Burton was born in
Chicago on November 25, 1987, and grew up in
Atlanta. Burton had a twin brother who died at birth. When Burton was five, he and his sister witnessed their father commit suicide by shooting himself. He formed a rap group, Da Razkalz Cru, going by the name Bucklyte with Scrapp Deleon then known as Scrappy and SAS. They would later make up The Gang with a rapper named Streetz. They signed with
Elektra Records in 2003 and released the single "So Fly". "So Fly" did not bring the success that was desired and the group was dropped from the label soon after. That same year, he met
Akon and
P. Diddy, the latter of whom hired Burton as a model for his
Sean John line of clothes; Burton appeared on billboards for the clothing line and modeled across the United States. His song "Feelin' Myself" was featured on the
Step Up (Original Soundtrack) in 2006 and was a "bite" of the
Mac Dre song of the same name. He made his debut with the single "
Who the Fuck Is That?", which was his highest chart appearance, reaching #82 on the
Billboard Hot 100; the edited version substituted the profanity with "heck". His final appearance was in
Ciara's video for her single "
Never Ever". After recording a song called So Fly with fellow rapper,
T.I., a video was released on
YouTube with the artists together a week before his death. On October 20, 2008, he was arrested in Atlanta on weapons charges.
Death Burton flew to
Los Angeles to record the rest of his debut album, and he was shot on May 18, 2009, at approximately 3:10 pm by 23-year-old Aubrey Louis Berry. Burton was with Scrapp Deleon and his friend DJ Shabbazz when the incident occurred. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Later that evening, an armed Berry was detained at the
Los Angeles International Airport. Witnesses say he surrendered without a struggle. His bail was set at $5 million. Bail was subsequently lowered to $1 million by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Bork in late May. Berry claimed self-defense, but Burton's family disputed that; Burton family spokesman Dennis Byron stated that Berry traveled from Atlanta to Los Angeles with a firearm that was not licensed for use in California. This followed a prior altercation between the two men in an Atlanta nightclub on May 7, 2009, where Berry was beaten and kicked by a group of men including Burton. Berry's attorney, Howard Price, explained that Burton had threatened Mr. Berry at the Beverly Center restaurant. When Mr. Berry left, he saw Burton and two other men following him to his car, and after exchanging words with Burton, he believed Burton was reaching for a weapon. It was then that Mr. Berry shot him four times in self-defense, It was mentioned that Burton had ties to a West Los Angeles street gang known as the Mansfield Gangster
Crips. As the murder trial wrapped up before jury deliberation, the defendant's attorney, Howard Price, made much of Burton's
gangsta rap lyrics and videos with gang members to present the victim as a violent gang member and thug who attacked his client. Prosecutors countered that Burton's gang ties are irrelevant and that his music is simply entertainment and part of a culture where violence sells records. Burton's funeral was held on May 23 in the Word of Faith Love Center in the East Point neighborhood of Atlanta. The funeral was held in a
Muslim style, known as
Janazah. He was buried in Atlanta's
Westview Cemetery. Singer T-Pain paid homage to the late rapper by having a mural of Burton painted on the hood of his vintage car. Additionally, a YouTube video using the unreleased Dolla song "Georgia Nights" has been made as a tribute to him. ==Discography==