Dawnee Robinson outside Los Angeles Superior Court
Photo credit: Maya Myers
As the trial of Aubrey Louis Berry is underway in Los Angeles Superior Court Dept. 102, the mother of the slain rapper took some time to sit down with HHE to discuss her tragic loss but also had a message for her son’s killer. Dawnee Robinson speaks on how she has been able to cope with the loss as well as her quest to keep her son’s dream alive.
HHE: I just can’t imagine what you’re going through right now. It must be really difficult. What would you like us to know about your son?
DR: That he’s amazing and I’m proud and lucky that God chose me to be his mother.
HHE: What do you think is going on here [in the trial]?
DR: It’s a difficult process to get to the truth and prove that this person [Berry] ended my son’s life for no good reason; just no good reason. And at that time he also ruined his. The whole situation is just tragic. It’s horrible.
HHE: What happened exactly?
DR: There was a prior altercation at a club and apparently Aubrey Berry must have held some kind of grudge and somehow ended up in Los Angeles the same time my son was there working and celebrating his girlfriend’s birthday, and [Berry] shot him in the back at the Beverly Center.
HHE: Where were you living?
DR: We’re in Atlanta. The whole family lives in Atlanta with the exception of my dad who lives in Nashville.
HHE:When was the last time you talked to your son?
DR: A few hours before he passed.
HHE: And he was genuinely excited and enthused about his music career?
DR: Oh definitely. Everything was awesome, just great.
HHE: His girlfriend seems so sweet.
DR: She’s a beautiful person. She’s my daughter and I’ll love her forever.
HHE: How are you holding up?
DR: We’re all doing better. Though our faith and prayer and reflecting on who [Roderick] is and what he would want us to do we’ve been pushing through and we’re making it.
HHE: Do you have other children?|
DR: Yes, I have two other daughters. I have four grandchildren.
HHE: You don’t look like a grandmother.
DR: Thank you. My youngest baby just had twin girls.
HHE: What are you hoping will be the outcome of this trial
DR: I’m hoping that Berry will spend the rest of his life behind bars and hopefully he’ll learn something about himself and be able to let other people know and be an example that that’s not the choice you make. That’s what my hope is. That through this tragedy and the loss of my son that this young man could possibly, later on, lead as an example of what not to do. There was a time when I hated. I just hated, but I prayed that away and God just let me know that he’ll take care of it. He’ll take care of everything.
HHE: Who is your prosecutor?
DR: Bobby Grace is the prosecutor on the case and he’s an awesome guy. He has a great understanding of the law. He’s an ethical person and I’m just very blessed that we have him on this case, and he’s going to see to it that the right thing happens.
HHE: How long ago was it since your son’s murder?
DR: May 18, 2009 so it’s almost been a year. The last time I saw my son was Mother’s Day of last year, and back here for this.
HHE: My heart goes out to you. I’m so sorry. Is there anything you’d like us to know about Roderick?
DR: I’m really sad that he couldn’t go on to the next chapter because great things were in store and not just with his career but his personal and spiritual life was blossoming and growing so much. We are in the process of trying to open a school. One of my son’s idols was Andre Agassi and Andre opened a Charter School for dyslexic children.
HHE: Was your son dyslexic?
DR: No. He just wanted to open a school for poor kids in the community where they could go to a Charter School and learn how to be entrepreneurs and be self-sufficient and learn about nutrition and economy; things that are deprived of the poor communities. He even wanted to offer a clothing bank and a barbershop for the parents so that parents could get clothing and a haircut for a job interview. He loved people and read everything in sight. He wanted to change the things he read in the newspaper and felt that his celebrity would allow him to and that his spiritual self would guide him through that. I’m so proud of that and I’m not going to let that fail. So we’re working with an attorney to figure out how we can start a foundation and get the Charter going. We recently opened up a barbeque restaurant in Atlanta.
HHE: What’s it called?
DR: Bucc’s Barbeque. We named it after my son. That was his wish for me. He was going to surprise me with my own restaurant.
HHE: Is that his nickname, “Bucc?”
DR: Yes. It came from when he was this group called “The Rascals” with his cousins his name was Bucc Light so Bucc just stuck, but I call him “Roddy.” We opened the restaurant in a tribute to him and it keeps us busy and we’re going to prosper and grow the business in his memory.
HHE: Have any other rappers expressed an interest in helping with the foundation?
T.I. (my son was quite a fan) and he expressed interest once he gets settled. DJ Quik is very interested and Akon, and Convict Records have been very supportive through all of this.
HHE: About his music, is it going to be released?
It is. We felt it appropriate to rearrange the album to release after all of this over. We still have a lot of healing to do. We want [the album] to come out at a positive time when all of this is behind us so we can really celebrate his music and his legacy.
HHE: Is there a website we can go to listen to some of his latest music and other things going on with his foundation?
DR: Of course. His fans can visit his official website at www.justice4dolla.com as well as follow his movement on twitter @justice4dolla.
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