( CNN ) -- The murder of rapper Dolla reverberated throughout the music industry on Tuesday as police sought a motive for the brazen killing . Rap artist Dolla was known as a nice guy who survived a rough childhood . The aspiring Southern hip-hop artist , whose real name was Roderick Anthony Burton II , was gunned down in the busy parking lot of the upscale Beverly Center mall in Los Angeles , California , on Monday afternoon . Police later arrested Aubrey Louis Berry , 23 , at Los Angeles International Airport , a Los Angeles Police statement said . No other details were given about Berry . The 21-year-old rapper was based in Atlanta , Georgia . He was in Los Angeles to work on his debut album . Those who knew him said that despite coming from a rough background , Burton was extremely gracious and polite . `` Everything with Dolla was 'please ' and 'thank you , ' `` said Ant Rich , manager of A & R for Jive Records , who discovered the rapper for the label when Burton was 17 and helped sign him a year later . `` The streets did not define him at all . He was bigger than that . '' Dolla was a protégé of singer Akon , who collaborated with him on his first single , `` Who the F -- - is That ? '' which also featured another high-profile artist , T-Pain . Another Dolla song , `` Feelin ' Myself , '' appeared on the soundtrack to the 2006 movie `` Step Up . '' According to his official MySpace page , Dolla was born in Chicago , Illinois , and his family relocated to Los Angeles soon after . He was 5 years old when he and his older sister , Divinity , witnessed their father committing suicide . After that incident , their mother moved the family to Atlanta , according to his biography . The Burton family released the following statement on Tuesday : . `` First and foremost we , the family , would like to thank everyone for all their kind thoughts and prayers . Furthermore , the family would like to note that rumored details of the shooting on popular Web/blog sites are false . `` Due to the circumstances of the situation , no other information will be released at this time . We are grateful for your continuous support and would be very appreciative if we could mourn this loss in private . `` Additionally , information released before and after this official statement are not confirmed nor should they be considered accurate . '' Rich said Dolla , who also did some modeling for P. Diddy 's Sean John label , loved his family deeply . He was the guy with the great smile who would do things like offer to pick up the bill after a meeting with music executives , Rich said . `` You would tell him 'Look Dolla , you do n't have to do that because we get reimbursed for this ' and he would say 'No , no you got it last time , let me , ' `` Rich said . `` The world lost a really good kid and he had the biggest heart . '' DeAngelo Jones books talent for BET and got to know Dolla after he performed at the network 's `` Spring Bling '' event last year . He said the artist was humbled and grateful for the success he was starting to find in the industry . `` That energy was what drew me to him , '' said Jones , who stayed in touch with Dolla after the show and often ran into him at other events . `` A lot of times there are negative associations that go along with being a rapper , but he was not at all what the image of a rapper is portrayed to be . '' Jones said he was at the Beverly Center only a short time before the shooting occurred . Jones said it was unfortunate that Dolla 's slaying is yet another incident that will link hip-hop with violence . `` Hip-hop gets such a bad rap , ever since the deaths of Biggie and Tupac , '' Jones said . `` [ Dolla ] just wanted to be successful , help other people and do the right thing . What 's so hard for me is to see where his life was heading , because he was definitely on the right course . '' Jerry Barrow , senior editor for The Urban Daily , a publication devoted to African-Americans in pop culture , noted that it was unfortunate that Dolla is finding mainstream recognition posthumously . `` With his modeling and his music , he did more before the age of 20 than many people do , '' Barrow said . `` It 's a shame that this is how many people are now discovering him and his music . '' Rashan Ali , a disc jockey with Atlanta 's Hot 107.9 radio station , said the city has a thriving hip-hop community . Her station , which plays hip-hop , often has its lobby filled with aspiring artists trying to get their music heard . With the success of Atlanta-based artists like rappers T.I. , Outkast , and Young Jeezy , more and more young people are drawn to the area to try and make the connections that will find them fame , Ali said . That Dolla was killed while pursuing his craft is especially sad , she said . `` [ Dolla ] was minding his business , in Los Angeles trying to record his music and this happens , '' Ali said . `` It 's horrific and now a mother has to bury her child . It 's senseless . ''
Those who knew rapper Dolla mourn his loss . The Los Angeles -based rapper was killed at Los Angeles International Airport in Atlanta . Family releases a statement asking for privacy to mourn . Dolla , whose real name was Jerry Barrow , was 2006 .