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Another one bites the dust
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Date Posted: Tuesday, May 19, 2009, 01:15:01am
Dolla, a rapping protege of hip-hop artist Akon, was fatally shot in the head Monday near a valet stand outside an upscale mall, his publicist said. No arrests were made, but police were questioning a man found hours later with a gun in the ticketing area of the Los Angeles International Airport.
Dolla, whose real name is Roderick Burton II, was shot at the Beverly Center near West Hollywood and Beverly Hills after an argument with the gunman, his publicist Sue Vannasing told the Los Angeles Times. Police and coroner's officials have not confirmed the victim's identity.
Police said the man detained at the airport remained in custody late Monday for questioning. He is believed to have dropped off a rental car before he was found at the airport with a handgun, said airport police spokesman Sgt. Jim Holcomb.
"As the officers approached the suspect, they asked him 'Do you know why we're here?"' Holcomb told The Associated Press. "He put his (hands) up in the air and said, 'Yes, I've got a gun in my waistband. Don't shoot me."'
Police recovered a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun and turned the 20-year-old man over to Los Angeles police.
Vannasing said the Atlanta-based Burton and another rapper, D.J. Shabbazz, were waiting at the valet stand after shopping when an argument broke out with another group and Burton was shot.
Police Sgt. Ronnie Crump said the other people with the gunman were persons of interest, though no arrests had been made. It was not clear how many people were with the gunman or what the argument was about.
Burton worked on the soundtrack for the 2006 dance film "Step Up" and recently released two singles with Akon: "Like This" and "She So Fine." His MySpace page, which put his age at 20, said he once modeled for Diddy's Sean John clothing line and was signed to Jive and Elektra record labels.
Burton was working on his second album, "A Dolla and a Dream," which was due to be released on Akon's Konvict Muzik label. A song with T-Pain was titled "Who in the (Expletive) Is That?"
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."
A media contact listed on the rapper's MySpace page did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.
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