know all the details about what sparked it, he was killed by whom you ask? I'll let you answer that question. Black or white, I call it as I see it..

Nothing racist here, brah..Just plain facts.

[PKCorey]

Rapper Dolla's family plans Saturday funeral in Atlanta | AccessAtlanta (http://www.accessatlanta.com/entertainment/content/entertainment/stories/2009/05/20/rapper_dolla_family.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_news tab - broken link)

Update:

Los Angeles Police said late Tuesday the killer of Atlanta rapper Dolla acted alone, though they wouldn’t confirm whether Monday’s shooting stemmed from a recent brawl at an Atlanta strip club.
Snellville resident Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, is being held on $1 million bail, charged with murdering Dolla, born Roderick Anthony Burton II, outside the Beverly Center Mall in West Hollywood, Calif., Monday afternoon.


Are you serious? Followed him all the way from here to LA because of a fight? SMH..idiots these days...

[AutumnRose]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

I'm still waiting for the rap supporters to show up saying "you can't blame rap as a whole for this- there are plenty of great rap artists who aren't thugs", which is what happens in every rap-related thread on here.

While that may be true, the outward appearance of the genre is constantly in the headlines with crap like this shooting, the film "Notorius", etc., so the public never gets to see the "other" side, which keeps it from being able to emerge from behind the garbage. It's a shame for any non-thug artists who end up getting held down because of this crap.

I listen to just mainstream pop type rap so I'm far from being a rap knowledgable. I didn't even know who Dolla was. It's ignorant to believe all rappers are like this. Look at Kanye, nothing like this but probably one of the most popular rappers out there. There is a wide range in types of rap, not just gansta type which you don't hardly see anymore at all.
It's like saying all rock groups are satan worshipers, sure that was the perception of some heavy metal type artists but it certainly wasn't true for the entire genre.

[SAAN]

This had nothing to do with rap culture, 2 people had a confrontation and the other was a complete idiot who shot him (who happen to be a rapper) in the head in broad daylight and tried to make a get away to the airport. This is no different than the typical evening news in which some punk gets mad after a scuffle and shoots the other person, just this time the other person happened to be a rap artist.