Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Robert Thornton Jr, died yesterday (Wednesday, 17 November) after being fatally shot in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.
The fatal shooting occurred at Makeda’s Butter Cookies, local Fox affiliate WHBQ and CBS affiliate WREG reported. Maurice Hill, the owner of the bakery, told the medias that his employees said Dolph was buying cookies when an unknown assailant drove up and shot him.
Dolph was an emerging star in the music world. Having started releasing mixtapes in 2008, he first saw chart success featuring on O.T. Beginning with Dolph’s debut album, 2016’s King of Memphis, all seven of his studio albums charted in the top 50 of Billboard’s Hot 200 list.
Most recently, Dolph teamed up with protege Key Glock to release two collaborative albums, Dum and Dummer and Dum and Dummer 2. He also collaborated with rap superstars like Megan Thee Stallion, on his song “RNB.”
In 2017, Dolph survived multiple gunshot wounds after being attacked outside the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, an argument between Dolph and three men escalated into the shooting.
“I’ve been targeted since I was 17, 18, 19,” Dolph told for the medias regarding the incident in a 2018 interview. “I just knew that I was good,” he said, adding that wasn’t “a person that lives in fear.”
The rapper was unharmed in another shooting earlier that year when his SUV was fired upon multiple times in Charlotte, N.C. Fellow Memphis rapper Blac Youngsta and two others later turned themselves in to the police.
In an interview with GQ last year, Dolph said he’d been enjoying spending more time with his two young children while quarantining due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his family members were also the founders of the IdaMae Family Foundation, a local nonprofit named after his grandmother that aims to better the local community.
There were many artists who expressed their condolences and regrets on social networks.
Reacting to the news of Dolph’s death, Megan The Stallion tweeted, “I am sooo sick rn I am in disbelief! Praying for his family and friends ! Rest In Peace to my friend a true legend dolph.”
The rapper went on to become renowned in the rap community for his collaborations with Megan Thee Stallion and G Herbo, as well as tracks Case Closed and On The River.
Rapper Gucci Mane, who frequently collaborated with Dolph over the years, also offered his condolences, saying “R. I.P. to my friend Dolph this broke my heart.”
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland also lamented Dolph’s death, tweeting, “The tragic shooting death of rap artist Young Dolph serves as another reminder of the pain that violent crime brings with it. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
