Dolla

Before joining Akon's roster and scaling the charts via the hardcore single "Who the Heck Is That," Atlanta rapper Dolla performed at talent shows and showcases with Da Razkalz Cru. The crew issued the 2003 single "So Fly" through Elektra yet watched it stall, prompting the label to drop the group that same year. While still aligned with the Razkalz, Dolla forged key connections with Akon, then producing at the imprint, and with Diddy, who mentored him not as an emcee but as a model. Campaigns for Diddy's Sean John line carried Dolla nationwide and placed his likeness on the oversized billboard above the Hyatt Hotel in Los Angeles.

A later encounter with Akon led to studio sessions and, ultimately, a signing to Konvict Muzik. In 2006 Dolla appeared on the Step Up soundtrack and teamed with mixtape DJ Nappy Wilson for The Beatdown Mixtape; the following year he focused on recording his debut album. Early in 2008 the single "Who the Heck Is That" surfaced, its street edition substituting the F-word for "heck," with T-Pain and Tay Dizm featured on the original version and Akon added for the remix. While Dolla continued tracking the album in Los Angeles, an altercation outside an L.A. shopping mall in May 2009 ended the young rapper's life.