Dolla, R.I.P.

The Atlanta-based MC Dolla, born Roderick Anthony Burton II, was shot and killed at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon while in the mall’s valet center. Dolla was in Los Angeles to work on his first album, which was going to be released by the Akon-founded record label Konvict Musik. He’d started performing when he was 12 and had bounced around the business before signing with Konvict, and his downtempo track “Heartbreak Collision” showed a fair amount of promise:

Burton, 21, arrived at LAX from Atlanta earlier in the day and went to the Beverly Center to shop, Vannasing said. After the shooting, Burton was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center a few blocks from the mall, where he died, police said. The LAPD has not announced a motive for the attack or identified any suspects. Detectives are questioning a woman they detained at the scene and a man who allegedly drove from the mall to LAX in a rented silver Mercedes SUV. About an hour after the shooting, the LAPD issued a bulletin for a 20-year-old man considered a “person of interest” in the shooting. Los Angeles Airport Police officers spotted a man fitting the description in the ticketing lobby of Terminal 1. “The suspect was detained without incident [and] discovered to be armed,” said Los Angeles World Airports spokeswoman Nancy Castles. Police later found the Mercedes in an airport parking lot. LAPD officials, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because of the continuing inquiry, said they are investigating whether the man was trying to get a flight out of L.A.

The MC had signed up for a Twitter account shortly before he was shot, allowing for a virtual wake of sorts to gather on the microblogging service. Dolla was 21. Rapper Dolla shot, killed at Beverly Center [LAT] Dolla [MySpace] Dolla – Heartbreak Collision [YouTube]