Rapper Young Dolph fatally shot in Memphis
Rapper Young Dolph was shot to death Wednesday inside a Memphis cookie shop.
The 36-year-old rapper was standing inside Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies shopping when someone drove up and began firing.
“The tragic shooting death of rap artist Young Dolph serves as another reminder of the pain that violent crime brings with it,” Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland tweeted. “My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., was born in Chicago but moved to Memphis with his family as a toddler and grew up there.
His first album, released in 2016, was titled “King of Memphis.”
The Memphis Police Department confirmed a fatal shooting at the cookie shop Wednesday, but did not identify the victim. A spokesman for the department said an ID is pending notification of the next of kin.
Photos from outside the cookie shop show a camouflage car, similar to the pattern Dolph used to decorate his cars.
“Lord please cover the entire Young Dolph family, friends and loved [ones],” NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders tweeted along with photos with the rapper in his office. “We thank u in advance Lord in Jesus name Amen.”
“Rest in power young Brother,” tweeted LL Cool J. “I pray your children and family are covered and lifted up by the almighty.”
“This broke my heart,” wrote Gucci Mane.
Less than a week ago, Makeda’s cookies posted a video of the rapper on Instagram, saying he stopped by the shop “every time he comes home.”
“This is all I come for,” he said, showing off his chocolate chip cookies.
Dolph was shot multiple times in 2017 after being knocked to the ground during a fight at the Loews Hollywood Hotel. Rapper Yo Gotti was named a person of interest in the incident but was cleared. Dolph also claimed he was targeted in Charlotte, N.C., in February of that year in a shooting that left his SUV riddled with bullets and more than 100 shell casings at the scene. His second studio album was titled “Bulletproof” in response.
His cousin Juice Wrld died of a drug overdose in 2019.
Dolph released his fifth studio album, “Rich Slave,” last year, featuring guest appearances by Megan Thee Stallion and Juicy J. The record hit No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200, his best showing on the chart.
“Everybody that know me knows I play this man music EVERY DAY!” Megan Thee Stallion wrote on Instagram Wednesday. “He was so genuine so real so kind to me ... always !!! Rest In Peace to a real legend.”
The rapper had two children with partner Mia Jaye.
In Memphis, his family ran a nonprofit, IdaMae. The foundation aims to “address the needs of the community by offering programs and philanthropic activities that will enhance the quality of life by creating opportunities for lifelong learning, personal growth and development, and preservation of the community culture.”
Programs include youth leadership conferences, a clothing closet for women and children in shelters and a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway. Dolph handed out turkeys Monday in Memphis with rapper Key Glock.
“God bless Dolph,” tweeted Chance the Rapper. “Real independent Memphis rapper born in chicago. loved by millions of ppl. Always showed love everytime I seen him this is tragic God bless his family man.”
